Campaign for Accountability Calls for Investigation of Former Florida State Representative for Potential Violation of District Residency Requirements
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 14, 2020
Contact: Michael Clauw, mclauw@campaignforaccountability.org, 202.780.5750
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Campaign for Accountability (CfA), a nonprofit watchdog group focused on public accountability, sent a letter to Florida House of Representatives Speaker Jose R. Olivia calling for an investigation to determine whether recently resigned state Rep. James W. Grant violated the law by failing to maintain a residence in his district while serving in the Florida House. Florida’s Senate and House Joint Rule 7.1 specifies that: “A member…shall maintain his or her legal residence within that district for the duration of his or her term of office.” Yet, according to public property records, Rep. Grant sold his home in September 2019, and listed his district office address as his current address in the sale documents. Rep. Grant did not list any real estate assets in his most recent financial disclosure, filed on June 9, 2020.
CfA Executive Director Michelle Kuppersmith said, “If Rep. Grant did not continuously reside in the district that he claimed to faithfully represent, it calls into question his motivation to do best by that district. Nobody is above the law, and the Speaker should immediately open an investigation to determine if Rep. Grant was in violation.”
Campaign for Accountability is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog organization that uses research, litigation, and aggressive communications to expose misconduct and malfeasance in public life and hold those who act at the expense of the public good accountable for their actions.