Watts

A City Council member is dismissing questions about his Denton residency, even though he sometimes stays at a home outside the county.

Chris Watts, who got married in August, confirmed that he sometimes stays with his wife and her children at a home she rents in Valley View, located about 20 miles north of Denton in Cooke County. But Watts said he maintains a Denton home and meets the state election code’s requirements for Denton residency.

“I maintain a residency [in Denton]; as far as the nights I sleep here, that will vary,” Watts said. “As far as I know, [according to] everything I’ve looked at, I am still in compliance. If I wasn’t, I would do something different.”

Watts, a lawyer and real estate investor, is in the middle of his second term representing District 4, which covers the city’s southwestern quadrant. He would face re-election again in May 2011.

To be eligible for City Council, candidates must have lived in Denton for at least 12 months before their election, according to the city charter. Candidates running for a district seat must have lived in that district for at least a year.

In November, Denton voters overwhelmingly passed a charter amendment clarifying that district council members must remain living in their district throughout their term.

Watts said his primary residence is still a home on South Bonnie Brae Street that he has used to vote and run for city office for years. He claims a homestead exemption on the property, according to public records.

Watts said he visits the Denton home daily and still has mail delivered there.

“It still has my personal effects there,” he said. “It’s not like it’s a shell.”

Watts also maintains a law office on Carroll Boulevard in Denton and owns multiple rental properties in the city, according to public records.

Residency is often considered a gray or fluid area of law. State courts have ruled that individual circumstances and intent weigh heavily in deciding where a person lives for the purposes of voting or running for public office.

“Generally, in the state of Texas, the election code treats residency as what the person’s intent is, so it’s real subjective with regard to how it’s determined by a court of law,” said Trey Trainor, a former general counsel to the Texas secretary of state whose Austin law practice focuses primarily on election law.

The law may look to facts such as home ownership, voter registration, address noted on a driver’s license and place of business, but no single factor is conclusive, Denton City Attorney Anita Burgess said in a written statement.

“Any determination would require careful review of state statutes, common law and the city charter,” Burgess said. “However, it is clear that a person does not lose residence by going to another place for a temporary purpose.”

Burgess said her office does not determine qualifications for officeholders but can provide advice and counsel “should an issue arise.”

The election code defines a residence as a “domicile, that is, one’s home and fixed place of habitation to which one intends to return after any temporary absence.”

Watts said he couldn’t say whether his living arrangement was temporary.

“I maintain a residency in Denton,” he said. “That’s really the requirement.”

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com.