In St. Joe County assessor race, Castellon denies opponent's claims he lives out of state

A challenge filed to the St. Joseph County Election Board raises questions about whether Penn Township Assessor Mike Castellon, who's running for county assessor, should be allowed to hold office given allegations he's been living in a Florida home he bought last spring instead of residing primarily in the township he represents.

The accusation comes from Castellon's Democratic opponent in this year's race for St. Joseph County assessor, Ted Booker. A former Tribune reporter, Booker says others raised the issue to him. He claims Castellon is violating state law that requires an assessor to "reside within the township" or else forfeit office.

Castellon, a Republican, denied that the Florida house is his main residence, saying Thursday that he and his wife had been renovating it for a retirement home until the opportunity arose to run for county assessor. The couple rents an apartment at Autumn Lakes Apartments and Townhomes in Mishawaka, records show and Castellon confirmed.

"That was a second home that eventually we would retire to," Castellon, who has served as Penn Township assessor since 2011, told The Tribune of his home in Port Charlotte, Florida. "I am fulfilling my job requirements. That’s all I can really say.”

The two candidates are vying to replace longtime Democratic St. Joseph County Assessor Rosemary Mandrici, whose decision to step down offers Republicans a chance to flip the seat.

The race follows a string of years in which assessed property values have risen dramatically, along with appeals from taxpayers. About 90% of real estate parcels received higher valuations this year, and gross valuations of all 118,000 county real estate parcels have risen more than $2 billion in the past two years.

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Booker's challenge rests on documents he obtained from the Charlotte County Appraiser's Office, in Florida, showing Castellon's wife qualified for a homestead tax exemption on a house the couple bought in Port Charlotte in March 2021. The exemption, which reduces the assessed value of a home by up to $50,000 for tax purposes, means she considers the home her primary residence and resides in the home. Under Florida law, however, a resident can temporarily stay elsewhere so long as they intend to return.

Charlotte County Property Appraiser Paul Polk confirmed that Castellon's wife provided documents proving her Florida residency, such as a driver's license or voter registration records.

Castellon himself did not apply for the exemption, Polk confirmed, though he jointly owns the property with his wife.

While owning the Florida home, the couple has been renting the Mishawaka apartment since at least April 2021, according to voter registration records obtained by The Tribune.

In response to Booker's claim that Castellon has spent most of his time at the Florida home for the past year, Castellon told The Tribune, "That is false." He said he's been working at the Penn Township office as needed, recently appearing in person to speak with landowners appealing higher valuations.

Angela Nussmeyer, co-director of the Indiana Election Division, said "there's a lot of nuance as it relates to determining residency."

“The person is assumed to reside at the address that’s listed on their (voter) registration document," she said, noting that the document is signed under penalty of perjury. "If someone does not believe that the individual resides there, then they can file a challenge with the local election office.”

St. Joseph County attorney Mike Misch said Booker will, under state law, need to "file a sworn statement with the county election board" in order to schedule a hearing for his challenge. Booker plans to do so, and the board is expected to consider the matter toward the end of August.

“I think it's important for an assessor to be in their local office dealing directly with the public and taxpayers," said Booker, who currently works for the Elkhart County assessor's office.

"You're doing a disservice to the taxpaying public if you’re doing the work from out of state,” he said.

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Indiana law is stricter on residency requirements for county assessors than township assessors. To serve as St. Joseph County assessor, a candidate must have resided in the county for at least one year and must own real property — a parcel of land and any property attached to it — in the county upon taking office Jan. 1.

Booker, who began renting an apartment in Irish Hills Apartments last fall, will have met the first requirement come the November general election and said he's actively researching property to buy in the near term.

Castellon appears to have met the property ownership requirement just two days before the St. Joseph County Republican Party chose him as its nominee for county assessor.

A densely overgrown vacant lot at 325 S. Kentucky St., on the city's west side, was transferred to Castellon for $10 via a quit-claim deed filed June 20 by Berkshire Hathaway realtor Joe Grabill, records show. Grabill is involved with the county Republican Party, joining a 2020 lawsuit alleging political bias against Republican judicial candidates.

Quit-claim deeds are known as fast ways to execute real estate transfers. Asked whether he has plans for the overgrown lot in the LaSalle Park neighborhood, Castellon said he doesn't yet.

“I don’t know. We just bought the land with the intention of maybe building a house," he told The Tribune. "We haven’t really talked about that.”

Booker aims to reduce the number of appeals filed each year by St. Joseph County taxpayers and introduce an electronic option for submitting them. Castellon has said his advantages are that he was born and raised in St. Joseph County and has developed a deep knowledge of land valuation in a decade as Penn Township assessor.

Email South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: St. Joe County assessor's race sees dispute over candidate's residency