That Duluth City Councilor Tony Cuneo was severely delinquent in paying property taxes on two properties in the city of Duluth was clearly a betrayal of the public trust ("Duluth councilor's tax debt exposed, settled," May 23). I highly doubt Cuneo ever mentioned his enormous debt to the public while campaigning to represent the citizens of Duluth.
Cuneo stated, "It's not uncommon for working families to have a tough time paying the bills from time to time." Perhaps Cuneo should have considered his school loans and future obligations before deciding to become a homeowner and a landlord. Is it the public's fault he saw fit to purchase a rental unit that needed costly repairs? I wonder how long his tenants would be able to stay in their units if they were thousands of dollars behind in rent. Cuneo seemed to think his financial responsibilities to the public coffers were not a high enough priority to be included in his decision on which bills to pay first.
Extremely poor judgment of this nature proved his lack of financial integrity, especially considering the debt could have been reduced a long time ago by making payments with money he had been, as he said, "saving."
Duluth taxpayers should hold him responsible for this betrayal by choosing a more qualified individual in the voting booth in 2011. Someone who doesn't pay their taxes until the truth is uncovered shouldn't be trusted with the authority to increase the tax burdens of others. It is clear that liberals like Cuneo don't mind raising taxes on others while shirking their own.
Cuneo also doesn't believe his personal financial affairs of the past, present and future should be included in the judgments voters make when considering candidates. Well, let me uncover another truth: bull!
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Justin Krych
Cloquet
