Democrats question candidate's eligibility

According to the state constitution, a candidate for state's attorney must live in the county he hopes to represent for at least two years before he is elected.

But while Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration records indicate Eric C. Grannon moved from Washington to Anne Arundel County on Nov. 1, 2008 - two years and one day before this year's general election - The Capital last week uncovered several inconsistencies regarding his early days in the county.

Among other things, Grannon listed a small apartment in Annapolis as his primary address for the first five months of his residency - bridging a gap between when he lived in his $803,000 row house in Washington and when he could move into his $1.63 million home in Davidsonville.

Grannon also continues to receive a homestead tax credit on his old home in the District of Columbia and voted via absentee ballot in Washington four days after he changed his address to Annapolis.

"That certainly raises questions for me," said Stephen W. Thibodeau, chairman of the county's Democratic Central Committee. "Was this an attempt to skirt the system? ... Was he really living in that apartment?"

State's Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee, a Democrat who first took office in 1988, could not be reached last week for comment. Thomas Fleckenstein, his campaign manager, said he was "surprised" to learn some of the details.

"We knew early on he was new to the county, but we didn't know he was this new," he said.

Grannon last week defended his eligibility to run for state's attorney, saying he and his wife moved into their apartment in Annapolis on Oct. 24, 2008, so they could "experience living close to downtown Annapolis before ultimately settling into our Davidsonville home."

He said that their current home was under construction at the time and they wanted to be closer to the property.

Grannon, 38, a partner at White & Chase LLP in Washington specializing in anti-trust matters, went on to call out Weathersbee and his "cronies." He argued the Democrats were trying to distract voters from the issues.

"(It) seems like the 22-year incumbent is afraid of letting the voters decide who should be the next state's attorney," said Grannon, who, like all candidates, swore under penalty of perjury he met all of the state's requirements to run for the office.

"I am confident that any efforts by him or his cronies to get me out of the race ... will fail and he will have no choice but to defend his record of lenient plea bargains and probation for repeat offenders to the voters."

Alan Rzepkowski, chairman of the county Republican Central Committee, did not return one call and several e-mails for comment.

Fleckenstein said that while he "certainly thinks the voters of Anne Arundel County will find it interesting" Grannon moved to the county less than two years ago, Weathersbee is not interested in bumping the attorney off the ballot.

"He has no intention of filing a lawsuit," said Fleckenstein, a former prosecutor under Weathersbee whose wife, Kristin, serves as the state's attorney's spokesperson. "He wants the voters to decide."

A lawsuit - filed by Weathersbee, Thibodeau or another county citizen - is apparently the only way to address any concern about Grannon's residency.

Officials with the state and county Board of Elections and the Office of the Maryland Attorney General said last week they don't investigate a candidate's eligibility for office. If a candidate is a registered voter and appears to be eligible, he or she can run, they said.

"We aren't the entity that investigates ... and to be honest, there really isn't an entity," said Ross K. Goldstein, deputy administrator of the state board.

"The precedent is that they do it through the courts," said Raquel M. Guillory, spokeswoman for Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler.

Property records

The look into Grannon - a graduate of Howard University School of Law who has previously served as a clerk to two federal judges and an assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington, according to his website - was launched as part of a larger probe by The Capital into the backgrounds of the candidates running for local offices this fall, including when they moved to the county.

According to the state's Motor Vehicle Administration, Grannon received a Maryland driver's license on Nov. 1, 2008, listing 316 Burnside St. in Annapolis as his address. At that time, he surrendered his D.C. driver's license.

Grannon, however, never sold his home in Washington. According to D.C. property records, he still owns a home at 342 10th St. N.E. and is still receiving a $67,500 homestead credit on his property taxes. A homestead credit can be applied only to a single property - the taxpayer's principal residence.

Five months after he got his new license - in March 2009 - Grannon and his wife moved into their new home on Maiden Creek Court in Davidsonville. While he appears eligible for a homestead tax credit there, he has not yet applied for one, according to state officials.

Grannon said last week he and his wife had planned to move to the Annapolis area "for years." He said they finally settled on Davidsonville in the spring of 2008 and started construction on their home that September. They moved to Annapolis the next month.

As for the homestead deduction, he said if The Capital was correct that he was still claiming it in D.C., he would switch it to Maryland.

Voter records

Grannon's voting record also raised questions for the Democrats.

The Republican is currently registered to vote in both Washington and Maryland, although he has never voted twice in the same election year.

According to the county Board of Elections, Grannon first registered to vote in Maryland in April 2001, when he gave the state an address in Montgomery County. Records indicate he changed his registration to Anne Arundel County on Dec. 5, 2008, but Grannon said he completed the paperwork Nov. 1 at the MVA when he received his driver's license.

According to the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, Grannon first registered to vote there in January 2002. He voted via absentee ballot in the Nov. 4, 2008, election - four days after he changed his address to Annapolis.

Grannon said he is registered in both Washington and Maryland because he doesn't know how - or even if it is possible - to cancel his old voter registration. He said he voted in the district in 2008 even though he lived in Maryland because he moved 10 days after the state's registration deadline and 11 days before the election. He said if he didn't vote in D.C., he couldn't have voted anywhere else.

No confirmations

The Capital spoke to four residents of Grannon's old apartment building in the Eastport section of Annapolis last week and attempted to contact about 20 others. None of them knew Grannon or recognized his name.

One resident who declined to give her name said she remembered seeing a silver Porsche parked outside the building, but never saw who owned it. According to court records, Grannon owns a Porsche.

The Capital asked Grannon on Thursday to provide the names of any neighbors who could verify he lived in the building. He did not respond.

Grannon also did not respond to questions about the color of his car or his plans for his D.C. home.

Other cases

While investigating candidates' backgrounds, The Capital checked the residency of the 43 other candidates running for county executive, County Council and various offices in the county's Circuit Courthouse.

Grannon was the only person running for office to move to Anne Arundel County in the past two years.

The next most recent transplant to the county was Patrick Jameson, a Republican running for sheriff. Jameson moved in June 2008 from Howard County to Riva. He appears to meet the state's minimum qualifications for sheriff - he is at least 25 years old, a resident of Maryland for at least five years and a current resident of the county.

"I've always loved Annapolis and I thought it would be a great place to live," said Jameson, explaining why he moved to the county. He noted that he used to work in the area and has a boat.

Most other candidates purchased their current homes at least four years ago, according to state property records. The few candidates who moved since July 2006 all moved from other homes in Anne Arundel County.

Local matters

Being local is important in county elections, according to Dan Nataf, a political science professor at Anne Arundel Community College and president of the school's Center for the Study of Local Issues.

He said voters like to know their elected officials and know that they not only share the same "beliefs and values," but also the same life experiences.

When briefed by The Capital on Grannon's home in Washington, D.C., Nataf recalled how Zina Pierre owned a home last year in Mitchellville in Prince George's County while she campaigned to become mayor of Annapolis. Pierre eventually won the Democratic primary, but quickly withdrew from the race after questions were raised about her personal finances and residency.

Nataf said Grannon "... needs to contain this before it gets out of control. After the Zina episode, it is suicidal not to go out and deal with it right away."

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sdaugherty@ capitalgazette.com