Posted on 05/18/2006 12:16:33 PM PDT by AntiGuv
SAN DIEGO -- It is now more than just mudslinging in the race for the 50th Congressional District.
Wednesday, the Democratic Party called for an investigation into allegations of perjury and voter fraud against Republican candidate Brian Bilbray.
Democrats said the proof is in property records from three homes and Bilbray’s declaration of candidacy.
These are serious allegations against a man who has run a campaign saying San Diego is and always will be his home.
The ad states San Diego is the home where Republican congressional candidate Bilbray said he lives.
“I live in Carlsbad, taking care of my mother,” Bilbray said.
He said he has lived in the Carlsbad house since March 2005.
It is the address he used in his declaration of candidacy for the North County congressional seat.
Democrats said Bilbray does not live at that address.
“It was a convenient residence to use for this particular election since it is the 50th Congressional District," said County Democratic Party Chair Jess Durfee
In fact, there are serious questions about where Bilbray really lives.
Virginia property records show Bilbray claims a home in Alexandria, Va., as his primary residence, for tax purposes.
The same is true for a home in Imperial Beach.
Bilbray and his wife, Karen, also claim the Imperial Beach home as their primary residence.
"He's misleading us. He’s stating different things, different places, for different purposes," said Durfee.
"If these records existed since last August, and they had issues with them, then why didn't they raise them before?” asked Bilbray.
Bilbray stands by his claims of his Carlsbad residence.
Neighbors told 10News they rarely ever see Bilbray at the house, which is his mother’s home.
“He comes here occasionally to see his mother like boys will do, but he doesn't live here,” said neighbor Frank Knudsen.
“If he does live here, he must leave late at night and come back early in the morning,” said neighbor Bill Rider.
Another man, who lives right next door, said he wondered when people would catch on that Bilbray does not live here.
The Republican candidate said it’s a last-minute smear campaign.
"Frankly the attacks will continue right up until the election." Bilbray
He stands by his television ads.
There are also allegations Bilbray’s children testified they lived in Virginia for purposes of paying in-state college tuition there.
Democrats are asking the California and Virginia attorneys general to investigate.
If Bilbray lives in Virginia, he may not be eligible to run for the congressional seat here.
A potentially interesting twist if there's any merit to this!
Bilbray has to be "an inhabitant" of California as of election day in order to meet the qualifications for service in the House of Representatives. If owning a home in Virginia disqualified members of Congress for running for office, half of Congress would be unable to seek reelection. Off the top of my head, Rick Santorum and his family live in the DC suburbs (he also has a home in PA, though) and Tom Daschle ran for reelection from SD in 2004 despite listing his Virginia home as his primary residence for tax purposes.
Thanks for the info! I know some states are stricter about residency requirements than others, but I didn't know the California rules. I would've been surprised if there was any merit to this, and by your description it doesn't sound as if there is.
Since when do RATS care about residency requirements? In my neck of the woods (IL-06), RAT Tammy Duckworth did a blatant act of district shopping. Yet the local media finds nothing wrong with.
Bilbray needs to win. His victory will show House Republicans that securing the borders is in vogue. Should Bilbray fall, then Karl Rove will use Bilbray's defeat to arm twist the House to support the McKennedy bill.
States are not allowed to impose stricter requirements for U.S. Senators and Representatives than those in the Constitution, and all the Constitution requires is that a Representative be an inhabitant of the *state*. A state law that required a candidate for Representative to be a resident of the district in which he is running would be unconstitutional. As for the definition of "inhabitant," it would ultimately have to be resolved by the House of Representatives (which is the sole judge of the qualifications of its members), but it can be safely assumed that someone who is domiciled in the state and also has a residence in the state would qualify as an inhabitant.
States may, however, impose stricter residency and other requirements for state offices, which is why several of the Fords of Memphis have had to list the family funeral parlor as their "residence" to run for the state house and state senate.
Hey, I actually didn't know the Federal requirement was written into the Constitution. Or maybe I did know it once upon a time and it just slipped off into the ether. Cool, ya learn something new every day!
You mean like the Dems, none of whom ever live in the states they represent, all living in Washington? I doubt there is much to this.
If it wasn't for the fact that the Constitution sets forth the sole qualifications for members of Congress, laws (state or federal) providing for term limits for Congress would not have been declared unconstitutional. In Powell v. McCormack (1968?), the Supreme Court ruled that no one, not even Congress, may add to the qualifications for Senators and Representatives set forth in the Constitution.
I was pleased to get a call from Bilbray's mom thanking me for a (small) donation I had made to his campaign. Technicalities aside, the man definitely is close to his CA roots!
It should be noted that that requirement is a reasonable one, as a legislature could easily gerrymander a congressman's house out of his district.
Residence means different things for different purposes. For example, when I was at Michigan Law School, one could not get in state tuition even if one lived in Michigan year round, if one's parents did not live in Michigan, unless one could prove financial independence. Claiming two houses as your principal residence however for the tax break, strikes me as tax fraud.
Good question.
a. IRS, Primary residence(1): Virginia.
b. IRS, Primary residence(2): Imperial Beach, CA.
c. Residence for children's tuition: Virginia
d. Declaration of Candidacy Primary Residence: Carlsbad, CA
e. Registered to Vote: Carlsbad, CA?*
(*According to the State website, the candidate must declare that they are a "voter in the precinct in which he or she resides")
It doesn't appear that this would make him ineligible to run, as the U.S. Constitution says only that he needs to be an inhabitant "when elected." In fact, the 9th District ruled that a resident of Nevada should have been eligible to run for office to replace Sonny Bono a few years back (the candidate said he would move to California, if elected). See Schaeffer v Townsend
But the article says that the complaint is alleging "perjury and voter fraud." That one may be hard to get around, along with possible IRS problems. Had he completed the forms saying he resided in Virginia, he probably wouldn't have a problem.
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What does it mean for the border/immigration cause if the Demonrat is elected?
"A potentially interesting twist if there's any merit to this!"
If there's any merit to this, Busby wins. Brian Bilbray was not the right candidate for this year or this district. And a Busby victory could have nationwide repercussions.
You're so right about that, but the House races are not looking promising.
I am more confident about the Senate, but they don't have enough pro-border security Republicans.
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