It did not take long for Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do to land in hot water. In a March 24 email, Assistant District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh, who heads the DA’s Court and Special Prosecutions Unit, confirmed that investigations based on allegations that Do has skirted residency laws are “still proceeding,” according to the Voice of OC.
Do does not have to reveal his voter registration address, as a former employee of the O.C. District Attorney’s office. However now that he is an elected Supervisor he does have to file conflict of interest disclosures, wherein he notes that he resides at on Irene Way in Westminster.
His 2015 economic disclosure forms filed with the county also show ownership of a home on Beverly Glen Drive in Santa Ana, a house he and his wife, Superior Court Judge Cheri Pham, originally purchased in 2002.
However Do does not claim a property tax exemption on either home, according to public records, an exemption only available to homeowners at their primary residence. Since 2010, no exemption has been claimed on either property.
Oops!
Do was rumored to be living in Santa Ana when he ran successfully for the Garden Grove City Council in 2008. Garden Grove resident, Rod Powell, visited Do at the Santa Ana house several weekends in a row, during that Council campaign, and claims that one Sunday Do was seen relaxing in shorts and a t-shirt.
State election law requires candidates to live in the district they seek to represent. A person can only legally vote from one domicile, or a place where one intends to remain and return after an absence. It is considered voter fraud for anyone running for public office to lie about their residency. It is punishable by up to three years in prison or county jail for up to one year, according to the state Elections Code.
Kudos to Garden Grove activist Tony Flores for filing the complaint with the OCDA that led to the current investigation.
