Letter: Alford and Wheeler don’t deserve your vote after falsely claiming homestead exemptions

In May, the Gainesville Sun ran articles suggesting that Alachua County Commission Chair Marihelen Wheeler and former Alachua County Commissioner Mary Alford didn’t live in the districts they represent (or represented). As a result, Alford resigned, but now she has established a new address and is running again. Further, both candidates had to pay back taxes and penalties for falsely claiming homestead exemptions.
These are the people who make the laws that you and I must obey. But the laws don’t seem to apply to them. Tax records show Mrs. Wheeler was penalized for 3 years of underpaying taxes. It’s not like these two are young and naive or made a mistake in moving from one location to another. Both have been around a while, are well-educated with advanced degrees, and have owned businesses and properties—especially Wheeler, who has owned a number of properties, including in other states. In her financial disclosure statement, she is worth more than $2 million, with a lot of that in real estate. The point is that it is unlikely they didn’t know what they were doing was wrong. But they have received no punishment other than a financial penalty.
When someone signs a homestead application, they certify that all information provided is true and correct. In that same section of the application, the applicant acknowledges that anyone who knowingly and willingly gives false information is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree punishable by imprisonment up to one year, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
I am not aware of either of these individuals being charged with violating any laws. Who is supposed to enforce the law and take action in these cases and why haven’t they done it? Being a commissioner apparently puts one above the law.
Despite the obvious problem with integrity and obeying the law, both of these women are poised to be elected or re-elected to the County Commission, assuming Mrs. Wheeler was legally elected in 2018.
But it’s worse when you consider the connection between homestead and the district a politician lives in. State law and the state constitution require elected officials to be a resident of the district in which they are elected on the day they are elected and during their terms. Homestead is one of many items that can be used as proof of residency.
Homestead application requires certification of “permanent residence”
In fact, in the homestead application, the applicant certifies they own the property and “it is my permanent residence.” If you have a homestead that you certify as your permanent residence in one district, how can you then run for office in another district? Note that Mrs. Wheeler’s homestead was in District 4, and she is the Commissioner from District 2.
In the Gainesville Sun article, Mrs. Wheeler framed her current residency situation as confusing but legal. I don’t know about the confusing part – maybe only to her. It’s pretty clear to anybody with half a brain what is going on. Legal, maybe—but if so, only by a technicality. Quoted in the article are statements about homestead being for survivorship and that she didn’t know why she was on the homestead for the District 4 house where she has lived with her husband for 30 years. Give me a break. For those who might not know, homestead is about property taxes. Trusts, wills, and deeds usually take care of survivorship.
In the article, she responds to questions by saying she lives with her son part-time, has a room at his house, and splits time between the two houses; she also says that she lives at both places, saying, “I have a bedroom at my old house here and I have a bedroom with the baby at (my son’s house).” There is nothing in the law about permanent residence and splitting time between locations. Only one home can be your permanent residence.
But the comment that made me laugh was her attempt to establish her neighborhood bona fides by saying her neighbors call her “Gran Meri.” The once “Mary Helen” who morphed into “Marihelen” is now “Gran Meri.” What adult would call her by that? Maybe it’s the neighbor kids who run in front of her throwing flowers as she sashays down the street.
Where did Wheeler live when she was elected?
The residency issue becomes more interesting when you look back at her election on November 6, 2018. As noted above, on that date she had a homestead on a house where she had lived for 30 years. That house is in District 4. She ran in District 2 in 2018 and is running there again. How did that happen? If she was not a resident of District 2 on election day, her case is the same as Alford’s – illegally elected, and like Alford, she should resign (or be removed) and be replaced even at this late date. Mrs. Wheeler’s election in 2018 needs to be looked into.
One of the reasons a candidate can get away with living in one district but running in another is that voters don’t pay attention. One would think the Supervisor of Elections would be checking on this, but Supervisor Kim Barton says that is not her responsibility. So, an elected official only gets caught if there is someone who knows the facts and can challenge them in court or if some authorized agency does an investigation and effects a removal. Regardless, the process for correcting matters seems to involve a lawsuit or the resignation of the official, followed by an appointment from the governor, which we have seen done in Alachua County twice in recent times. Maybe one more is needed to bring that corrupt practice to an end.
What are the ramifications of a commissioner who didn’t live in her district when elected?
But the issue of having commission members that were not elected legally goes beyond just the mere fact of election. What about the results, the repercussions from having that member illegally on the commission? Several things come to mind. What about the money paid to that person during the time they served illegally? That’s my taxpayer money, and to me, it was fraudulently obtained. At the very least, repaying it should be required.
Beyond the pay situation, what about all the actions taken by the commission during the period that someone illegally occupied a seat? What if it were more than one commissioner? Mrs. Wheeler and Ms. Alford played a pivotal role in the outcome of the many things that came before the commission, things with major consequences for the persons involved. I would think that anybody who had an interaction with the commission during the time a person was illegally occupying a commission seat would want a do-over, especially if there were significant costs. I am surprised there have not yet been any lawsuits filed based on illegal action by the commission. I have to wonder how the courts would rule based on members serving illegally.
What does it mean to be a resident?
The Florida constitution and other Florida laws are very clear on the requirement to be a resident in the district in which elected. The question then becomes what constitutes legal residency. It would appear our politicians have left this a little vague in state law, maybe deliberately. But the courts and Division of Elections have provided sufficient guidance for a reasonable person to make a determination whether someone is actually a resident in a district or conducting a ruse to further their political ambitions. From official opinions rendered by the state Division of Elections and based on court cases we have:
“The courts have construed the term resident (residency) on numerous occasions. The generally accepted definition of residence is synonymous with domicile, ‘that place in which habitation is fixed, without any present intention of removing therefrom.‘”
“Florida law equates the phrase ‘legal resident’ with permanent resident, domicile or permanent abode, as distinguished from temporary residence.”
“The key element of residency is the intent of the individual. Permanent residence is wherever a person intends to make a permanent domicile, which can be factually supported.”
I have to wonder if Mrs. Wheeler is really permanently giving up a 3 bedroom 2 bath 1867 SF home on 1.78 acres that she shared for years with her husband for a 3 bedroom 1 bath 1307 SF home on 1/3 acre that she will share with her son? If that is her intent, then she probably gets by on the residency issue. Technically legal but ethically not so much.
To clear the air, I think she should publicly declare that she intends to make the District 2 home her permanent domicile with no intent to remove therefrom. I doubt she is prepared to make that statement. It’s too unbelievable and would expose her to a charge of knowingly telling a falsehood. You know what they call that. One might reasonably suspect that will be her permanent residence only as long as it is politically useful and she knows that.
While she has changed her voter registration to the District 2 address, she maintains her District 4 address as her mailing address, and in fact her vote-by-mail ballot for the recent election was mailed to the District 4 address.
Where do you think she lives?
Where did Wheeler live prior to the 2018 election?
Let’s look back to 2018. Mrs. Wheeler tried three times to get elected before her successful 2018 election as County Commissioner. In 2012, Mrs. Wheeler ran in the Democratic primary for state representative and lost to current Alachua County Sheriff Clovis Watson. In 2014, Mrs. Wheeler ran for Congress in the 3rd district and lost to Congressman Ted Yoho. In 2016, Mrs. Wheeler again ran for state representative and lost to current state representative Chuck Clemons.
But in 2018 the stars aligned for Mrs. Wheeler, and she saw another political opportunity. Despite the fact that she lived in District 4, the seat held by Commissioner Ken Cornell, she saw an opening in District 2 where no Republican was running and her opponents were businessmen who were inexperienced in politics and represented the Libertarian Party and No Party Affiliation. In other words, neither had much in the way of party support, while Mrs. Wheeler had the whole Democratic Party apparatus. With the backing of the Democratic Party and aided by at-large voting across district lines, a victory seemed assured. And easy pickings it was, as she romped to victory over her opponents.
At this point one might ask how she ran in District 2 when she lived in District 4? Aha, good question.
On Mrs. Wheeler’s 2018 Candidate Oath, she listed her District 4 address. Nothing wrong with that. What counts is residency on election day. What she also attests to in the oath is that “I am qualified under the Constitution and the Laws of Florida to hold the office to which I desire to be nominated or elected.” By attesting to that, it would seem she is certifying that she meets the residency requirements.
Since a candidate must be a resident at the time of election, not when taking the Oath, there was time between taking the Oath and being elected to change residency to District 2 and come into compliance. But did she?
The records at the Supervisor of Elections office show that 10 days before the election, she changed her voter registration address to an address in High Springs in District 2. This is clearly a sham. Changing an address does not de facto change residence. One has to consider whether that meets the court standards quoted above, and that seems more than just doubtful. Is she willing to swear that she intended that to be her permanent residence with no intent of removing therefrom?
Remember the courts have said “can be factually supported.” There are a number of things that can be accepted as proof of residence. You can have a homestead, pay taxes, have utility bills, show that address on your licenses, or use it as a mailing address, among others. I would bet she has nothing to support that High Springs address as her permanent address in District 2. Further, I’d bet she never spent a night there.
So, let’s look at the address she used: 21410 N U.S. Highway 441, High Springs, FL 32643. That would be a strange place to have as a permanent residence, since it is the address for Santa Fe Canoe Outpost, which is a business that operated for over 30 years until the property was sold to the city of High Springs in 2021. Property records do show the 912 square foot building has 2 bedrooms and a bath but no air conditioning or heat.
The records at the Supervisor of Elections office also show that Mrs. Wheeler voted from her address in District 4 in the 2018 General Election. How would you have a permanent residency in District 2 and be voting from District 4 unless something was amiss?
Does anyone really think that was her permanent residence? She got away with it because nobody noticed and challenged her. But it’s still not too late if someone is willing to go to court.
Eugene Garvin, a registered Democrat, has contested her 2022 primary victory, and that case is scheduled to be heard on November 4. In her response to the complaint, Mrs. Wheeler signed an affidavit that said, “At the time of the primary election on August 23, 2022 I was residing at [the District 2 address that she co-owns with her son].”
However, that affidavit also states that the property is her legal residence since April 2020, leaving open the question of where she “resided” between the November 2018 election and April 2020. At the Canoe Outpost?
Ask yourself whether Alford and Wheeler, who have admitted that they falsely claimed homestead exemptions and played fast and loose with residency requirements, deserve your vote on November 8. Shouldn’t we elect people who don’t have to scramble to try to prove where they live? Vote for Ed Braddy and Raemi Eagle-Glenn.
Greg Parsons, Alachua
The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.
What’s evident in their “convenient” claim of homestead exemption is that both are acutely aware of the exorbitant taxes in Gainesville and Alachua County and were hoping to not be discovered.
Unfortunate for the rest of us who actually follow the rules and regulations and aren’t living on taxpayer funded salaries but convenient, and beneficial, to them.
‘Bout all that needs to be said ’bout that.
This letter should go to OUR Governor. Maybe he will again do something. Is honesty and integrity missing from all of our current group of elected people?
I see the 4 vs 3 vote game being played. Do they really think we believe that there is real opposition. The mayor always cast the deciding vote?
Single Member Districts, on the ballot in November, would help voters in each district hold their specific County Commissioner accountable! I’m voting YES on Single Member Districts.
At-Large voting, as opposed to Single Member District voting, concentrates power and dilutes the voices of the voters in individual Districts.
The “rules for thee but not for me” approach has been a recurring theme in Alachua County leadership, both on the County Commission and also on the School Board. I hope that voters care about integrity. We need to fix the system along with voting for Commissioners with integrity.
I did not know her address in High Springs is the Canoe Outpost. The City of High Springs now owns the Canoe Outpost.
It will take a State Audit and the Govenor to get this straightend out and Alachua County taxpayers reimbursed with the illegal salaries of Alford, Dyonne McGraw ACSB , and Wheeler if in fact they obtained office by fraud. Useless Cornell blindly stands in the corner as usual , while collecting rent form the homeless under I 75.
A an active citizen in High Springs political matters I’ve noticed Commissioner Wheeler’s has attempted to have significant influence in our City. I have witnessed her insert her own personal agenda and tried to entice other individuals to vote certain ways.
That point was made in this article about illegal interference and influence she used was valid. Commissioner Wheeler should be investigated fully and appropriate legal action with severe consequences taken.
This was intentional and she is not new to the process.
What’s the alternative, voting for a fascist republican? Hell no!
I’m a registered Dem but we need more diversity of opinion in our government. Single-party rule is BAD. You know this, right? Or has tribal politics melted your brain?
You need to go back to school and study a little history and maybe political science. Republican – fascist? You are clueless. I suppose you think that the Antifa and BLM riots were peaceful protest and supportive of democracy.