A Republican candidate for a north metro legislative seat is asking a district court in Ramsey County to rule that his DFL opponent shouldn’t receive an election certificate because he didn’t actually live in the district he ran to represent at the Minnesota Capitol.
Paul Wikstrom filed a lawsuit on Wednesday alleging that Curtis Johnson, the DFL candidate for House District 40B, “failed to establish residency and remain in the district six months prior to the general election or maintain residency 30 days prior to the general election.”
The complaint alleges Johnson “falsely claimed residency within the district for which he sought elective office, intending to affect the voting at the election.” When Johnson filed to run for the seat, he listed an address for an apartment complex in Roseville. The lawsuit alleges that Johnson falsely represented his residency at that apartment which sits along Rice Street, north of interstate 694, even as he continued to live in the home he still owns with his wife in Little Canada.
“Johnson’s actions violate both Minnesota Election Law and the Minnesota Constitution’s residency mandate for candidates to state legislative office,” the complaint states. “Finally, Johnson falsely represented his residency in his affidavit of candidacy, attesting to the Secretary of State and the voters within State House District 40B that he resided in the district and was an eligible candidate to be elected to state legislative office.”
Lawsuit filed as DFL, GOP working on power sharing agreement for tied state house
Wikstrom is asking the court to “invalidate and revoke any certificate of election issued to Johnson because of his deliberate, serious, and material violation of Minnesota election law.” The lawsuit was filed as Republicans and Democrats in the state house are developing a power sharing agreement for the upcoming legislative session based on the presumption that each caucus will hold 67 seats. It would be the first time since 1979 that the GOP and DFL had a 67-67 tie in the state house.
Last month Wikstrom made a public statement alleging his “campaign has solid and irrefutable evidence that Curtis Johnson is residing at his primary homestead, in Little Canada, outside of the (40B) district.”
Alpha News was the first to report on those allegations, which Wikstrom made on Oct. 15. Johnson ended up winning the 40B contest by more than 30 points.
Wikstrom’s complaint alleges that in the days leading up to the Nov. 5 election, Johnson continued to live in his Little Canada house that he has raised his family in the last several years. That five-bedroom house is not located within the boundaries for House District 40B. The complaint included more than 300 pages of evidence documenting Johnson’s residency at his Little Canada house.
District 40B spans the cities of Roseville and Shoreview. On Oct. 15, Alpha News reached out to Johnson multiple times with requests for comment. Johnson didn’t reply to those requests for comment. In a story published in the Star Tribune on Oct. 25, Johnson did tell a reporter that his wife and their youngest child “still live in the house because we didn’t want to disrupt our child’s life by moving the rest of the family into my apartment and then moving them again after we found a house in Roseville.”
Alpha News reached out to Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman seeking comment on Wikstrom’s allegations that Johnson did not actually live in 40B. Alpha News also reached out to Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn, the DFL legislator who represents the district and has endorsed Johnson to replace her.
Neither returned those requests for comment. Alpha News has reached out to Johnson on Thursday seeking comment on the lawsuit, but has not yet received a reply.
This is a developing story.
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
