Puyallup candidate doesn’t meet residency requirement. What can be done?
A woman who filed to run for Puyallup City Council has lived within the city limits for less than the time required by state law, but elections officials say there’s not much they can do about it.
Davida Sharpe-Haygood filed to run for Puyallup’s District 2 seat, according to records from the Pierce County Auditor’s Office.
State law requires candidates to be registered voters at the time of their filing and to have resided in the jurisdiction of the office they seek for one year by the day of the election.
Sharpe-Haygood told The News Tribune she has lived within the city limits since April of this year.
She said she didn’t know the state requirements on residency duration until after she announced her run on May 4. She previously lived in Puyallup for more than a decade but left to live in a home less than a mile away from the city for two years, she said.
“Originally, I thought I was in the city limits in the house we were in, and I found that we weren’t,” Sharpe-Haygood said.
She said she believes that she and her family’s ongoing engagement in the city and work on the city’s Design Review Historic Preservation board show her intention of being a part of the Puyallup community.
“I have kept my ties in the city, including where I worship. My kids have gone to school in the city. Both myself and my husband work here,” she told The Puyallup Herald.
The Pierce County Auditor’s Office oversees local elections. Auditor Julie Anderson said the authority of county auditors and election offices is limited.
The office checks to see that candidates’ residences are in line with their voter registration record and that they fall within the boundaries of the seat they are running for. Staff also verify that a filing met the appropriate deadline and that the proper fees were paid.
Anderson’s office does not investigate whether the address is a primary residence or verify if a candidate has lived at the listed address continuously for the required period.
The auditor said they have no way to know or determine the length of time an individual has resided within a city.
“Legislators believe that it is important for county auditors to remain neutral in the filing process and not engage in background investigations,” Anderson said in an email. “Therefore, state law has not provided us with that authority.”
The Pierce County Auditor’s Office relies on the honor system.
“Declarations of candidacies must be accepted on their face based upon the candidate’s attestation of meeting all qualifications,” Anderson said. “It falls on watchdogs and the court system to hold candidates accountable and resolve issues.”
Sharpe-Haygood said she consulted attorneys who told her the law only impacts her if she wins. The City of Puyallup could contest the race if it believes the winner does not meet state candidate requirements.
State law for reporting erroneous candidate filings to the courts must be done two business days from the candidate filing deadline, which was May 21.
“An affidavit of an elector under this section when relating to a primary election must be filed with the appropriate court no later than two days following the closing of the filing period for such office and shall be heard and finally disposed of by the court not later than five days after the filing thereof,” according to the law.
Sharpe-Haygood said the state law is vague, and she is open to someone challenging her candidacy in court.
“When we’re dealing with some of our laws, they were designed as a way to be a barrier for people,” she said. “Oftentimes those who hold power, hold the interpretation.”
Sharpe-Haygood is leading the charge for a race, diversity and equity commission in the city. She started a nonprofit, “Two-Way Racial Healing Project,” to address the racial disparities in the city.
Puyallup has opened a bidding process for a consultant to review diversity, equity and inclusion policies and propose next steps.
Asked about whether she considered running in two years for the other District 2 seat, Sharpe-Haygood said, “Change needs to happen now in our city. Too often we have to wait.”
Sharpe-Haygood’s filing triggered the only primary in the three Puyallup City Council races. Primaries occur when more than two candidates file for a seat. The August primary will cost the City of Puyallup about $11,000, Anderson said.
One of her opponents, Dennis King, declined to comment on Sharpe-Haygood’s residency. He said he is running to continue to preserve Puyallup traditions, values and dedication to public service.
“Having served as a two-term President of the Puyallup Kiwanis Club, I have a true desire to continue serving our community,” King said in a statement.
Joe Colombo, another District 2 candidate, said he and Sharpe-Haygood have had a cordial relationship.
“I arrived at my decision over the course of months, based on encouragement from a wide array of people and my desire to serve Puyallup,” Colombo said in a statement.
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
