Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Democrats Challenge Soliday's Residency

Voting records indicate Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso) and his neighbors reside in House District 4, but a map of the legislative district says otherwise. And that has led to the filing of a complaint with state election officials by Democrats questioning Soliday's residency according to the Northwest Indiana Times Bob Kasarda. He writes:

State election officials are researching a complaint that newly elected state Rep. Ed Soliday does not live within his legislative district as is required by law.

Maps of the district, including one linked to Soliday's own legislative Web site, place his house on Throughwoods Drive in Valparaiso's Harrison West subdivision just outside the district line.Yet Soliday said Monday the maps are wrong and what matters anyway is the description of the 4th District as it is spelled out in state code.

"I'm very confident I'm in the district," he said.

Soliday said he researched the residency issue before deciding to run for the seat and the findings were confirmed again last week by state Republican officials and fellow Republican Porter County Clerk Dale Brewer.

Brewer said she based her determination on current and past voter registration records."It wouldn't be the first time a map was drawn wrong," she said.

If Soliday is correct and the district as defined by Indiana Code includes his residence, that should trump whatever is shown on a map. Some Republicans may find the Democrats' decision to challenge Soliday's residency as unwise. More than a few folks have wondered how a certain Democratic lawmaker, who has a lovely home on Indianapolis' northside, legitimately claims residency in his Fort Wayne district.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Uh, last time I looked, people are allowed to own more than one home. And if it's Rep. Moses of whom you speak: he's wealthy enough to afford it.

Wilson46201 said...

Recently a Congressional candidate ran for office in Indianapolis but used a Sheridan address to Congress for his financial disclosure forms. He also stated he spent half of his time on that five-acre farm up there. Trying to bump Buyer in a Primary might have been a tad difficult.

The real question for the challenged legislator is whether his stated home address is in a precinct which is in the definition of his District. Maps are mere pictures to visualize conveniently the written text which defines the precinct and district.