When he announced his interest in challenging Sen. Ralph Smith for the 19th Senate District seat in August, former Sen. Brandon Bell made it clear in comments to the Roanoke Times that Sen. Smith’s “mobility” was a major issue for him as a 19th District resident:
“…’when they started running the U-Hauls around, I got irritated because it seemed to be more about the party than the people in the district. I started wondering if anybody was going to step in and make a contest of it. As it’s gotten closer and closer I’ve gotten more and more likely to run as it looked less and less likely that someone would step forward.’”
Now that Election Day is less than one month away, the Bell campaign is publicly challenging Sen. Smith’s residency:
“The voters have a right to know if Ralph Smith is actually living in the district he is asking to represent, and Smith has an obligation to answer them.”
Reporters from the Roanoke Times were more than happy to conduct their own investigation by visiting Sen. Smith’s rental home on Bent Mountain in Roanoke County and were shocked to find no one home and the blinds closed–during the day, presumably while citizen Ralph Smith should have been at work.
That was not enough, however; the reporter had to check Sen. Smith’s garbage can sitting on the street! Comically, the only thing the reporter found in the garbage can was a September 28th issue of…The Roanoke Times.
For his part, Sen. Smith’s campaign reiterates that the senator is a legal resident of the 19th District:
“Ralph Smith is a legal resident of the 19th District, and Brandon Bell knows it. This is yet another in a series of attempts by Brandon to gain attention for his floundering campaign,” [Smith’s campaign manager Steve ] Mabry said. “It’s sad that, four years after voters selected Ralph Smith to represent them, Brandon has not been able to move on from his 2007 defeat.”
Despite the Smith campaign’s assertions, the Roanoke Times might still doubt Sen. Smith’s legal residency, but at least they have no reason to doubt the senator’s true feelings for their newspaper!
