I chose to write about James "Honest Dick" Tate. His is a story not many people know about but it is one of the biggest financial scandals ever to hit Kentucky politics. In 1848 at the age of seventeen Tate began working as a clerk in the post office in Frankfort Kentucky and his political career would start six years later when he was appointed by the Governor of Kentucky to the position of Secretary of State. In 1867 Tate ran under the Democratic party for position of Kentucky state treasurer, he won the election and would continue as treasurer of the next twenty-one years. During his time in office Tate had the trust and respect of many fellow politicians which allowed much of his work in the Treasurery to go unnoticed and unquestioned hence the name "Honest Dick". …show more content…
During the early morning in March 1888 Tate fled Kentucky never to be seen again and shortly thereafter the state government found a shrtfall of nearly a quarter-million dollars. Three months after his disappearance a criminal indictment was issued by the courts in Franklin County Kentucky, that indictment led to the state creating term limits on elected officials and the creation of two new offices within the Government to oversee the treasurer and auditor, the office of the state examiner and state inspector. The life of "Honest Tate" is a interesting story to read and something that happened so long ago still has an impact on politics today because if there was no Tate there would be no term limits on most political offices in