Signs for various businesses are a familiar sight throughout the Belair Road commercial district in Perry Hall. The one for Bill's Seafood and Catering Co., however, has created some controversy as owner Bill Paulshock campaigns for a seat on the Baltimore County Council.
His detractors question whether Paulshock, 49, actually lives at the home that fronts the seafood shop. He grew up there, but also keeps another residence with his family in Kingsville, which sits in a different council district.
Even if his critics are right, it probably wouldn't matter. Candidates are regularly hit with charges that they don't live in the district in which they're running, but in Maryland — as in many other states — they really don't have to.
State law allows a person to establish residency in one place while living in another. Candidates can use voter registration, school attendance, mailing address and other factors, and most challengers have found that it's nearly impossible to lodge a successful complaint.
Mike Ertel said he was surprised to see a Kingsville address pop up when he searched online for information about Paulshock, his opponent in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary.
"I thought, 'What's going on here?'" Ertel said. His campaign manager filed a complaint with the State Board of Elections challenging Paulshock's voter registration.
But the board declined to review the matter, saying residency challenges could be made only in the county Circuit Court. Ertel decided against pursuing the issue.
"It's negative energy for a campaign," Ertel said. "It looks like all you're concerned with is where a candidate lives."
Though challengers may lose in their legal campaigns, residency complaints can influence the political debate. The Paulshock residency brouhaha has gone viral. Ertel filmed a video in front of the seafood restaurant and the Kingsville home and uploaded it to YouTube. It's received more than 1,000 page views.
Rovall Washington opted to go through the courts when challenging Art Helton, his opponent in a Democratic state Senate primary in District 34, which covers parts of Cecil and Harford counties. In mid-July, Harford County Circuit Judge Emory Plitt Jr. ruled that Helton could stay on the ballot.
Washington accused Helton of changing his address for political purposes, which Helton doesn't exactly dispute and which isn't against the law.
Though it may not be illegal, Washington said it's not right either.
"I should not have the right to pick and choose addresses because it serves my political purposes," he said. "It's making a mockery of the voter registration system."
He decided against appealing because he couldn't find an attorney to take the case. Pursuing an appeal might have cost around $4,000, Washington said.
Helton dismissed the episode as a "publicity attempt."
"The state and federal courts are clear — you can live where you want to live," Helton said. "You can own more than one home. You don't have to stay in that same house all the time. It's a matter of where you want to vote and where you want to live."
Former state Del. Barbara Kreamer also challenged Helton's residency in court, but the case was dismissed Thursday. She is appealing the ruling.
Perhaps the definitive word on residency came in a 1998 ruling involving Clarence W. Blount, the late Maryland Senate majority leader. A judge ordered Blount off the ballot after a private detective showed that he spent most of his time in Pikesville, not in the Northwest Baltimore neighborhood he was elected to represent.
But the Court of Special Appeals overturned that decision, despite acknowledging that Blount did not live in the city home, where he had no telephone and kept only a futon and a few other belongings.
"The two most significant, objective factors evidencing a person's intent regarding domicile are where the person lives and where he or she votes or is registered to vote," the ruling said. "Our cases have characterized the place of voting as 'the highest evidence of domicile.'"
"The requirement is that one must be domiciled in the district, and domicile is not synonymous with primary place of abode," Judge John C. Eldridge wrote.
Rumors abounded earlier this year about whether Baltimore City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young lived on Central Avenue or the Madison Street home that is listed on official records. Young was previously in a controversy over claiming a homestead tax credit on a home in Harford County for more than a decade even though it wasn't his principal residence.
In 2007, City Councilwoman Rochelle "Rikki" Spector, who represents Northwest Baltimore, was accused of living in her boyfriend's HarborView condominium instead of on Park Heights Avenue.
Though challenges pop up every so often, Maryland's rules are not unusual, former Secretary of State John Willis said.
The factors that courts review — such as income tax returns, motor vehicle registration, banking accounts and legal documents — will not be the same in every case, said Plitt, the Harford judge.
"No two of these are ever alike," Plitt said.
For his part, Paulshock said he consulted with an attorney to make sure that he was eligible before filing. The Perry Hall address is listed on his driver's license and voter registration card. Paulshock grew up in the home at the corner of Belair and Joppa roads; his mother still lives there. He and his wife purchased the Kingsville home in 1991. He said that he eats breakfast, lunch and most dinners with his mother.
"My family has been here for over 100 years. I always intended for [this] to be my family home," Paulshock said. "I still have the same room upstairs."
raven.hill@baltsun.com