James "Honest Dick" Tate - Political Career

Political Career

Tate's political career began with an appointment by Governor Lazarus W. Powell to the position of Assistant Secretary of State for the state of Kentucky in 1854. A model Democrat, he resigned the post when Know-Nothing Governor Charles S. Morehead was elected in 1855. Four years later, he was appointed to the post again under Democratic Governor Beriah Magoffin, and supported the Breckinridge wing of Kentucky's Democratic party during the American Civil War. Though Magoffin resigned in 1862 due to disagreements with the General Assembly, Tate continued to serve under Magoffin's hand-picked successor, James F. Robinson, resigning again at the end of Robinson's term in 1863. From 1865–7, Tate served as Assistant Clerk to the Kentucky House of Representatives. At the end of his service in the house, Tate successfully ran for state treasurer, a post to which he would be re-elected every two years for the next two decades.

In 1878, Tate was mentioned in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Kentucky. The biographer gushed that in 1867, Tate had "materially contributed, by his personal popularity, to the great success of the Democratic party" adding:

"Biennially, since that time, without opposition in his own party, he has been successively re-elected by popular majorities, perhaps exceeding those obtained by any other candidate for office in the State. From these evidences of popularity, it would seem that his lease on the office might be regarded as a fixed fact."

In the gubernatorial race of 1887, Republican challenger William O. Bradley made an issue of the need to examine the treasury. Though Bradley ultimately lost the race, the idea of auditing the treasurer's records took root, and the General Assembly began calling for a commission to undertake the audit in the 1887–8 session. Tate claimed to need time to get his books in order; this effectively delayed the establishment of the commission, but it was ultimately formed.