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John Hollenhorst ReportingThe Kane County Attorney is refusing to answer questions about where he actually lives, and he is angry we asked. The law requires him to be a "resident" of Kane County, but oddly, that doesn't necessarily mean he has to sleep there.
An anonymous caller claimed the Kane County Attorney is maintaining a "sham" address, an apartment where he doesn't really live. After our investigation, our answer is "Maybe. Maybe not," but in the eyes of the law it doesn't seem to matter.
The Hummel family lives in an upscale St. George neighborhood. John Hummel lives in a small decidedly non-upscale apartment in Kanab, Kane County, at least on paper.
Hummel, who refused to answer our questions, was appointed Kane County Attorney in December. In March, as part of running for election, he signed a Declaration of Candidacy solemnly swearing the Kanab address is his residence.
State law says a County Attorney must be a "resident" of that county, presumably so he shares the concerns of his constituents. But two residents in neighboring units told us they don't recall ever seeing Hummel or his car.
The landlord told us Hummel put down a security deposit in January, but doesn't pay rent. He provides legal services in lieu of rent. The landlord lives in the adjacent unit, but said he's seen Hummel only three times in seven months.
At the home in St. George, we spoke with Hummels' daughter.
Hummel's Daughter: (Question: Does he live her?) "He lives in Kanab." (Q: How often does he spend the night there?) "I don't know." (Q: Like, most of the time?) "I don't really want to do like an interview right now."
Hummel denounced KSL for interviewing his daughter; he labeled it "stalking". But he refused to discuss the facts of his residence, wouldn't answer questions and read a prepared statement.
John Hummel, Kane County Attorney: "It's unfortunate when publicity is sought for political gain. It's more unfortunate when the media allows itself to be used in this fashion."
Sheriff LaMont Smith said he believes Hummel does live in Kanab "on and off," and intends to move his entire family to Kanab as soon as they buy or build a new home.
Even if he never spent a night in Kanab, it's not clear that would be illegal, or even dishonest, because of the vague legal definition of residency. It revolves around the hard-to-prove concept of "intent". The principle residence is "that place in which the person's habitation is fixed and to which, whenever he is absent, he has the intention of returning."
The law presumes it to be "where a person's family resides," but not if he shows he doesn't intend to live with the family. A county attorney isn't required to prove residency.
The average person getting a driver license does have to prove it with two forms of documentation.
Shirrel Robinson Young, Kanab Resident; "Well, they're going to have to define what they mean by 'live' before I can prove it."
Is the intent of the law being followed? We can't say. Nobody has formally challenged Hummel's residence. He won the primary and is unopposed in November.
