Romero Seeks Court Order Removing Hart From the November Ballot for District 3 Board of Supervisor's Open Seat
Asks judge to add him to the ballot in Hart's place
In the June primary election, Clay Romero finished third in the four-candidate race for Mendocino County’s 3rd District supervisorial seat, receiving 1,030 votes — behind Eric Hart and Buffey Wright Bourassa. Under the rules for the office, a candidate who wins a majority of the primary vote — more than 50% — is elected outright; when no one does, the top two vote-getters advance to the November ballot. That is how Hart and Bourassa reached the general election and Romero did not.
Now Romero is asking a Superior Court judge to remove Hart from the November ballot, arguing Hart was not legally qualified to run because he was allegedly not domiciled in the district when he filed his nomination papers.
Romero filed the petition July 24, asking the court to order Mendocino County Registrar of Voters Katrina Bartolomie to remove Hart’s name from the Nov. 3 ballot and replace it with his own.
Bourassa, who finished second, has already advanced to the November ballot and is unaffected by the petition; Romero’s filing targets only Hart’s spot, arguing that if Hart is disqualified, he — as the next-highest finisher — should take it.
The petition asks the court to declare that Hart was not qualified to run “because he was not domiciled and qualified to vote in District 3 when his nomination papers were issued.”
Judge Ann Moorman is scheduled to hear the petition Sept. 1.
“I’m looking forward to the hearing to clear this up once and for all,” Hart said in a text message. “Until then, I’ve been advised not to talk about the case publicly. Check back with me after the hearing, and I’ll be happy to talk about it.”
Romero declined to discuss the legal arguments in his petition but said he remains committed to serving the 3rd District.
“I look forward to serving the people as their next 3rd District Supervisor, and not simply filling a seat,” Romero wrote in an email. “I work diligently and solve problems that face the people of Mendocino County. I’m persistent and never allow these problems to go unresolved or ignored.”
One Candidate, Two Residences
Romero’s argument rests on the fact that Hart is registered to vote on Williams Ranch Road, where he lives with his wife, Dr. Jillian Cipa-Tatum, and their dog. The home is a modest one-bedroom with a deck that provides sweeping views of the forested hills below. To an unexpected guest arriving on a weekend afternoon, it appeared tidy and lived in.
The couple rent the 72-acre property with an option to buy. They also own an adjoining 34-acre parcel on Northview Drive.
The setup suits a couple who value their privacy. Their closest neighbors on Williams Ranch Road are a friendly family with a large pack of guardian dogs. The canines appear to share genetics with the ancient Kuvasz breed, which served as guardians for the royal family of Hungary in the 15th century. When a visitor enters their territory, the canines are quick to make their presence known.
Hart and his wife lived on the Northview Drive property until moving to the Williams Ranch Road home in the fall of 2025. Hart updated his voter registration after the move.
California law does not prohibit candidates from moving into a district before running for office. In Willits, in particular, it is not uncommon for people to change their residence and decide to run for office based on their new address. Willits Mayor Tom Allman moved into the city in May 2024. He adjusted his voter registration weeks later, filed his paperwork, and successfully ran for city council. That same election, incumbent Council Member and Mayor Saprina Rodriguez was left off the ballot due to questions about her voter registration after she changed her residence within city limits.
The Letter of the Law
To run for county supervisor, a candidate must be both a registered voter in the district and legally domiciled there.
Elections Code section 201 requires candidates to be registered voters in the district when nomination papers are issued. Government Code sections 24001 and 25041 impose additional residency requirements for county offices, including that supervisors be registered voters in their district for at least 30 days before the nomination deadline. Hart cleared the deadline easily.
The central issue in Romero’s petition is domicile.
Under Elections Code section 349, a person’s voting residence is their domicile — the one place where they physically live and intend to remain. A person may own or occupy multiple homes, but can have only one legal domicile.
California law says changing domicile requires more than updating a voter registration card. Elections Code section 2024 provides that both an actual move and the intent to make the new location a permanent home are required.
The court will have to decide whether Hart established his legal domicile at the Williams Ranch Road residence before his nomination papers were issued.
The County Counsel’s Guidance
The residency question first reached the Board of Supervisors on July 21, when certification of the June 2 primary came up on the consent calendar. Supervisor Mo Mulheren pulled the item — Item C9 — and asked county counsel to address an email the board had received “because of one of the candidates.”
Interim County Counsel Katharine Elliott told the board state law required the election to be certified regardless of the board’s vote. She also explained that the concern “was related to the third district and whether there was residency there.”
Elliott also clarified that the registrar “is not required to verify or determine if a candidate meets the qualifications” and may rely on a candidate’s declaration under penalty of perjury. If citizens have concerns about a candidate’s residency, they can take action through state court.
Registrar Katrina Bartolomie did not referee the dispute. Addressing the board later that morning in her department’s report, she said only that her office had certified the primary on time despite being short-staffed, with her chief assistant registrar out on medical leave. “We certified the election,” she said. “We closed the roll.”
Read our coverage of the questions about Eric Hart’s residency:
D3 Candidate Eric Hart Lives in a House in District 3, July 23, 2026