State Rep. Connie Johnson - facing a lawsuit targeting her place on the ballot - held a defiant news conference this morning, putting her opponents on notice that she intends to be around for the August primary.
“I am flattered by their fear,” Johnson said. “However, for the record, I am deeply concerned about their tactics and where these tactics take us as a community and as members of the Missouri Democratic Party.
One of Johnson’s two rivals from within the party - State Rep. Robin Wright-Jones - filed a lawsuit challenging her residency status.
As reported in the Post-Dispatch and elsewhere, court documents and other records suggest that Johnson has been staying with her ailing mother at a home in the city’s West End - which is both outside the House District she represents, and the State Senate she is seeking to represent.
In today’s presser, Johnson provided a copy of her answer to the lawsuit, which seems to allow room for ambiguity. The motion states that Johnson has “maintained a physical presence” at her district address on Tara Lane in the city’s North Point neighborhood, “although, like most other state representatives of this state, she maintains more than one residence…”
But that address, Johnson added, was not always where she rested her head.
“Have I ever left for a little while? Absolutely,” Johnson said.
Further blurring the picture is that Johnson rented out her district home to a pair of tenants, whom she later sued for failing to pay rent.
William Keys, a city firefighter who rented the home with his fiancee, said Johnson was never around. Johnson maintains that they all shared the house in a “living arrangement that went afoul.”
“The Love Boat hit an iceberg,” Johnson said.
Johnson and her attorney, Rufus Tate, expect to be in court soon. A deposition is also scheduled for later this week. Meanwhile, Johnson appears poised for a fight.
“Mark my words,” Johnson said. “I will be vindicated. These lies will not stand and I will be on the ballot in August.”
Johnson: Confident she’ll stay on the battle