Residency Complaint-Dennison

Residency complaint goes before top official - Motta: Laslovich not part of district

By MIKE DENNISON Missoulian State Bureau
HELENA - The state’s top political enforcer said Tuesday he’ll look into a complaint alleging state Sen. Jesse Laslovich, D-Anaconda, is not a legal resident of his own district.
But Commissioner of Political Practices Dennis Unsworth said accepting the revised complaint doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll resolve the question of Laslovich’s residence.
And the man who filed the complaint - Republican candidate Dick Motta of Philipsburg - said he’s not confident that Unsworth will rule on the issue.
“I think he’s going to dance around this thing and basically just tell me to take it to court,” Motta said Tuesday. “I think he’s going to try to get out of it, just because it’s a political football and (state officials) don’t want to deal with it.”
As for Laslovich, he said he’ll cooperate with any investigation, which he believes would show that he’s a legal resident of Senate District 43 and entitled to run for re-election this year.
“(Motta) can say that he doesn’t think I’m a resident of the district all he wants,” Laslovich said. “The law says that I am, period. I just think (his complaint) is a desperate act, and will continue to be met with the results that he’s not happy with.”
Laslovich, 27, is running for re-election in heavily Democratic SD43, which includes Anaconda, Deer Lodge, Philipsburg and Drummond. When he filed to run for re-election, he listed his parents’ address in Anaconda, although he and his wife, Jill, currently live and work in Helena.
Laslovich has said his job as an assistant attorney general in Helena is temporary and that he has always intended to return to Anaconda, where he grew up and which he considers home. His wife is an attorney with a private law firm in Helena.
Laslovich is registered to vote in Anaconda. State law says someone doesn’t lose their residency if they “go into another district of this state for temporary purposes with the intention of returning.”
Motta filed a complaint with Unsworth in early July, asking the commissioner to rule that Laslovich is not a resident of SD43 and therefore required to withdraw.
Unsworth rejected the complaint July 18, saying it didn’t cite a law under his jurisdiction. Motta refiled a new complaint last week, and Unsworth said Tuesday it meets all requirements for a legitimate complaint.
Laslovich now has until Aug. 15 to respond. Unsworth said after reviewing that response, he could dismiss the complaint and decline further investigation.
Unsworth indicated that Motta may have a difficult time showing that Laslovich violated the applicable law, which says a violation is only when someone “knowingly” makes a false statement on candidate filing material.
“There is a heavy emphasis on intent,” Unsworth said.
And even if Unsworth rules that Laslovich falsely stated his residency, Unsworth said he doesn’t have the power to remove Laslovich from the November ballot. A judge would have to take that action, at the request of someone else.
Copyright © 2008 Missoulian