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By: Tony Farina

When you run for public office you invite public scrutiny and that’s just what has happened to a Niagara Falls city worker who also serves as a union president as he presses his campaign in the GOP primary for the Niagara County Sixth District legislative seat being vacated by Democrat Dennis Virtuoso.

Timothy Huether is a mechanic in the Parks Department and also president of the city Civil Service union, but it has now surfaced that Huether, who is running against Councilman Chris Voccio in the Republican primary, has unpaid taxes on four parcels–including his residence at 629 Ashland Ave.– going back to 2018 and totaling more than $14,000.  That is not the kind of public scrutiny that will help sell his candidacy given he’s collecting city taxpayer dollars as a city worker but is several years behind on his city and school taxes.

Contacted by the Niagara Falls Reporter about his delinquent taxes, Huether said he recently paid $3,000 in taxes that he owed and intends to pay the remaining $14,300 in unpaid taxes he owes with  the completion of the sale of his property 2208 LaSalle Ave. which he purchased in 2018 and which he owes $7, 325.93 dating back to 2018.

“I have a contract for the sale of that property that should be completed in the next 60 days,” says Huether who said he will use the money he receives from the sale of that property to pay off all of his delinquent taxes.  “It will be more than enough to cover what I owe, including the $2,809 on my residential property at 629 Ashland.”

Huether said he has more than $10,000 in his personal bank account but he been spending money on his campaign as he seeks to defeat Voccio who is supported by the Niagara County Republican Committee.

“I expected more help from the city Republican Committee,” says Huether but adds that he didn’t receive that support and had to work to gather his own primary petitions.

“I’ve contributed to the committee as a member but didn’t get their support even though I told Committee Chairman Bill Carrroll that I wanted to run for the Virtuoso seat before Voccio,” says Huether.

Carroll has been quoted as saying that while he likes Huether, Voccio has the experience and was strongly supported by the city committee include Vice Chairman Mike Gawel who called Voccio a very strong taxpayer watchdog candidate based on his performance as a city councilman.