Bend council candidate’s residency in question

There is a twist in a Bend City Council race: Candidate Casey Roats’ residency has been questioned, and he acknowledged staying outside the city for part of the past year, while his new home was under construction.

To run for Bend City Council, one requirement says the candidate must live within the city limits for the entire year prior to the election.

Roats said Tuesday he has been sleeping at his parents’ home for 10 months out of the past year while he built his new home.

His parents’ home is just east of Bend, outside the city limits. He says his parents were not home at the time and he did not pay to stay there.

Roats told NewsChannel 21 that he sold his home in Bend last year to start construction on a new home, also in Bend, at the same time.

The Roats family left their mailing address within the city limits, at their new home, because Roats says the construction was temporary.

“My residence was the new house,” he said. “So you know, literally the only difference would have been if I pitched a tent at the new house, instead of catching some sleep just outside the city limits. That’s the only functional difference between the two.”

The ballots have already been sent out, so Roats is still in the running for Seat 6 on the council, against Lisa Seales, Ron Boozell and Richard Robertson.

He is currently living within the city limits. in his recently constructed home in southwest Bend.