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Legg Eager To Resolve Rookie Political Mistake

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By TOM JACKSON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 12, 2008

At 33, John Legg considers himself a sapling in an old-growth forest. Never mind his two elections to the state Legislature nor, counting his days as an aide to then-state Rep. Heather Fiorentino, that he has spent nearly a third of his life racing around the corridors of power in Tallahassee.

When he surveys the House of Representatives, he sees elders among the statesmen/women, former business owners, corporate leaders and municipal and county Pooh-Bahs who long ago earned their stripes as sure-footed politicians. They, he suspects, would never find themselves in the prickly place he's arranged for himself even as he seeks a third term representing northwest Pasco-centric District 46.

Legg, a Republican, and his bride, the former Suzanne Chase, a charter-school administrator, own two houses. This is not unusual, but it is problematic. Although, for the record, at least Legg hasn't lost track of how many houses his family owns.

One house, which the state regards as his legal residence, is on Woodcrest Drive in Port Richey. It is the modest, two-bedroom domicile of a bachelor, which he was in 2005 when he bought it. It is also well within District 46. The other, a roomy, four-bedroom Craftsman bungalow in the Trinity subdivision of Longleaf, arrived with Suzanne and three teenagers from a previous marriage when the two wed on New Year's Day 2007.
Longleaf lies outside District 46, and therein lies the difficulty. Or the appearance of difficulty, which is much the same thing during a campaign.

State law requires legislators' legal residences to be within their districts, but fails to prescribe where they actually must live. Nothing in the statutes establishes a quota for overnighting within a lawmaker's district. So it was that Legg quietly split time between the Woodcrest and Longleaf houses, much as some folks, elected officials included, split time between their main residence and their beach getaway.

It might never have become an issue (if issue it is) had Legg not chosen a family photograph on the porch of the Longleaf house to feature on his campaign Web site. (The picture has been removed.) Old pros, Legg concedes, would not have stumbled similarly.

My Bad

Last week, the St. Petersburg Times took notice on its news pages, then took umbrage in an editorial, making much of a real estate agent's failure to corroborate Legg's recollection of the couple's plan, which was: sell both houses, then buy or build something large enough to accommodate everyone - newcomer Jack, making the family six - well within the confines of District 46.

"I have the paperwork," Legg says. "We put both on the market when we came back from our honeymoon, Jan. 24 2007."

But the listings expired, as listings do, especially in the current crummy real estate climate, and the Leggs had failed to re-up. Says Legg: My bad. A correction, to be overseen by the detail-minded Mrs. Legg, is in the process.

Let's Make A Deal

"When you marry into a family with children, that's a challenge," says Legg, who also describes the location-splitting arrangement as "a pain." However, "If voters think that's an issue and don't want me around anymore, I'll understand."

Early feedback suggests it won't be pivotal, and could fade utterly with the appearance of for-sale signs in the front yards of both houses. "We can't go bankrupt," Legg says, "but if it doesn't hurt too much financially, we'll make a deal to bring this to closure."

Times like these make an elected official ache for his very own Tony Rezko to render his real estate problems obsolete. OK, maybe not. Even rookies don't goof that badly.

Tom Jackson can be reached at (813) 948-4219.

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