Typical Jersey: Congressman Chris Smith's Residency Issues

Being from New Jersey the following article caught my eye. More under-handed behavior from a Garden State politician? Say it ain't so!

Chris Smith serves the Fourth District of New Jersey close to the central part of the state. He is the "dean" of the delegation, having served in Congress since his election in 1980 at the young age of 27 years old. Smith is a strong social conservative, and has served stints as chairman of the Veteran's Committee and is currently a senior member on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

An article earlier this year exposed that Smith has been spending very little time in his district over the past decade:

Smith has spent about half his life in Congress and has lived in Virginia for most of that time. In 1983, he bought a home in the Washington suburb of Herndon, Va. in order to be near his family while attending to his Congressional responsibilities. He currently rents a small apartment in Hamilton Township.

In 2000, Smith spent 73 days and 41 nights in his district, according to Congressional spending reports. That's 20% of his days (including travel days) and 11.23% of his nights. Since then, records show the number of days Smith spent in New Jersey has decreased almost every year.

2001- 59 days, 31 nights

2002 -56 days, 26 nights

2003- 47 days, 23 nights

2004 -43 days, 19 nights

2005 - 40 days, 15 nights

2006 - 29 days, 7 nights

2007 - 48 days, 22 nights

Over the last eight years, Smith has spent a total of 395 days and 184 nights in New Jersey while on official business. There have been some additional days during even years that aren't accounted for in the Congressional reports, since they were campaign stops and not paid for by his legislative office. But Smith himself says that the numbers are, by and large, accurate.

"I have no reason to question your numbers," said Smith, who said that he only spent seven nights in the district in 2006 because his wife was hospitalized for much of the year.

When I read this earlier in the year, my response was typically incredulous: another politician who claims he is going to Washington to shake things up, but in the end, he himself is changed. The fact of the matter is that Smith is not from Alaska or Hawaii -- he is from New Jersey, central New Jersey right near Trenton to be exact, and is thus just two hours or so by train from Union Station in our nation's Capital. That he has actually lived in Virginia for the last 20 years is an embarrassment to his district, the state of New Jersey, and most of all to his constituents.

But wait, it gets better. An item in today's Politico explains:

Smith’s daughter, who until recently lived with him in the family’s Herndon, Va., home, obtained in-state tuition privileges at a prestigious Virginia university — saving the Smiths $20,000 per year off the $29,000 tuition charged to out-of-state students.

But what Smith saved in cash could end up costing him politically – Democrats says the claim to Virginia residency shows that Smith is out of touch with the New Jersey constituents he’s supposed to represent.

...

Martin Gillespie, a Smith spokesman, said the application doesn’t violate any laws because Smith’s daughter does, in fact, live in Virginia. The in-state exemption, he added, was co-filed not by Smith but by his wife of 31 years, Marie, who works in Virginia as a non-resident and pays taxes in both Virginia and New Jersey.

This is interesting on several levels. First, Smith's wife votes in New Jersey and ran as a delegate for John McCain to the GOP convention. How then can she claim she is a resident of Virginia? Second, this is obviously, political double-talk here, with a politician's mouthpiece trying to cover his boss's butt. So, Smith represents the Fourth District of New Jersey and votes there, as does his wife, but he is hiding behind her in order to get their daughter a discount at a top university? Third, CHRIS SMITH HAS BEEN ELECTED TO REPRESENT NEW JERSEY, NOT VIRGINIA! Am I missing something here?

This may or may not be illegal, I don't know the state laws implicated here. But something is fishy when his wife can vote in New Jersey, but then claim Virginia residency in order to get her daughter in-state tuition at UVA.

Look, I realize college is expensive for anyone, and that a 28-year congressman may not be filthy rich (though most of them are). Furthermore, as a Rutgers Law alum, I can acknowledge that the University of Virginia is likely a better and more prestigious school than New Jersey's fine university.

I guess that this story outrages me because one, it is my state, and we have been dealing with unscrupulous behavior from our politicians for too long, and two, it really does not make sense that Smith would spend so little time in Virginia with New Jersey so close to Washington. Really, dozens of members of Congress from California, the South, the West, and elsewhere go home just about every weekend.

Chris Smith made a choice long ago to raise his family in Virginia. That was his choice, and I can't really question it. That being said, it is unfortunate that he holds his district and his constituents in such low regard that he is never in the Garden State, and he is basically bilking the state of Virginia to help fund his daughter's silver-plated education.

The situation stinks, and it should bother Smith's constituents back home. Sadly, I do not think that it will impact him much, as he is facing a third-tier opponent, and the DCCC has given zero indication that it will weigh in here. Mind you, while Smith has long been popular, this is not an overwhelmingly Republican district.

The DCCC should consider slapping together a commercial on this. Smith deserves to be hit on it since he apparently doesn't represent his district anymore.