Digging deeper

Understandably, I've already received more than a couple of emails regarding this post. And it's important to note than none of them (so far) are in disagreement with my presentation of the facts, but rather that the reason for the two properties is simple ...

Rep. Keith Heard lives in Fairburn, while the residence in Athens-Clarke County is for his mother. This is something that one email referred to as 'the worst-kept secret in Athens' (and something I used as a reponse to a few emails). The difficulty, of course, is this moniker - though widely shared throughout the community - is not verifiable by any type of existing information outside of subjective conversation.

So, while it's widely perceived to be known that Heard lives outside of District 114, there are a lack of facts that can connect him to this accusation. The state of Georgia requires someone to live in the district for more than a year, and the secretary of state has traditionally relied on the declaration of a homestead exemption as the determining factor (it was the primary reason Heard's 2004 residency challenge was dismissed).

However, the lessons from the Jim Powell-Karen Handel saga might suggest new determining factors are in play ...

But the administrative law judge disagreed, concluding that the preponderance of evidence showed Powell met the residency requirements. Not only does Powell spend more than half his time in the district, the judge found, but he also attends church, pays taxes, receives mail, and has registered to vote in District 4. The judge also found that in 2007, Powell attempted to transfer his homestead exemption from Cobb to Towns County, but it was denied because he missed the filing deadline. Despite the judge’s findings, Handel decided Powell was unqualified to run. He appealed to the Fulton Superior Court, which reversed Handel’s decision. She now appeals to the state Supreme Court.

The 2004 ruling showed that Heard's voter registration matched the Athens-Clarke County address, but Powell's favorable decision introduced a wide range of other materials for consideration. If there was evidence that Heard stayed in the Fairburn residence for six months or more - actually, three months or more given that he's conceded his stays there during the legislative session - then there would be verifiable grounds for a challenge.