Candidates’ home not so sweet to some

Paul Clinton

Assemblyman Ken Maddox bought a home in Dana Point in 2002 but

quietly maintained his voter registration at an address in his Garden

Grove district for a year, a move his state Senate opponent says

raises questions about character and credibility.

While not a violation of state election law, the move should raise

warning flags in the minds of voters, said Chris Wysocki, a campaign

consultant for Assemblyman John Campbell.

“It goes more to character,” Wysocki said. “If you say you live

there, you should [live there].”

Maddox and Campbell are facing off in the race to replace 35th

District Sen. Ross Johnson, who is termed out in 2004. Maddox now

represents the 68th Assembly District, which includes Costa Mesa.

Campbell is in his second term in the 70th Assembly, which includes

Newport Beach.

Maddox’s campaign consultants say their boss’ move isn’t out of

the ordinary.

“This sort of thing happens every year,” said Wayne Johnson (not

related), Maddox’s consultant. “There are a large number of

legislators who don’t live in their district.”

Senator Johnson, for example, spends much of his time in

Sacramento, but has maintained a residence in Irvine since 1994, said

Mass Ross, the senator’s spokesman. Johnson owns a home in Gold

River, a neighborhood outside the state capitol.

Wysocki doesn’t agree with the Johnson comparison.

“A lot of people drank Kool-Aid at Jonestown,” Wysocki said. “Just

because a lot of people do it doesn’t make it right.”

The crux of this battle dates back to January of 2002. Maddox

owned a condominium in Garden Grove, county property records show. On

Jan. 11, he sold the condo for $208,000. On Jan. 18, Maddox purchased

a home in Dana Point for $380,000, the records show.

After he purchased the Dana Point home, Maddox could no longer

claim the 68th District as home and, as a result, would not have been

allowed to cast a ballot in the Nov. 5 election. To remedy that,

Maddox reregistered to an address in Garden Grove. That address is

the home of the parents of Maddox’s wife Crystal, Johnson said.

“He registered at the second home because he was on the ballot,”

Johnson said. “He rented a room at his wife’s parents home. That’s

establishing legal residency.”

According to Johnson, Maddox bought the Dana Point house because

his family had outgrown the Garden Grove condo and were looking for a

bigger home.

Maddox’s move also appears to have a political motivation, said

Jim Toledano, a Costa Mesa attorney and former chair of the Orange

County Democratic Party. Maddox appears to be setting up his run for

the state Senate, he said.

“He probably wants to live closer to the voting weight of the 35th

District,” Toledano said. “Right now, he could tell Garden Grove

voters to go jump in a lake. He’ll never have to face Garden Grove

voters again.”

On election day in November, Maddox secured 65.1% to Democrat Al

Snook’s 30.1%. Libertarian Douglas Scribner secured only 4.8%. Before

ascending to the Assembly in 2000, Maddox held a seat on the Garden

Grove City Council.

State law requires that a candidate live in the district for at

least one year before first being elected to a state office. That

candidate must also live in the U.S. for at least three years.

“You get elected by your district, but once you’re working in

Sacramento, I don’t see why he should be limited,” said Eileen

Padberg, an Irvine-based consultant. “He’s representing everybody [in

the state]. He’s not just voting on issues that represent his

district.”

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He

may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

paul.clinton@latimes.com.