DaytonDailyNews.com

Democrats are calling for an official investigation of House Speaker Jon Husted's residency and his right to represent the people of his district.

Mark Owens, chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party, said the county board of elections should determine whether Husted, R-Kettering, is a valid resident of the 37th House District he now represents and if he's eligible for the 6th Senate District seat he's seeking on Nov. 4.

Owens said tax breaks received by Husted and his wife, along with legal forms they signed, raise questions about whether Husted's primary residence is in Kettering or in Upper Arlington, where he sometimes lives with his wife and children.

"This is a serious allegation. He's always denied it," Owens said. "What you are raising puts some real meat to the bone."

Voter registration's validity at issue

The deadline has passed to challenge a person's place on the ballot. However, the board can question the validity of a person's registration, said Steve Harsman, board of elections director.

"If (Owens) has specific information, I think we have an obligation to do an investigation," said Harsman.

Ohio law on residency for voting purposes says a person's residence is the "place where the family of a married person resides."

A legislator may be forced to forfeit his seat if he is not a legal resident of the district he represents.

Husted was elected to the House in 2000, and became Speaker in 2005. He is registered to vote in Montgomery County and said his home is at 148 Sherbrooke Drive, Kettering.

Greg Gantt, chairman of the elections board and chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party, said he would have to review the situation before commenting.

Three 'principal residences' at once?

At issue are property tax breaks that Husted and his wife Tina, a real estate agent, received on property they own or owned, and their claim of those properties as "principal residences."

State law says a couple can take a 2.5 percent property tax reduction on one owner-occupied home in the state. An exception can be made if they can prove they live separately, said John Kohlstrand, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Taxation. Neither Husted has asked for that exception, according to Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith and Franklin County Auditor Joe Testa.

Husted said he was unaware that he and Tina had in 2006 claimed a unit they owned at The Brunson Condominium in Columbus as their "principal residence," and said he would have to review the documents.

At the same time they lived in the condo, Jon Husted listed the Kettering home as his "principal residence" and Tina Husted made the same claim for her house at 2672 Coventry Road, Upper Arlington. They both got the 2.5 percent tax reduction on those properties.

Auditors in both Montgomery and Franklin County said they will investigate.

Franklin County Auditor Joe Testa said it appears that a property tax break worth $27.82 on the condo may have to be repaid by Tina Husted for tax year 2007 because she also made the claim on the Coventry Road property, saving $207.46 on her taxes. The Husteds owned the condo from February 2006-April 2007.

Jon Husted also took a 2007 tax break, saving $73.96 on his home in Kettering. So, for a period of time the couple had three properties between them that they claimed were "principal residences."

Predecessor returned home each night

Husted said the couple is renting the Coventry Road house, which Tina Husted owned from 2002 until she sold it for $470,000 in August. Husted in 2007 released his dower rights to that house. He said he doesn't know why.

"My wife probably told me to. She handles all our real estate stuff," he said.

Husted said he stays in the Coventry Road house with his family because his duties as House Speaker keep him in Columbus. Husted's counterpart, Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, goes home to his district every night, as did Husted's predecessor as Speaker, former Rep. Larry Householder, a Glenford Republican.

Householder said he kept long hours in Columbus but felt it was important to get home to his wife, kids and community.

"You can get caught up in Capitol Square and what their agendas are and all those things," Householder said. "And coming back to reality really puts a different perspective on things."

Husted said he is in close touch with his district and is here frequently working on various issues, including economic development. "It is my intention to come back to work in Dayton after the election this year when I am no longer Speaker," he said. "And it is my intention to return to Dayton on a more full-time basis as my career moves ahead."

He said he is "in discussions right now about a job" but declined to say more.

Husted refused to say whether his family would move into the Kettering house after the first of the year.

Rarely seen in the neighborhood

A property conveyance form filed in Franklin County by Tina Husted and signed by her representative on July 21, 2008, said that her primary place of residence after Jan. 1, 2009, would be 2305 Haverford Road, Upper Arlington. That declaration allows her to get the property tax reduction worth about $243.16 annually on that home, which she purchased for $360,000 in July and is renovating.

"There will be a point in time when the renting of the Coventry house will end and, depending on our situation at the time, we will be spending some time at the Haverford house I'm sure," Jon Husted said.

Questions about Husted's residency have dogged him for years. He said he took an apartment in Columbus shortly after falling asleep at the wheel and nearly wrecking while driving home as a freshman legislator. He bought a Columbus condominium in 2003, married Tina in 2005 and they had a daughter last year. A son by a previous marriage is 13 and lives with them part time.

Husted is rarely seen at his home in Kettering. Typically the brick ranch home's shades are drawn and newspapers and mail remain unattended for days.

Husted cannot explain why a 2005 traffic citation handled in Upper Arlington Mayor's court lists his home address as the Columbus condominium he owned. The same address was associated with a hunting license of his that showed up in an online public records search. Other hunting and fishing licenses were listed at the Kettering address, which is the only one in Husted's name kept by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Avenue or Drive, 'Kettering is my home'

In answering a reporter's question about the licenses, Husted twice called the street he lives on Sherbrooke Avenue, and then corrected himself, saying "Sherbrooke Drive is what it is."

"Look, I am clear about the fact that Kettering is my home. It's where I intend to return," Husted said.

His Democratic opponent for Senate, Centerville School Board member John Doll, said the residency question raises legal issues and concerns about how in touch Husted is with the needs of everyday people in his district.

"If he's not living here he shouldn't be representing the people he's trying to represent," Doll said.

"Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7455 or lhulsey@DaytonDailyNews.com.