RSSRep. Scott’s move to Redlands satisfies rules for candidacy
Ray Scott
DENVER — Rep. Ray Scott did move into Grand Junction’s newly redrawn House District 55 in time to qualify for that seat, the state Republican Party says.
Ryan Call, chairman of the Colorado GOP, said Scott provided him with sufficient documentation showing he does qualify as a candidate in the new district.
The issue was raised when Scott filed documents with the Secretary of State’s Office last fall, saying he intended to run for re-election to House District 54.
A month after that, the Colorado Supreme Court approved new legislative district lines that changed the boundaries of that district and House District 55.
Now, HD55 includes the city of Grand Junction, and HD54 is the rest of Mesa County and the western end of Delta County.
That happened at a time when Scott was moving from a part of Orchard Mesa that’s included in HD54 to the Redlands, which is in HD55.
“Clearly, the redistricting and reapportionment effort has created some interesting challenges,” Call said. “We carefully reviewed the property ownership records, the information about Ray Scott’s residence, and have a very high degree of confidence that he meets all of the constitutional requirements in order to run for re-election in his current district.”
Call said the party looked at documents beyond just voter registration and driver’s license records, but he declined to make those documents public.
Scott said he moved in late October to a home he’s owned in the Redlands for more than 20 years. Previously, he was living on Meeka Court in Orchard Mesa, and he sold that home in late November.
He filed an affidavit with the secretary of state, notorized on Oct. 31, stating he lived on Meeka Court and was seeking re-election to HD54. That affidavit was accepted Nov. 8.
By law, a candidate must have lived in a district at least 12 months before a general election. This year’s election is Nov. 6.
Last month, Scott filed a new affidavit to enter the race for HD55.
Mesa County Democratic Party Chairman Karl Castleton said the party isn’t likely to challenge Scott’s residency, but he said it’s somewhat ironic how he’s going about proving it.
“If he’s using something like a power bill to countermand what he had signed and notarized and turned into the secretary of state, then obviously that same paperwork should be more than adequate for anybody who chooses to vote,” Castleton said, referring to Republican efforts to require Coloradans to have photo identification to vote.
Castleton said the party still hopes to have a Democratic candidate challenge Scott in this year’s race for the new city House district.
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