This is not part of District Three, rather it is east of Fresno where City Council candidate Mike Briggs owns a home; and therein lies a concern.
Briggs also rents the downstairs of a house inside District Three, a district whose voters he will represent if elected come November.
Lee Brand: "I think it's an absolute insult to voters who live in a district if you don't live in the district."
Enter current council member Lee Brand and his 9-page resolution that would tighten-up residency requirements forcing council candidates to provide more proof of where they live – such as home ownership documents, rental agreements and utility bills under the candidate's name.
Lee Brand: "You need to live in the district to understand the unique problems that every district has. You can't do that living outside the district."
Mr. Brand says his resolution is not aimed solely at Mike Briggs. "Well, that's probably the latest episode in a long-standing problem in the City of Fresno."
Within the span of one month, he listed two different primary residences. According to the City Clerk's Office, in his recent bid for a State Assembly seat, Briggs listed the address east of Fresno. But in his current run for City Council, he used the District Three address.
Mike Briggs: "We have a ranch in the country and place here in town..."
Briggs supports the resolution, saying it provides more transparency to voters about candidates. When asked about his differing addresses in the span of one month, Briggs said he is a part of the District Three community that he hopes to represent. "I'm in the Tower every single day of my life. You know, we can walk up Olive (Street) here and see if anybody knows me or sees me."
Mr. Briggs's District Three opponent Oliver Baines said that he supports the resolution and is in full compliance with it. However, he declined to offer an opinion on the residency of his opponent.
