06:13 PM CST on Thursday, February 23, 2006

By CHRIS HEINBAUGH / WFAA-TV

WFAA-TV

Craig Watkins

A News 8 investigation has raised serious financial questions about a major primary candidate for Dallas district attorney, Craig Watkins.

The probe looked into a history of late payments, liens, lawsuits and close to $100,000 in delinquent personal income taxes.

Two years ago, Watkins almost won the district attorney's race, and some consider him the Democratic primary front-runner.

"I'm not just running to be a prosecutor; I'm running to be district attorney," Watkins said.

But court records may cause Watkins to stumble.

In 2000, Watkins hired a contractor to convert an old home into his current office building. The contractor said Watkins would not pay his $59,013 bill and he sued Watkins, who later paid the bill.

Court records show Southwestern Bell had to take Watkins to court before he paid a $14,000 bill for Yellow Pages ads.

Even the City of Dallas has sued Watkins over a loan from the South Dallas Fair Park Trust Fund.

When he allegeldy wasn't paying on time, Fair Park Trust Fund warned him "...when you were granted the loan with the trust fund, your agreement was not to be consistently late with your payments."

He allegedly defaulted on payment, and when the city sued, Watkins paid.

"All of them have been paid," Watkins said. "All of those issues have been resolved."

But Edward Okpa said that is news to him. Watkins hired him to appraise an office building in South Dallas.

Okpa said he turned over the appraisal and then Watkins stopped payment on the $4,500 check. Watkins said he's trying to work it out, but has not paid.

"It calls to question what kind of character is this," Okpa said.

Then there are the taxes.

In 2002, Watkins was delinquent on his state business taxes that added up to $4,956. In 2004, he was delinquent on federal business taxes and penalties that totaled $16,207.

Liens were filed and Watkins paid. He insists he pays his bills on time.

"Well, as a businessman we all have disagreements," Watkins said. "But if you look at those lawsuits, they have all been resolved. So, I ask that you focus on what's important in this campaign, and not focus on any issues that are in the past."

But some feel it is an issue now. The District Attorney's office has a $29 million budget, 230 attorneys and another 200 staffers.

One of Watkins' Democratic opponents, Larry Jarrett, said fiscal responsibility is relevant. "Whoever is the district attorney is going to be the steward of the people's funds, and is going to be the person responsible for legal action in this county," he said. "Everything matters, I believe."

That could include Watkins' personal income tax. In December and January, the IRS filed liens for three years' worth of delinquent income taxes totaling $99,000, which is an issue that could trouble voters.

"The key thing is, if a person can't handle his personal finances, do you want to trust them with public money?" asked News 8 political analyst Cal Jillson. "I think voters will think twice about that."

Watkins said he recently paid his income taxes, but offered no proof to support his assertion.

"I would ask that the voters to stay focused on what's important," he said. "Don't get sidetracked by any negative press. Go to the polls in force and vote for me."

E-mail cheinbaugh@wfaa.com