Addison Mayor Joe Chow rents an apartment in Addison and owns a house in Dallas, leading some in the city to question his residency as he seeks re-election in May to a third term.
Those questions, which Chow said he's heard more frequently in recent months, came to a head this week when an anonymous packet arrived in some Addison mailboxes, complete with pictures of Chow's vehicle parked overnight at the Dallas home.
Chow vehemently denied accusations that he lives in the Dallas house.
"I love Addison. I love this urban life," he said.
Chow said that he has lived in various Addison apartments since 2002 and that his oldest son, Arthur, 28, lives in the Dallas house. Public records list Arthur Chow as living at that address. They also link Chow's daughter, Alice, 23, to the Dallas address. The mayor says she now lives at a different address in North Dallas.
But Dallas County voter registration records and driver's license records list both children as living in Addison.
Arthur and Alice Chow both voted in Addison elections through last November, according to Dallas County voting records. But the mayor says they haven't lived in the city since at least October 2006.
Neither of his children returned phone calls seeking comment.
The packet questioning Chow's residency was sent to about 25 people this week. It contained photos showing a car registered to Chow's wife, Chi Chi Lin, parked in the Dallas home's driveway late at night and again the next morning.
The photos were taken by a private investigator hired by Addison resident Bill Signs, who confirmed Friday that he sent the letter.
Angry about photos
The Chows say that they are incensed that they were followed and that it's normal for them to visit their son after work. The Chows own the May Dragon restaurant in Dallas.
They have lived in several apartments in Addison. Most recently, they moved last fall from 15510 Quorum Drive to their current address at 15777 Quorum Drive.
The Chows have offered a host of documents to show they live in Addison, including utility and Internet service bills and a letter from the apartment management at their previous address. A leasing consultant confirmed that the Chows live at their current Addison address. Driver's license records also show the Chows living in Addison.
But the alarm permit and the water bill at the Dallas house are listed in Chow's name. Public records show three vehicles registered to Chow at the Dallas address.
Chow said he bought those vehicles for his children. He also said he pays all the bills for the Dallas house, though friends have chastised him for not making his son and other children take responsibility for themselves.
"Like most Asian-American parents, [we] always treat their kids real nice," he said.
The Texas Department of Insurance showed Chow's license to sell insurance listed at the Dallas address from Jan. 3, 2002, until Feb. 12, 2009.
Chow said he thought it best to use the Dallas address rather than change addresses every time he moved.
Signs said that Chow was aware that people were questioning his residency and that the change in the insurance license is more than coincidental.
"He's scurrying around to clean up the paperwork mess," Signs said. "I will tell you he's living in that apartment there today. But what has he been doing since 2003 when he became a City Council member?"
On Friday, some of Chow's friends came to his defense.
"His reputation in Addison and throughout the region is of a very honest and hard-working mayor," said political consultant Brian Mayes, who's been friends with Chow since he was first elected to the Addison City Council in 2003.
"I would say he's one of the most trusted political figures, albeit quietly, in North Texas."
Council member Jimmy Niemann said Addison residents don't appreciate anonymous attacks on elected officials.
"They appreciate open and honest dialogue, and it's not something I think is appropriate for Addison," he said.
Not easy to prove
Challenging a candidate's residency is difficult.
Under state law, the city secretary must take at face value what is on the application for a place on the ballot. The candidates swear under oath that the information is correct. Unless someone provides information proving that a candidate lives outside the city, the candidate remains on the ballot.
One of Chow's opponents in the mayoral race, Todd Meier, said this week that he was unfamiliar with the residency questions and the voting issue. But he said the idea of nonresidents voting in city elections concerns him most.
"Elections in Addison are so darn close. Literally every vote in Addison counts," he said. "The last two or three council elections have been single-digit or close to single-digit differences."
A $58 million bond package on November's ballot failed by 14 votes.
Chow's other opponent, Tamara Whitman, did not return phone calls for comment.
Chow said he doesn't know why his children failed to change their voter registration.
"You need to ask them. I have no knowledge about it," Chow said. "All I can say is my children love ... [me]. They want to vote for their dad."
Later, he said it's not unusual for people to fail to change their voter registration when they move. He said he would talk to his children about updating their addresses.
Officials say criminal charges for people who use false addresses on their voter registration are rare.
Chow said late Friday that a lawyer told him no laws have been broken as long as his children are not registered to vote in more than one location.
He also said that many people grow up, go off to live or work elsewhere and go back home to vote.
"So many of my friends and people I know, their kids go out of town to work or study and come back to vote," he said.
The district attorney's office is responsible for investigating people accused of using a false address on their voter registration, Dallas County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet said.
"But will anything be done on this?" he asked. "You could count on one hand in the last 20 or 25 years where these cases get elevated to a court for a judge to even consider these things."
Perhaps the biggest impact would come from voters themselves, he said.
"You have the jury of public opinion, and does that pass the smell test with them?" Sherbet said.
