House candidate rented apartment before filing in District 87

Jeremy Alessi rented a studio apartment in state House District 87 in east Wichita shortly before he filed to run for an open seat there.

The apartment is across Wichita from District 92, where he ran and lost in a House race two years ago.

It also is across Wichita from the home in District 92 that his wife, Amanda, lists as her place of residence in voter registration records.

On July 15, two girls bicycles and three scooters could be seen on the front porch of the home in District 92, along with a plaque in the front window that read, “Alessi house, established 1999.”

As for his new apartment in District 87, Alessi said, “I have moved there, yes.”

Alessi, whose campaign slogan is “husband and father, not a politician,” would not say whether he is living away from his wife and children to run for office. He would not meet with Eagle reporters to talk about his residence.

“I do have quite a high value, and even one of my highest values, is quality family time,” Alessi said. “We just make sure that we get enough of that.”

In a written comment for The Eagle’s Voters’ Guide, Alessi wrote: “Like my opponent I am a recent resident of the district. I have clients and friends in the district and my wife has worked at the Great Plains Nature Center since 2009.”

Alessi’s Republican primary opponent, former Andover school board member Roger Elliott, said he moved into District 87 two years ago with his wife when they decided to downsize their home.

“To me it’s a little unique that a person would rent an apartment and then file for a new district in which to run after he ran in another district two years ago,” Elliott said. “I would wonder about the burden that has on (Alessi’s) family if he is living in one part of Wichita and his family is living in another part of Wichita.”

Bryan Caskey, Kansas State Elections Office director of elections, said the office checks to make sure candidates are registered to vote in the district they are running in, and that indicates their place of residency.

“Whatever (a candidate) put on his voter registration card as his residence, that’s what he’s telling us is his residence for voting purposes,” Caskey said.

“When someone files for office, we check to make sure where the person’s registered to vote at, and that’s as far as we go. … The only record that an election official has at their disposal is the voter registration list.”

In 2014, The Eagle reported that although Alessi was living in Kansas, he was receiving a residents-only tax break on a rental condo he owned in Illinois.

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 5:40 PM with the headline "House candidate rented apartment before filing in District 87."