(C) Minnesota Reformer This story was originally published by Minnesota Reformer and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Incoming DFL lawmaker: GOP campaign was surveilling wrong apartment • Minnesota Reformer [1] ['Michelle Griffith', 'Erik Gunn', 'Kevin Hardy', 'Grace Panetta', 'Mariel Padilla', 'More From Author', '- December', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus'] Date: 2024-12-06 State Rep.-elect Curtis Johnson, who’s been accused by his Republican opponent of not residing in the district he was elected to represent, said in court documents this week that the staffers from his GOP opponent’s campaign were ultimately surveilling the wrong apartment unit. GOP candidate Paul Wikstrom last month filed an election contest against Johnson, who won the race for House District 40B — which includes Roseville and Shoreview — by 30 points. Wikstrom alleged that Johnson primarily lives in his Little Canada home, which is outside the district he was elected to represent. Wikstrom alleged Johnson rented a Roseville studio apartment to make it appear like he lived in the district. The law requires that House candidates are a resident in the district for at least six months before an election. The stakes of the residency challenge are enormous: The Minnesota House is currently deadlocked between the two parties 67-67, with leaders engaged in power sharing negotiations prior to the Jan. 14 start of the legislative session. If the judge invalidates Johnson’s election, House Republicans would temporarily take control of the lower chamber until a special election. (Republicans are contesting another election in the south metro that Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, won by 14 votes; election officials accidentally threw away 20 ballots, according to an investigation by the county attorney there.) Wikstrom said his campaign created an “investigative team” to monitor Johnson’s whereabouts and alleged Johnson would regularly come and go from his Little Canada home. His campaign staffers said they watched Johnson’s apartment in Roseville Estates, apartment #103, and said Johnson didn’t regularly come and go from the unit. They also called Xcel Energy and Comcast and were “given the impression” that the apartment didn’t have accounts set up for either. But Johnson said they were looking at the wrong apartment unit. Johnson said he’s been living in Roseville Estates, apartment #303, since Oct. 15, because apartment #103 had maintenance issues. Rosedale Estates Property Manager Megan Allyn said in a letter — that Johnson included in court records — that the property moved Johnson up to apartment #303, even though his lease is still registered with the old unit, because of “construction and some demolition projects.” Allyn said due to the construction, they removed the electrical meters, and all electric services are being billed to Rosedale Estates. Even so, Republicans argue, there was little evidence of anyone living at apartment #103 before October 15, when Johnson says he was moved. In a declaration, Johnson said that he signed a lease for his apartment in March of this year and that “the property was undergoing extensive construction at the time I moved in, and as a result, all electricity was being handled through the main building, and there was no individual electric meter for my apartment.” Johnson said his driver’s license is registered with a Roseville address, and he voted from it too. The Reformer called the property manager, which confirmed that Johnson was moved to apartment #303 due to construction. Johnson said he didn’t set up internet for his apartment because he typically worked “from my office or a coffee shop.” Johnson acknowledges he cannot account for his whereabouts every night on the campaign trail. In his notice of election contest, the Republican Wikstrom said that on Oct. 1, one of his campaign staffers placed tape on the door of apartment #103 “to see if the tape would still be there, undisturbed, at a future visit.” That campaign staffer said he went back on Oct. 9, and that tape was still there. Johnson said he didn’t move to apartment #303 until Oct. 15. On Oct. 22, another campaign staffer went to Johnson’s Roseville residence, apartment #103, and took photos underneath the door, which ended about an inch above the ground, according to the affidavit. What was visible was bare and didn’t have furniture, according to the affidavit. Johnson said he was living upstairs by Oct. 22. Johnson and his wife own a house in Little Canada, but they are looking to move to a home in House District 40B. He said he got the apartment for himself. “I visited the Little Canada house regularly, particularly early in the morning, between 5 and 5:30 a.m, to see my wife and walk our dogs. I would also go to the house for dinner to see my wife and our adult child, who was home for the summer,” Johnson said in his declaration. Wikstrom’s campaign said they would regularly see Johnson’s car parked at the Little Canada home for extended periods. Johnson noted in his declaration that for two days in May and for 10 days in September, he and his family were out of the state. An evidentiary hearing was held on Thursday and Friday in the election contest case. Proving a candidate is not a resident can be difficult. The most recent residency challenge was in 2016, when Republican Rep. Bob Barrett was banned from running because he didn’t live in his district. [END] --- [1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/12/06/incoming-dfl-lawmaker-gop-campaign-was-surveilling-wrong-apartment/ Published and (C) by Minnesota Reformer Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/MnReformer/