The bounced check, for $1,498.83, had been given to an Annapolis mechanic last year for the maintenance on her Range Rover.
When she did not answer two letters asking for payment, the mechanic filed suit. Pierre ultimately paid the original bill plus penalties, totaling $2,523.83, according to court documents. The suit was dismissed in April.
Pierre was also the subject of several liens.
She twice had lapses in her car insurance, on a 1995 Toyota and a 2003 Range Rover, according to Motor Vehicle Administration records in court filings. In 2007, the state attempted to garnishee her wages through her firm, but the state's inquiry was not answered and her company was threatened with contempt of court. In January 2008, she paid more than $3,500 in fines for the lapses.
The state also placed two income tax liens against her - in 1990 for $257 and in 2004 for $653.
Pierre did not return calls for comment. Her spokeswoman, Michael Matthews, declined to comment beyond saying, "Zina Pierre has decided that for personal reasons she will withdraw from the race" for mayor of Annapolis.
Berry, the Annapolis Democratic chairman, met with Pierre shortly before she withdrew and said she was "emotional."
"She was very contrite and very gracious. She was regretful that this problem arose," he said. "This is a revelation which she thought [was] not that significant but proved to be very significant. She was concerned about the Democratic Party and the election."
Anne Arundel County Councilman Josh Cohen, who finished a little more than 100 votes behind Pierre in the primary, voiced his support for Pierre before news of her withdrawal, calling news of the financial issues "a distraction."
"My sympathies go out to her and all of her supporters who worked so hard on this campaign," said Cohen upon hearing of her withdrawal. He declined to comment further.
The nominee will face Republican Dave Cordle, an alderman, and Chris Fox, an independent and a small-business owner. Cordle could not be reached for comment, and Fox declined to comment through his spokesman.
Mike Dye, chairman of the city's Republican Central Committee, said he was still trying to digest the news Friday evening.
"I just feel a little shell-shocked about the whole thing," Dye said. "I'm trying to talk to people and see what this means. It was a historic win. It's odd. It just surprises me."
Trudy McFall, a housing executive who placed third in the primary, said she was also shocked by the news, adding that she would accept the appointment if nominated.
McFall said she assumed the party would select a nominee from among the primary candidates. Dan Nataf, director of the Center for the Study of Local Issues at Anne Arundel Community College, said Pierre's financial problems put a damper on what should have been a historic event.
"It's taking a moment of historic happening, the real possibility of the first African-American mayor of Annapolis, and turning it into a kind of party-pooper moment, a time we're having to reflect on the negative instead of the historic moment," he said. "Democrats have to make sure they don't alienate the black electorate in Annapolis. It could start a bad perception."
