City Council candidate's business evicted
Landlord says Taylor fell behind on rent
by Maria Polletta - Oct. 12, 2012 09:28 AM
The Republic | azcentral.com
Chandler City Council candidate Scott Taylor has been evicted from an office he was leasing for his insurance company after reportedly failing to pay tens of thousands of dollars in back rent.
Taylor began leasing the suite at 68 W. Buffalo St. in March 2009 and "has not paid rent in a consistent way or in the total amount due on numerous occasions," according to Niels Kreipke, owner of Valhalla Investments, Taylor's landlord at the building.
Though Kreipke declined to detail how much Taylor owed, he said the amount was "significantly higher" than the $26,300 debt to a political-consulting company Taylor listed on his most recent campaign-finance report.
The firm, Coleman Dahm & Associates, severed ties with the candidate after he reportedly told them he didn't have the cash to pay his remaining balance. Taylor has since promised to pay off his debt by Feb. 1.
Kreipke said Valhalla had been "very sympathetic" to Taylor because he'd "consistently said through the past couple years that he has not had the available funds" to pay off what he owed.
"We allowed this, unfortunately, to go longer than we should have. The straw that broke the camel's back was when we discovered he had taken his personal funds and put $28,000 into the campaign," Kreipke said. "We believe our tenants make the best efforts to fulfill their commitments, but when it comes to Scott Taylor putting that money into the campaign, we do not see that as a good-faith or best effort."
In addition to making the $28,000 contribution to his own run, Taylor has campaigned on the promise that his private-sector success would allow him to donate his council salary to charity if he wins. In August, he said a pending trustee's sale of his Chandler home was not a sign of financial trouble, and in recent weeks he has evaded questions about whether his financial situation has changed.
Kreipke said Taylor had sublet the office at times, a practice "allowed within certain parameters," but that Taylor "did not meet those parameters and was collecting rent and then not paying us."
Taylor responded to a request for comment via e-mail.
"I have tried to work with Niels Kreipke, and he ... isn't willing to work out a win/win solution," he wrote. "Other than that, I (am) not a big mouth with personal business."
When asked to detail specific solutions he'd proposed to Kreipke, Taylor replied: "I am trying to work out a fair and honest solution with Niels, that is all I will comment on."
Valhalla will "pursue all legal remedies to collect on the money owed," Kreipke said.
Republic reporter Amy B Wang contributed to this article.