admin
A startling new legal challenge this week alleges that Rep. Eric Swalwell may not even be a California resident, calling into question his eligibility to run for governor. The petition, filed by conservative filmmaker Joel Gilbert, claims mortgage documents list a Washington, D.C. mansion as Swalwell’s principal residence while campaign filings list an attorney’s Sacramento office as his California address.
According to the filings, Swalwell and his wife identified the D.C. property as their “principal residence” on mortgage paperwork in April 2022, a fact that undercuts any claim that Swalwell has been a California resident for the five years the state constitution requires. The petition argues that his December candidate Form 501 used a commercial office in downtown Sacramento — the offices of his counsel — rather than an actual home address, a representation the petitioner says was made under penalty of perjury.
The legal stakes are straightforward and severe: California’s constitution requires a governor to have been a resident of the state for five consecutive years before election day, and the petition asks Secretary of State Shirley Weber to remove Swalwell from the ballot. If the facts alleged in the complaint are true, they would render Swalwell ineligible and could expose him to criminal and civil consequences.
Swalwell’s campaign has pushed back, saying he has long resided in California and claiming the attorney’s address was used on campaign paperwork because of death threats and security concerns. That defense, convenient as it sounds, does not erase the mortgage documents that allegedly list a D.C. home as the family’s primary residence — nor does it answer why no clear California lease or deed appears in public records.
Conservatives and watchdogs smell hypocrisy and a Washington insider who thinks the rules don’t apply to him. Between allegations of listing a nonresidential Sacramento address, a declared D.C. principal residence, and the ongoing swirl of mortgage inquiries tied to recent politically charged probes, Swalwell’s credibility is taking a beating — and the voters deserve straight answers, not Washington sleight-of-hand.
Prominent voices on the right have already called for swift action by California’s elections officials, arguing that the law is plain and the secretary of state must enforce it without fear or favor. Those calls reflect a broader conservative demand for accountability: if a candidate cannot meet the basic residency requirement, the ballot must be protected for those who do.
This controversy shouldn’t be brushed aside as mere political gamesmanship; it feeds a larger narrative about D.C. elites who distance themselves from the states they claim to serve. Swalwell owes voters a full and transparent accounting of where he lives and why mortgage paperwork and campaign forms tell conflicting stories — anything less is a betrayal of the public trust and the rule of law.
