PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County auditor has scheduled a hearing to examine a complaint by one candidate for the District 2 county commissioner seat about the residency of another.
Dan Youra filed the complaint last week against Tim Thomas, claiming that Thomas does not live in the area he seeks to represent.
Both Thomas and Youra are running as Republicans in a challenge against incumbent Commissioner David Sullivan, a Democrat, who is seeking a third term in the district that includes Cape George, Port Hadlock and Marrowstone Island.
The contest will be a top-two primary, which means that the two who receive the most votes in the Aug. 7 primary will advance to the Nov. 6 general election.
The residency hearing will begin at 10 a.m. June 11 in the first-floor conference room of the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., and will be presided over by County Auditor Donna Eldridge.
It is up to Youra to present evidence that Thomas does not live in the district.
“I’m glad to see this development in order to get some clarification and definition in this situation,” Youra said.
“The voters need to know exactly where the people who want to represent them are living.”
Thomas, who lived in District 1 prior to filing in the commissioner’s race, did not want to run in that district because he did not want to run against Geoff Masci, a former Port Townsend mayor, who had already declared in that race, according to Thomas campaign spokesman John Geiser.
Masci, a Republican, is challenging District 1 Commissioner Phil Johnson, who is , a Democrat, already had a challenger.
Johnson is facing former Port Townsend Mayor Geoff Masci.
At the time of Thomas’ filing, no challenger had filed for Sullivan’s seat.
Thomas said he thought he owned a house in District 2 and planned to move to that property at 18 Hope Lane as soon as he began campaigning.
However, when Thomas went to the Jefferson County Auditor’s Office on May 18 — the last day of filing — he discovered that the Hope Lane address was in District 1, which includes Port Townsend.
Thomas left the Auditor’s Office and returned a few hours later, after securing a rental at 140 Swaney St., in Port Hadlock.
At the time, Thomas said he was going to run for the seat “even if I have to move to do it.”
Youra filed his challenge on May 21, submitting as evidence a picture of the Swaney Street address.
Youra said that he was convinced the address was not lived in “because it was in bad shape and there still was a Christmas tree in front.”
Thomas already had begun renovations and plans to have a neighborhood party in the near future, according to Geiser.
Thomas’ residency challenge differs from a 2011 instance when Pamela Adams filed for Port Townsend City Council and stopped campaigning when she learned of a one-year residency requirement in order to assume office.
The county has no such requirement and only mandates that a candidate live within the district 30 days prior to the election, Eldridge said.
Eldridge said that if either party is dissatisfied with the outcome of the hearing, he can appeal it to Superior Court.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
