State rejects election complaint against Roats

One day after being sworn into office, new Bend City Councilor Casey Roats got some good news Thursday from the Oregon Elections Division, which dismissed a complaint filed against him alleging he used false addresses on his candidacy filing and voter registration forms.

Bend resident and political activist Michael Funke had filed the complaint after the issue arose during the fall campaign, when Roats acknowledged he had spent much of the previous year living with his parents just outside the city as his new home in Bend was being built.

The Bend City Charter mandates that candidates must be Bend residents for the 12 months preceding the election, though it doesn’t define the word “resident.” After Roats won a council seat, and despite the filing of that complaint and a lawsuit, Bend city councilors held a special meeting, heard from Roats and voted 5-2 to find him qualified and able to take the seat.

In a letter to Roats on Thursday, Elections Division Investigations and Legal Specialist Alana Cox noted that state statute provides that “a person may not knowingly make a false statement, oath or affidavit when a statement, oath or affidavit is required under the election laws.”

Cox went on to say that in order for action to be taken, “the statement in question cannot be interpreted as an opinion or as true. In addition, the speaker must have had actual knowledge that the statement was false.”

The investigator recounted her discussion with Roats over the issues surrounding him claiming a Brookswood Boulevard address in the June 2014 candidacy filing, and listing a home on Hamilton Lane as his voting address the previous November.

“You explained that you used the Hamilton Lane address (for his water company) because that was the easiest place to locate you while you were living with your parents and building a new home,” Cox wrote.

Roats also explained the Brookswood Boulevard address on the candidacy filing was listed “because you intended it to be your permanent address as soon as it was habitable.”

“You have explained that you did not submit the addresses knowing them to be false,” Cox wrote to Roats. “Instead you believed they were acceptable based on your situation.”

However, she added, “In the future, should you have any questions about matters relating to election law, I encourage you to contact your county clerk or our office for guidance.”

“After a review of the information submitted, the Elections Division has found insufficient evidence to indicate you violated (the statute) in this instance,” Cox concluded. “Not finding a violation of election law, the Elections Division determines this investigation is closed and does not intend to pursue this matter further.”

Funke, asked his reaction to the state’s decision, said: “I look forward to working with Casey Roats and the rest of the City Council on important issues that impact the lives of Bend residents.”