City Councilman-elect Paul Lopez responded Friday to a court filing that challenged his eligibility for office.
One of Lopez’s opponents in District 3 has asked Denver District Court for a ruling on whether Lopez met residency requirements for the seat.
An attorney for Lopez wrote in a filing that he “was born in, has long lived in and has continuously possessed substantial familial, social and other contacts” in District 3.
Denver rules require a candidate to be a resident of the district for a year.
Lopez attorney Isaacson Rosenbaum wrote that “Lopez either physically resided at or had the … intention of returning to (his grandmother’s home in District 3) as his principal or primary home.”
As part of the complaint, former District 3 candidate JoAnn Phillips and her campaign manager, Alfonzo Suazo, submitted a change of address form Lopez filed with the Denver Election Commission last year. Lopez stated on the form that he moved from District 2 to District 3 eight months before Denver’s May 1 elections.
Lopez easily won a June 5 runoff over Phillips.
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 303-954-1657 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
