Crescent-News.com
Jack Palmer - Some Republican needs to challenge U.S. Rep. Gillmor
Jack Palmer
May 3, 2007
"U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor's residency charade has apparently taken another step down the yellow brick road of brazen "representation."
Maybe the longtime congressman thinks he lives in the land of Oz. Maybe that"s the problem.
According to a story in Wednesday"s Toledo Blade, the veteran legislator and his family have moved into a new $1 million home outside of Columbus.
The property is in Union County, not far from his family's previous residence in Dublin. The home is titled in the name of a holding company of a prominent Columbus-based law firm whose political action committee has contributed funds to his campaign.
The upsetting part should not be Gillmor's substantial personal wealth (he's among the richest members of the House of Representatives) or that his new family residence is technically owned by a holding company.
Those factors make for a better story, but they miss the point.
The upsetting part is that Gillmor has no intention anytime soon of moving his family residence into the Fifth Congressional District he represents.
Gillmor, a good and decent man, has represented the district since 9[sic--I think he's been in office for 10 terms--or since 1988--moe99]. His voting record has reflected the conservative beliefs of the majority of his constituents.
His wife, Karen, currently serves as vice chairman of the State Employment Relations Board in Ohio, which is based in Columbus. He has three minor sons who attend school in Dublin. It is obviously more convenient for his family to reside in that area.
Choosing to live there does not make him a bad person. To the contrary, it makes him a better husband and father.
But it also makes him a poor representative.
Yeah, I know, he meets the requirements of living in the Fifth District. His "official" residence is a Tiffin condominium that some neighbors have said he seldom uses, according to the Blade.
Complying with the spirit of residency rules, however, is certainly open to question.
The Fifth District includes 12 full counties and parts of four others, so it is not unreasonable to expect him to establish his family home in one of them. Gillmor apparently thinks otherwise.
That"s why somebody in this vast geographical district needs to challenge him... [snip]"
Comments are closed on this story.