GOP candidate says he lives in Turlock. Opponent and some neighbors say something else
An opponent of Congressional District 10 candidate Ted Howze is questioning whether he lives in the district as he stated during a recent candidates debate.
“I live, work and am registered to vote in the city of Turlock,” Howze said before an audience of more than 500 people at The State Theatre in downtown Modesto on Jan. 22.
The campaign for CA10 candidate Bob Elliott provided The Bee with an investigation it says shows Howze continues to live in Brookside — a gated community along the Calaveras and San Joaquin rivers in Stockton — and not Turlock.
The Bee spoke with neighbors who live near Howze’s Turlock home; they gave mixed responses.
Three of the four neighbors who live closest to the home said or believe no one lives there, and the fourth declined to comment. But two other neighbors said the home is occupied, and one insisted Howze lives there.
And while Howze and his campaign say he lives at the home, Howze quickly ended an interview with The Bee before answering questions.
Elliott is a San Joaquin County Supervisor and former Tracy councilman. He and Howze are Republicans and are among the six CA10 candidates in the March 3 primary, including U.S. Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, who is seeking his second term. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, will face each other in the November election.
Howze, 53, served on the Turlock City Council from 2006-10. He moved to Stockton a few years ago before returning to Turlock, according to his campaign. And his veterinary practice is based in Turlock.
Stockton is not part of the 10th Congressional District, which covers Stanislaus and southern San Joaquin counties. There is no requirement that Howze or anyone else running for or serving in the U.S. House of Representatives live in the district they represent.
‘If Ted Howze can’t tell the truth ...’
The Elliott campaign said the issue is that Howze said he lives in one city when he lives in another.
“Integrity is an important part of being a representative, our representatives should say what they do and do what they say,” campaign consultant Andre Levesque said in an email. “If Ted Howze can’t tell the truth about something as simple as where he lives, it should call into question anything else he has said he will do in Congress and his position on any issue.”
Howze campaign manager Tim Rosales said in an interview last week that Howze lives in Turlock but splits his time between there and his Brookside home, where his wife lives.
The Brookside home is more than 4,200 square feet, and Howze bought it for $1 million in 2015, according to RealQuest, a property information search engine. Howze bought the 1,590-square-foot Turlock home on Zina Lane that he says he lives in for $142,500 in 2010. The previous owner had lost the home to foreclosure.
The two properties are among the 11 single-family homes Howze and or the Ted Howze 2014 trust own in Kings, Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, according to RealQuest.
Howze lists the homes except for the Brookside one in his August 2019 financial disclosure form he filed as a congressional candidate. Filers are not required to list their personal residences. He reported rental income from all the homes except for the Zina Lane property.
Rosales said Howze is in Stockton or Turlock depending on his schedule and campaign events and said his wife lives at Brookside because she teaches school in Stockton. She also is registered to vote at the Brookside home, according to San Joaquin County.
Changed voter registration
“Some nights he’s in Stockton,” Rosales said, “but the Turlock house is where he resides. ... He stays at both places. He is not shying away at that at all.”
Howze was registered to vote at his Brookside home from 2015 through November 2018, according to San Joaquin County. He registered to vote at his Zina Lane home in Turlock in January 2019, according to Stanislaus County.
Rosales emailed paperwork that he says shows Howze lives in the Zina home, including a Turlock utilities bill, mail sent to him at the address, and a check from a checking account with his name and the Zina address printed on it.
But Rosales did not provide more details, including how often Howze stays in Turlock. Rosales said Thursday in an email The Bee could follow up with Howze that night: “Ted will be home (at Zina Lane) after his last event after 9pm-10pm if you want to drop by.”
The Bee waited for Howze on Thursday night and tried to speak with him when he arrived around 9 p.m. He ended the interview after about 90 seconds without answering questions. But he said a neighbor verified to The Bee that he lives there (though others did not) and asked the reporter to get off his property. The interview took place in the driveway and walkway.
Access restricted at Brookside
The Bee did not ask Howze’s Brookside neighbors how often he is there. The gated community has guard shacks and entry is restricted.
The Elliott campaign said questions arose about where Howze lives when its volunteers canvassed the Turlock neighborhood and residents said no one lived at the home, prompting the investigation.
“The house has been visited numerous times, day and night on different days over the past two weeks,” according to the investigation, “and at every observed instance, in all conditions, the outdoor lights have been on, garbage cans not put out and there is no answer at (the) front door.”
The garbage cans were out Thursday night when Howze arrived, and he put them away.
The most recent property tax bill for the Zina home was sent to the Brookside home in October, according to the Stanislaus County Tax Collector’s office. Rosales — Howze’s campaign manager — said that’s because Howze’s wife pays the bills.
While Howze did not provide answers Thursday night, he sent this email to The Bee:
“This is just another in a string of unsuccessful attacks concocted by a desperate Bob Elliot campaign that’s out of money, short on enthusiasm and trailing by more than double digits. Voters will see through it and we won’t reciprocate.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 2:40 PM with the headline "GOP candidate says he lives in Turlock. Opponent and some neighbors say something else."
