Roats responds to registraton-address dispute

The residency debate in one Bend City Council race took yet another turn Monday as a supporter of candidate Lisa Seales filed a complaint with the secretary of state’s office, alleging voter registration fraud by candidate Casey Roats.

Roats has acknowledged living at his parents’ home just outside the city limits for much of the past year while his new Bend home was under construction, and that he filed to register to vote at his business address for a time.

Michael Funke, a political activist and supporter of Seales, alleges Roats provided false information and committed fraud last June when he filed to run for city council and listed his residence as his new home address in southwest Bend, which he had not yet moved into, and also listed that as his new voter registration address months before moving in, in early October.

Tony Green, a spokesman for the secretary of state, noted the issue is complicated as it involves more than one jurisdiction and more than one category of complaint, involving both voter registration and candidacy filing forms.

If state elections officials find that Roats knowingly provided false information in those forms, Green said they would refer it to the Department of Justice “to pursue criminally.” As others have said recently, it would be up to the city of Bend, likely the city council, to determine if he’s qualified to take office, should he win the seat.

Funke indicated he talked to the county clerk’s office and learned “it is not legal to register to vote at a place of business unless you reside there.”

County Clerk Nancy Blankenship said Funke talked with someone else in her office, adding, “We tell folks that a voter is to register at their residential address, where they put their head down at night.”

Blankenship said “there are provisions in the statute for situations such as:

~ voter registered at Oregon residence and is temporarily away (military/overseas)

~ a voter resides permanently overseas (can use their last residential address for voting)

~ a homeless person can register where they sleep at night (could be Safeway parking lot)

~ a voter sells their home and parks their motorhome at their business temporarily

~ continuous travelers

“The requirements found in ORS 247.012 and 247.013 describe the minimum information/requirements to register while ORS 247.035 & 247.038 are other provisions in determining residence for voting,” Blankenship said..

In an e-mail to The Bulletin on Tuesday, Roats said his intent was to provide his business address because “it was the best place for people to find me.” He said he didn’t use his parents’ address because staying there was a temporary situation.

“Once I had a recognized address at the new home, I switched (my registration) to the new house because that is where I would be living over the long term,” Roats wrote.

“The Secretary of State’s office advises that there is nothing wrong with either a candidate or a voter using an address where a person expects to live, provided the person has taken some apparent step to establish that address as their new home. Building a home is such an apparent step,” Roats added.

Roats’ attorney, Neil Bryant, addressed the issue in a letter to Seales supporter Charlie Ringo last week, noting as an example that “it is perfectly acceptable for a homeless person to claim their residence as a business address,” and that his intention to remain in Bend was clear.

Funke told NewsChannel 21 while he did contribute to Seales’ campaign, as well as Richard Robertson’s, he “filed this complaint as a concerned citizen, not on behalf of or as part of any organization I am affiliated with.”

“It is not sufficient enough for him to hide behind his lawyer,” Funke wrote. “He needs to personally address this issue.”

In the letter to Ringo defending his client Roats, Bryant also accused Seales of having a similarly fuzzy recent Bend residency history – claims she dismissed as “ridiculous.”

Late last week, Ringo, a Bend attorney and political activist, filed a complaint with the city over the Roats’ qualifications after Roats rejected his request to withdraw from the race.

Bend’s city charter says a council candidate “shall have resided in the city during the 12 months immediately before being elected or appointed to the office,” although the city rules don’t define “reside.”

City Attorney Mary Winters responded to Ringo by saying that the city council, which has final say in such matters, probably won’t rule on the issue before the Nov. 4 election. She cited a deadline for raising the issue and advice she received from the Oregon secretary of state’s office.

Ringo is a former state senator who runs the Bend Good Government Committee, a political action committee that has supported Seales, one of the three other candidates for a council seat being vacated by Jodie Barram as she runs for Deschutes County commissioner. (The other two council candidates are Ron Boozell and Richard Robertson).

In a letter sent Friday to Ringo, copying in Winters and county legal counsel Laurie Craghead, Roats’ attorney, Neil Bryant, said Roats won’t drop out of the race and also that “there is no legal or rational basis to challenge his eligibility.”

“Temporarily living with his parents outside of the city during a transition between residences within the city … does not violate … the Bend City Charter or any other eligibility requirement,” Bryant wrote.

“While residency is not defined in the Bend City Charter, Oregon law makes clear that residency refers to where you intend to live and makes exceptions for temporary hiatuses,” the lawyer said, adding “Casey’s changing his voter registration to his business address does not disrupt the chain of residency within the city of Bend.”

Roats’ lawyer also told Ringo, “To be consistent, and if you truly are interested in whether or not a candidate is qualified for the ballot, I suggest you carefully review the residency issues surrounding the candidate you support, Lisa Seales.”

Bryant wrote that “Seales’ LinkedIn page states that she was employed as an integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Associate in Gainesville, Florida through April” of this year, and received her PhD from the University of Florida this year.

“Presumably, there were days in which Ms. Seales did not return to Bend after working or studying in Florida,” Bryant wrote.

He went on to say Seales “registered to vote in Bend for the first time … only six months ago,” and registered with a Gainesville, Florida mailing address. A ballot was mailed there for the May primary but was not cast – “In fact, Ms. Seales has never voted in an election in Bend,” Bryant wrote.

He added that she changed her voter registration mailing address from Florida to Bend on Oct. 2, pays taxes on property in Florida and does not have a current Oregon driver’s license.

Ringo earlier called on Roats to withdraw from the race, “in fairness to the voters,” which he refused to do. Bryant told Ringo in his responding letter, “If that is your true concern, you should send a letter to Lisa Seales requesting her to withdraw.”

In his other points, Bryant notes that “college students, members of the military, people who work overseas and people who care for friends and family often temporarily leave their residence for longer periods than Casey did. Recognizing these realities, Oregon has wisely established intent to establish a residence as the standard, instead of an arbitrary unit of time, as you suggest.”

Bryant concluded the letter by telling Ringo that Winters, the city attorney, “has explained the city’s process for resolving this matter,” and urged: “Let the city council make this decision after the election.”

Asked about Bryant’s letter and the claims made in it, Seales provided this statement over the weekend to NewsChannel 21, posted here in full:

“This unfortunate situation has nothing to do with me. It appears that Casey felt the need to retain a lawyer, and now this has turned into a legal battle. I had nothing to do with starting this controversy, and any issues that are being discussed about my opponent and his eligibility to run for Council are for the lawyers to sort out.

“The allegations regarding my residency are ridiculous. I have been a resident of Bend for many years and have my lease documents and other documents to prove it. I am continuing my campaign, discussing the issues facing our community. My message is a positive one; I don’t feel the need to tear down my opponent, attack him, or capitalize on his difficulties to make it clear that I am the best candidate for position 6.

Asked to respond to the specific claims in Bryant’s letter, Seales added:

“I live in Bend and have lived in Bend since September of 2010, when I moved here to do research for my doctorate. I have the records to prove this. However, yes, I completed my PhD and graduated from UF in May of this year. I was an associate of the NSF IGERT program until I graduated. I co-own a home in Florida. None of this impacts where I live.

“I didn’t register to vote in Oregon until after I graduated from UF. I didn’t realize my ballots were being sent to Gainesville, which is why I failed to vote in the May election; I wasn’t there, I was here in Bend, where I live. I changed the record as soon as I realized the error.

“I traveled to Florida three times in the last year, each time for less than a week, once to defend my dissertation, once for my graduation, and once to oversee the management of the property I co-own. Again, I have all the records to prove this.”

Seales added, “Not sure why I’m the target, since I repeat, I had nothing to do with starting this controversy. I look forward to getting back to talking about the issues that are of importance to the voters, though truthfulness with regard to their elected officials is pertinent.”