UPDATE: Gobrecht responds in a statement
Brandon Gobrecht responded to the recent residency challenge filed against him with the following statement:
*“Of course my water is off, I am renovating my house. The entire downstairs has busted up concrete and I am running new water lines. While I am at it, I am tweaking some stuff upstairs. I don't have a separate shut off for the upstairs and downstairs, I was quoted over $6,000 to make that happen. This is dirty politics being played by someone who is demonstrating that they are unhinged and obsessed.
I wouldn't play ball with him, and he is trying to make me regret it. When he told me to ‘decide’ whether I was ‘on the side of the cover up or the side of the righteous,’ I knew exactly what he meant.”*
The hearing is still set for Monday, June 16 at 9 AM. We’ll continue to provide updates as the story develops.
A formal residency challenge has been filed against Law Director Brandon Gobrecht, alleging he does not reside at his registered voting address of 1116 E. Southern Ave. The challenger claims Gobrecht is actually living at 3645 State Route 4, the residence of Councilwoman Clarissa Slater.
A hearing has been scheduled for Monday, June 16 at 9:00 AM at the Crawford County Board of Elections.
According to Board of Elections officials Markley and Leeann Grau, this type of hearing is not about whether someone can hold office—it’s about whether a person voted legally based on their stated residence. In this case, since Gobrecht serves as City Law Director, a position that does not require residency in a specific ward, it remains to be seen whether or not this will affect his role in city government.
Markley noted that the burden of proof is on the challenger to show that Gobrecht does not reside at the address on record—a threshold she described as "difficult to do." Any further legal consequences would fall under the jurisdiction of County Prosecutor Matt Crall, who has not yet issued a statement.
Notably, the challenge comes from the council president, who referenced FreeWire’s prior coverage of a residency challenge filed against himself earlier this year in an email, raising the question of whether this new challenge is in part retaliatory.
FreeWire will attend the hearing and continue to follow the story as it unfolds.
