Published May 14, 2012

FRIENDSWOOD — When Republican state representative candidate Ryan Sitton is on the campaign trail, his address is 1007 Thomas Drive in Friendswood.

When the engineering firm CEO goes home at night, he goes home to 2310 John St. in Pearland. While just 10 houses down from the residence he claims on his campaign application and voter registration, the Pearland home he has lived in for about a decade is not in the district of the state house seat he seeks.

In fact, it’s located in Brazoria County, not Galveston County.

Sitton, 37, faces Friendswood doctor Greg Bonnen and tea party favorite Heidi Thiess in the District 24 state representative GOP primary race. Early voting in the primary begins today.

Rusty Cates is the presumptive Democratic nominee in the race.

Intent To Live In Friendswood

Sitton, the founder of Pasadena-based petrochemical engineering and technology firm, said he is a resident of Friendswood and the district even though — for now — the house on Thomas Drive in Friendswood is not livable.

The Daily News went with Sitton and visited his neighborhood. Indeed, the house where he, his wife and children sleep at night is just down the street from a much larger house under construction at the end of a cul-de-sac.

Until November, Sitton claimed Brazoria County as his residence. Voter registration records show that for the November state constitutional elections and elections before that, Sitton claimed he lived and was eligible to vote in Brazoria County as a resident of the house on John Street.

Galveston County tax records show that in May of last year, a company owned by Sitton and his wife closed on the purchase of the property on Thomas Drive in Friendswood, but Sitton said he had made an offer on the property two years ago with the intent of moving his family there. The property was transferred to the Sittons’ names in October.

Brazoria County Home

Sitton provided records showing that well before his house was under construction, he listed the Thomas Drive address as his residence and enrolled his children in Friendswood schools.

“I have never tried to hide the fact that is where we planned to live and that, until the house is ready, we are staying temporarily in the house (on John Street),” Sitton said.

The Sittons have called that temporary house on John Street home for eight years. Sitton’s campaign website claims he and his family, “have lived in the Friendswood neighborhood of Longwood Park for (eight) years, and are in the process of building a new home in the Friendswood city limits.”

The house on John Street is not in Friendswood, not in Galveston County and, according to district maps, not in District 24.

What Defines Residency?

Thanks to Texas’ often confusing laws and court opinions regarding residency for candidates, Sitton could indeed — at least in the eyes of the state — reside in the district.

He offered The Daily News a legal opinion from his attorney: “Having reviewed the statutes and case law regarding requirements for residency under the Texas Election Code, it is clear that Sitton qualified as a resident of House District 24 in September 2011,” attorney Jerad Najvar wrote. “Sitton qualified as a resident (13) months before the date of the general election, which would have satisfied the normal one-year residency period had it not been suspended as a result of the redistricting litigation.”

Using Najvar’s memorandum, Sitton argued that because he changed his address for insurance papers, auto registration and other legal paperwork, he “established” his residency in Friendswood, even though there was no house to live.

Najvar also argued that Sitton already established “residency” in the district well before a federal court order about the state’s redistricting laws required residency be established by April 9.

That answer does not sit well with many, especially Sitton’s opponents. A political action committee during the weekend launched a video and mailer calling into question Sitton’s eligibility to seek the office because of the residency question.

Neither Bonnen or Thiess’ campaigns would comment directly for this story but acknowledged concern about the residency issue.

Eligibility Questioned

Galveston County Tax Assessor Cheryl Johnson, in a series of emails obtained by The Daily News through a public records request, questioned Sitton’s eligibility to be a voter in Galveston County. One of the requirements to seek office is that the candidate must be a registered voter in the district he or she seeks.

In an email to Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady, Johnson sought a definition of perjury as it related to Sitton’s voter registration application.

“When you, however, read the (voter registration) application on its face along with the affirmation, intent conflicts with the statement ‘reside,’ which from the dictionary means ‘live,’” Johnson wrote to Roady.

Roady did not offer Johnson an opinion if he thought Sitton’s application was perjury or if it constituted fraud. He did ask Johnson if she was seeking to file a complaint with his office, to which Johnson said no.

No Opinion From DA

It wasn’t the first time Roady had been presented with evidence that a candidate or office holder did not reside — as most people would define it — at the address he or she claimed.

In February, after a Daily News investigation revealed County Court No. 3 Judge Christopher Dupuy did not reside at the Galveston County address he claimed on his application for a place on the ballot and instead was living in Harris County at the time, Roady said Dupuy was “truthful” about his residency.

Dupuy listed his now ex-wife’s Clear Lake Shores residence on his Jan. 4, 2010, application for candidacy in the Galveston County Republican primary, but he lived at Las Palmas apartments in Harris County at the time, according to police records and court documents. Dupuy’s ex told The Daily News he never lived at the Clear Lake Shores address nor was listed on the lease agreement.

Roady, citing 100 years of court opinions, said the question of legal residency is defined in a way that’s counterintuitive to how people use the term in their daily lives. An attorney general’s opinion on voter eligibility stated a person doesn’t lose residency by leaving home to go to another place for a temporary purpose.

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