Woodside: Questions raised over Dave Tanner's eligibility Woodside: Questions raised over Dave Tanner's eligibility (November 23, 2005)

** When he was elected, did he meet the residency requirement?

By Andrea Gemmet

Almanac Staff Writer

An anonymous letter sent to Woodside officials and to the Almanac is questioning whether Dave Tanner, councilman-elect for District 4, was truly a resident of the district on election day.

Mr. Tanner ran unopposed for the District 4 Town Council seat after vacating his District 1 seat in July, when he sold his home in the Woodside Glens.

There is one seat on the Woodside council for each of seven districts, and council members are required to live in the district they represent.

Mr. Tanner, who spoke to the Almanac on November 16, said he has been busy remodeling his new house on Lanning Drive in District 4 and was in the midst of preparations to move in the following day.

Mr. Tanner said he checked with Town Attorney Jean Savaree to make sure he was eligible to run in District 4 before he filed candidate papers.

"I was the owner there -- I can run in that district," Mr. Tanner said. "I can't run in two districts, but I can run where I own a house."

The anonymous letter, signed by "Concerned Citizens of Woodside," contends that "owning property in the district with intent to move in is not sufficient to qualify as a resident," and accuses Mr. Tanner of "fraud, dishonesty, ignoring of (sic) intent of the law, and perhaps even a legal violation of the law."

An online site, CitizensofWoodside.com, is an anonymously operated blog that has postings critical of Mr. Tanner.

According to Ms. Savaree, there is no simple legal definition of a person's residence. She cited a state attorney general's opinion that says a residence, for the purposes of being elected, "is a domicile, a physical place, coupled with the intent to make that place your permanent home."

By that definition, it appears that Mr. Tanner can claim his new home on Lanning Drive as his residence.

Town Manager Susan George confirmed that Mr. Tanner is registered to vote at his new District 4 address.

She says Woodside's municipal code does not provide much guidance on candidates in Mr. Tanner's situation. According to the code, a person is not eligible to hold office as a member of the council unless he or she "resides within the geographical area making up the district from which he/she is elected."

Mr. Tanner will not hold office until the election results are certified and he is sworn in at the council's December meeting.

Beyond that, the municipal code deals only with council members who move out of their districts. In those cases, they must immediately vacate their seats on the council.

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