It's been one month since questions were raised about Peoria Councilmember Jennifer Crawford's eligibility to represent her portion of the city and run for reelection.
It's still unclear where she actually lives. Crawford refuses to say, citing fears for her and her family's safety.
She wants the public to believe she still lives in the city's southeastern region, known as the Acacia District, while the Maricopa County Attorney's Office reviews whether that's true.
"Because I take the requirements of elected office seriously, I would like to obtain an independent legal evaluation based on the applicable Arizona law and the facts and documentation concerning my residency," Crawford told Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell in a Sept. 15 email
obtained by The Arizona Republic through a public records request.
Crawford said she was prepared to provide documentation, including property records, lease documentation and other relevant records to show she has maintained residency in her district.
The legal test for residency challenges comes down to establishing a candidate has one "physical residence" that the candidate intends "to remain" at, according to Phoenix-based elections lawyer Kory Langhofer.
"Everyone always has exactly one residence," Langhofer said. "You can't have zero, you can't have two, you can only have exactly one residence."
When these cases come up in court, Langhofer said judges look at several factors. These include where a candidate is registered to vote, the address on the candidate's driver's license, where the candidate sleeps and where the candidate's children might go to school.
But typically, Arizona judges generally side with the candidate unless it's very clear the candidate doesn't pass that test, Langhofer said.
Crawford is running unopposed for her second term in the Nov. 3 election, but questions about her residency have prompted a write-in candidate to bid for her seat.
As the County Attorney's Office continues to review Crawford's claim, voter registration and other public records suggest different conclusions about where she might live.
Crawford is still registered to vote in Acacia
As of late September, Crawford was still registered to vote in her district, according to the Maricopa County Recorder's Office and the Arizona Secretary of State's Office.
County recorder data listed a UPS store in her district as her mailing address, and her residential address was a home in the Coyote Crossing neighborhood.
But she has acknowledged that she sold that home in July. Crawford listed that home as her residence on election paperwork filed with Peoria earlier this year.
The deadline to update her voter registration is Oct. 5 if she plans to vote in the general election, where write-in candidate Emily Saeteurn is now fighting for Crawford's seat.
Though Crawford hasn't yet updated her registration in light of the sale, her husband has.
Shortly before the sale of the Acacia home, Crawford's husband updated his residential address to a home the couple owns in north Peoria, in the city's Willow District, according to county recorder voter data.
Their family trust has owned the home since 2024, and its address was listed in property records related to the sale of the Acacia home. It is also listed as the physical address for Arizona businesses Crawford is tied to, including one of her Peoria candidate committees. The addresses for those three businesses were updated earlier this year.
Crawford did not respond to a phone call or email about her and her husband's voter registration. She has ignored follow-up questions about her residency.
Crawford publicly acknowledged that her family's trust owns the Willow District home, but she said she "maintains residency" in Acacia. She explained that property records didn't change anything about her residency. It's unclear if she could be renting in Acacia.
She urged the public to use common sense: Why would she use her Willow District address in public records if she was trying to hide that she owned the property?
Crawford shared that the Willow District home would soon be sold. She said she offered the information herself because she didn't want people to think the recent questioning of her residency caused her to sell the home. She didn't explain why her family was selling it.
Crawford asks MCAO to withhold address from public
Peoria's charter requires council candidates to live in the district they seek to represent and to stay living there throughout their term.
Crawford has said accusations about where she lives have followed her for years and led to threats to her family's safety, including suspicious packages and other behaviors. She 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, she has said.
Peoria received a trio of resident complaints that Crawford, based on property records, might no longer reside in her district, but there were no clear signs that anyone investigated 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.
Now, at Crawford's request, the issue is back in County Attorney Rachel Mitchell's hands. Crawford told Mitchell about her concerns with publicly disclosing where she lives. But she said she was willing to provide that information for confidential review.
"For privacy and personal safety reasons, particularly given the harassment and unwanted attention I have experienced related to my residence, I am requesting that any review be conducted with my residential street address withheld from public disclosure to the extent permitted by law," Crawford said in the Sept. 15 email.
Erin Pellett, a spokesperson for the County Attorney's Office, confirmed Oct. 1 that the review was ongoing.
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 councilmember keeps home address secret as questions swirl
