Mayor Ron Littlefield said Thursday he had assumed that District 6 Councilwoman Marti Rutherford had established legal residency.
He said, "In Business Law 101, there are certain things you can do to establish legal residency, and I had assumed that Marti had done those. I always believed that she had met all the legal requirements."
Mayor Littlefield said Ms. Rutherford told him "that she had rented an apartment (in District 6), gotten a separate meter, and changed her driver's license and voter registration."
He said, "I've never questioned where her legal residence was. I don't desire to get involved in that."
The City Council has set a meeting for next Tuesday at 2 p.m. after District 6 citizen complaints that Ms. Rutherford does not live within the district she is representing.
Mayor Littlefield said, "I've known Marti forever. She used to be my travel agent when she was in that business."
He said he knew that she and her mother had long lived on Hemphill Avenue. That address was formerly in District 6, but during the last redistricting it got moved to District 5. Ms. Rutherford served two terms as the District 6 councilperson, then she had an unsuccessful run for mayor.
When she went to run the last time, she took a "mother-in-law apartment" on Alta Vista Drive within District 6.
She said in a statement on Tuesday night that her former district had been "gerrymandered."
Mayor Littlefield said he does not agree that gerrymandering was involved or that any district changes were aimed at Ms. Rutherford.
He said, "Because of population changes, there was a general shift to the east toward the Hamilton Place area." He said keeping a racial balance in the districts was also a consideration.
Mayor Littlefield said the residency issue "is a council matter. The administration has no role to play."