DA warns candidates: Run in the district you live in

Bill Gang

Thursday, Oct. 8, 1998 | 11:13 a.m.

It has been suspected for years, and even alleged on occasion by political opponents, that some candidates don't live in the homes or even the districts they list with the election departments.

District Attorney Stewart Bell and his staff decided it was time to deal with the issue and the first target is Republican Assembly 14 candidate Michael George Plaisted.

Criminal gross misdemeanor charges were filed Wednesday against Plaisted alleging he lied in an affidavit of candidacy when he listed his address as 845 Dusk Dr. If convicted, he could face up to a year in the county jail and a $2,000 fine.

At least one more candidate is expected to be charged criminally and there is the potential for others to follow.

"Plaisted never lived in the (Assembly 14) district and the people at the address he listed never heard of him," said Deputy District Attorney Ben Graham. He receives his mail through a post office box.

Plaisted is challenging Democratic incumbent Assemblywoman Ellen Koivisto in the traditionally Democratic district.

By filing a criminal complaint, Graham said the office is sending a message to future candidates not to "stretch their credibility about where they live."

He noted that the district attorney's office isn't seeking out such cases or even taking the lead in investigating complaints or rumors about candidates.

"The information about Plaisted was brought to the office, we weren't out there looking for it," Graham said.

Should Plaisted win, the Legislature or the state courts will have to decide if he legally can be seated, but that isn't something Graham has thought much about.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he said.