Election residency questions raised

Can officials winter in Florida?

By FRITZ MAYER

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — John Schmidt, a former planning board chairman in the Town of Liberty, is running for the office of supervisor there. His critics have charged that he should not get the seat because he spends the winters in Florida. Schmidt, a Democrat, denied the accusation. He said, “I own a full-time business, Electro Electric, in Liberty.” He said that kept him in the area most of the time. He said, however, he does travel to Florida sometimes, because he owns property there.

Gregg Semenetz, who has served as supervisor of the Town of Callicoon for 12 years, is running for the seat again this year. His critics charged that he actually lives in Tyler Hill, PA. Semenetz, a Republican, denied the charge. He said he owns a house in Tyler Hill, but he is a real estate investor and he owns six houses in the Town of Callicoon. He said he was living in his house in Jeffersonville, and just moved into a house in North Branch, which he is renovating.

Lewis Meckle, who has served as a councilman on the Tusten Town Board for 16 years, is running for the seat again. Tusten Democrats presented minutes of meetings, which showed that Meckle attended no meetings from November 2006 through March 2007. Meckle, a Republican, did not deny that he spends winters in Florida. He said, “I’m just a phone call or an email away.” He further said that when he’s here, he works for his son’s construction company, which keeps him busy. But when he’s in Florida, he actually has more time to read paperwork related to town board business.

According to Sullivan County Board of Elections Commissioner Tim Hill, a Democrat, even if the charges against all three candidates are true, they are all well within their rights, and are not breaking any state law.

He said there is no “duration of residency” requirement in the rules regarding who can run and serve in local elected offices in New York State. He said the only requirement is that the candidate has a residence in the town when he or she takes office, and that the candidate intends to return to that address. “Try proving that someone doesn’t intend to return to that address,” he said.

The Pennsylvania rules

In Pennsylvania, the rules are stricter. To serve as a township official, an individual must be a resident and registered voter of the township, and must have resided in the township continuously for at least one year before being elected.

Moreover, according to a voting guide published by the Pennsylvania Department of State, to serve, an individual must actually live in the town. The guide says, “A person whose name appears on the district voting register but who is no longer a resident of the township is not a lawfully registered elector. Legal residence includes not only a person’s intention, but also a physical presence. Intention or voter registration is not enough; an individual must actually physically reside in the township. A person cannot declare a residence inconsistent with the facts of where they actually live.”

Asked if spending five months of the year in Florida would violate Pennsylvania law, Yolanda Goldsack, department head of the Pike County Election Office, said, “I don’t know. I guess a person is allowed to take a vacation.”