Peoria Councilmember Jennifer Crawford addressed her critics for the first time since questions about her residency and eligibility to run for office were reported.
Residents have challenged whether she properly represents her part of the city or can run for reelection after she recently sold the house she listed as her residence on election paperwork filed with the city. She owns other homes, but not within the southeastern region of the city she represents, known as the Acacia District.
Peoria's charter requires council candidates to live in the district they seek to represent and stay living there throughout their term. Crawford was elected in 2022 and is running unopposed in November.
For most of a City Council meeting on Sept. 15, councilmembers
showed no tension over whether their colleague was violating Peoria's charter. City leaders and staff shared laughs as they worked through the agenda.
The tone shifted toward the end when Crawford addressed her residency, confirming some details, including the sale and another Peoria home she owned, but not the ultimate question ― where she lives in Peoria.
Crawford explained that accusations about where she lives have followed her for years and led to threats to her family's safety.
The most recent claim against her came at a Sept. 1 meeting, which Crawford said led to misinformation spreading and extra work for city staff.
"What is truly mind-boggling to me is not one person has come to me and simply asked about my residency," Crawford said. "Not one. Instead, assumptions and rumors have been circulated publicly."
Crawford, her council assistant and Crawford's husband did not return multiple phone calls or emails from The Arizona Republic requesting an explanation over six days, and when she did make contact, never answered the question about where she lives directly.
Her husband answered the door at their Willow District home in north Peoria on Sept. 10, taken aback that a reporter visited his property, and threatened to call police if the reporter returned.
Crawford has continued to ignore follow-up questions.
Crawford won't disclose address, cites safety concerns
Crawford shared a two-page statement, some of which matched her Sept. 15 meeting remarks, saying questions about her residency date back to when she first ran for office in 2022.
She said her political opponent had "campaigned on the claim" that Crawford had moved to the Acacia District just to run for the council. Crawford's opponent, former longtime Councilmember Vicki Hunt, died in 2024.
Since her election, Crawford has been the target of suspicious packages and other behaviors, she said.
After the Sept. 1 council meeting, when a resident used public and property records to disclose that Crawford may no longer live in Acacia, she said she was followed. Police continued to investigate, Crawford said. A police spokesperson did not respond to an inquiry about the status of the investigation.
Crawford has denied all claims and said the old allegation has gotten out of hand, leading her to take extra precautions to protect herself and her family.
Crawford said she would not disclose her address to satisfy political opponents or people who believed they were entitled to know where she lived. Not out of secrecy, but safety.
"This is not a political game to me. This is my home. This is my family's safety. And the continued repetition of false claims about where I live does not make those claims true," she said.
The city received a trio of complaints after residents suspected, based on property records, that Crawford might not be living in her district.
No clear signs exist that anyone would investigate those claims.
Peoria pointed to state law and referred residents to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to investigate whether Crawford's seat was vacant. But the office sent a citizen complaint back to Peoria police to investigate because citizens cannot submit cases to prosecutors.
The matter is back in the hand of the County Attorney's Office. Crawford told colleagues and the public she asked the office to review and verify that she lives in her district. Erin Pellett, a spokesperson for the County Attorney's Office, later confirmed that Crawford made the request on Sept. 15.
Why did questions about Crawford's residency come up recently?
Crawford is running unopposed for reelection in November. The questions about her residency have since prompted Acacia resident Emily Saeteurn to file as a write-in candidate.
In nomination paperwork filed with the city in March, Crawford listed her residence at an Acacia District house in the Coyote Crossing neighborhood. The same home was her listed address when she first ran in 2022.
However, publicly recorded county property records show the home sold on July 31, and it was previously listed for rent. Property records also show she owns a residence in the Aloravita neighborhood in the city's Willow District, and another home in Phoenix.
It's unclear if she could be renting in Acacia.
Before Crawford commented publicly, two councilmembers said that the Sept. 1 council meeting was the first they had heard of her possible change in residency.
Michael Finn, who is running to be the next mayor, said it was "absolutely written in the charter" that councilmembers must live in their districts. But Finn said he didn't know whether a violation had occurred in Crawford's case. People could have a change in circumstances, and he said he believed Crawford would make a statement when appropriate.
Councilmember Matt Bullock said in a statement that he doesn't know where his colleagues live and has never needed to know. He said he wanted to see how an investigation would play out and to hear what Crawford had to say.
Crawford acknowledged the recent sale of the Acacia home and that her family's trust owns a home in the Willow District. But she said she "maintains residency" in Acaia.
"Congratulations, people," she told her colleagues and the public on Sept. 15. "You've now used public records to access the deeds to our Maricopa County properties with a mailing address in the Willow District and used that information to construct your own assumptions about where I live."
Crawford explained that the records didn't change anything about her residency. She urged the public to use common sense: Why would she use her Willow District address across public records if she was trying to hide that she owned the property?
Either way, Crawford said that since "there seems to be such a keen interest on my family's real estate transactions," she shared that the Willow District home will soon be sold. Because she was sharing that information now, she said she didn't want to hear claims in a few weeks that the recent questioning of her residency caused her to sell her home.
"My family is not going to liquidate almost a million dollars in real estate because of accusations and rumors," Crawford said. She didn't explain why her family was selling it.
Crawford said she was targeted and police had to investigate
Peoria police investigated at least two incidents in which Crawford received a suspicious package, but the police closed each case without an arrest.
Crawford said former Peoria Mayor Cathy Carlat's husband, Dennis Carlat, was behind one of the incidents.
In November 2023, a person posing as a FedEx worker visited Crawford's home and specifically asked her to sign off for a package, according to the police report. The report had the address redacted.
The package included seven pieces of candy, two of which were different from the others. Investigators wondered whether the number had any significance to the seven members of the council.
Crawford's security footage showed that as the fake employee was walking up the driveway, he appeared to have his phone out, as if taking photos or videos, according to the police report.
Police learned that the shipping label was created under Dennis Carlat's FedEx account, but the tracking details say the shipment was canceled, according to the police report. The shipper contact information was listed as Dennis Carlat, the report said.
But an investigator said Dennis Carlat was older and slower than the faux worker who was captured on Crawford's security footage. Investigators couldn't find additional security footage that would help identify who delivered the package.
The case was labeled as harassment, which requires someone to knowingly and repeatedly commit an act. But the report said it was an isolated incident, and police didn't want to reveal that his FedEx account was identified. Dennis Carlat was not questioned.
Crawford says Dennis Carlat created the shipping label. She also said, without evidence, that Dennis Carlat has continued to spread disinformation about her residence on social media through fake aliases.
Crawford received another suspicious package in November 2024, but police didn't believe it was linked to the 2023 case, according to the report obtained by The Republic through a public records request. The package included a letter that said a product was on the way. It was sent through the United States Postal Service with prepaid postage lacking minimal information to trace it.
Dennis Carlat said he has never been to Crawford's property and never posted anything on social media under his name or others'. He said he wanted examples of what Crawford was claiming about him sharing disinformation online.
He said that even though FedEx's system is secure, he has no idea how his account was accessed. He worked at FedEx for more than 30 years before retiring a handful of years ago. He said he had thrown away his FedEx materials and it's possible his computer was hacked. He admitted having a simple password.
Either way, if he were behind the suspicious package and wanted to be anonymous, he wouldn't have used his name, Dennis Carlat said. He said it wasn't possible that a family member did it, as he and his wife have told his family not to get involved or engaged in politics.
The bottom line, he said, was that by "defaming" the Carlats, Crawford was deflecting and distracting people from what citizens have asked for: where she lives.
Cathy Carlat, who was termed out by the 2022 election and didn't support Mayor Jason Beck in the race, said it was the council's "obligation, their sworn oath to put residents and the charter above everything else."
Elena Santa Cruz covers the West Valley cities of Glendale, Surprise and Peoria. Reach her at elena.santacruz@arizonarepublic.com or follow her on X @ecsantacruz3.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Peoria leader refuses to say where she lives, citing safety fears | Exclusive
