Day: October 29, 2024

On Saturday, residents of Phoenix’s “historic” Country Club Manor neighborhood gathered for a “spooktacular” Halloween party aimed at helping neighbors “reconnect.” A party invitation obtained by the Washington Free Beacon touts uneventful offerings like lemonade, a craft table, and sweet and savory snacks. It also lists a noteworthy host: Dr. Amish Shah, the Democratic nominee for Arizona’s First Congressional District.

Shah’s status as party host is significant because the home is not located in that district, but rather in Arizona’s neighboring third district. Shah has thus attempted to distance himself from the home, saying that his “official residence” is a first district condominium he started renting with his girlfriend last year, not the third district home he bought for nearly $1 million in 2016.

Saturday’s party is the latest piece of evidence calling that claim into question. In addition to his role in hosting the party, Shah has campaigned from the home as recently as Sept. 24, when he joined a Zoom call with supporters from its sizable kitchen littered with groceries, the Free Beacon reported. One week later, Shah sent a fundraising email from his cat, Miss Meowerson, that included a photo of the pair in the same kitchen. Shah is also saving money on property taxes by declaring the home his primary residence, records show.

A video of the party obtained by the Free Beacon shows attendees conversing in Shah’s front yard, while a sign posted in the country club neighborhood advertising it touts a “Spooktacular Bash” at “Dr. Amish Shah’s” home.

Karen Underwood, Shah’s campaign manager, downplayed Shah’s involvement with the party. She said Shah “was asked to use the front lawn for a Halloween party for children who live nearby” and “did not attend the party but is happy that the kids had a good time in his absence.” A source who observed the party, however, suggested Shah did attend. The Democrat did not post a photo from the campaign trail on Saturday, though he did the day before.

Shah is not required to reside in the first district to represent it. Still, his living situation could pose more than just a political problem.

That’s because voting records obtained by the Free Beacon show Shah was registered to vote at his third district home until October 2023, when he changed his registration to reflect the address of his first district condo, which he began renting that same month. The move allowed Shah to cast a ballot for himself in his crowded July primary. But Arizona law bars its residents from registering to vote at a secondary address, meaning Shah’s address change—if he in fact permanently resides in his third district home—could have been illegal.

“It is illegal to register to vote in a precinct where you don’t actually live and intend to live indefinitely,” former U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona Michael Bailey told the Free Beacon last week.

Shah’s third district home, located in a “highly coveted” country club, is now worth roughly $2 million, roughly double what Shah paid in 2016. It features “gracious living spaces including a large formal dining room, an eat-in kitchen and both a formal living room and separate family room,” according to a real estate listing.

Shah campaigned from that kitchen well after he switched his voter registration to reflect his rented condo. During a Sept. 24 Zoom event with Swing Left, a left-wing group, Shah sat in the kitchen as he touted his background as an “emergency physician” who works “in the heart of our district.” At one point, Shah’s cat, Miss Meowerson, appeared in the background.

Miss Meowerson also appeared in an Oct. 3 fundraising email, which Shah sent from the perspective of the cat. “When I’m not hard at work running dad’s campaign,” the email said, “I can be found … waiting for my dad to come back from door-knocking so he can give me treats.” An accompanying photo showed Shah and Miss Meowerson seated in the kitchen of Shah’s third district home.

The Democrat’s 2024 property tax assessment, meanwhile, lists a $600 “State Aid to Education” tax credit that can only be applied to a home the owner actively lives in. The second half of Shah’s 2024 property taxes is due in March.

Shah has not addressed the evidence suggesting he still lives in the home. Last week, he acknowledged in a statement sent to the Free Beacon that he owns “a property just outside the district” but said the home is not his “official residence.” His campaign did not answer questions about his property taxes and photos showing Shah campaigning from the home.

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