"Lifelong resident of the district" = important qualification?

[eyesroll]

Jason's campaign has started up, and while nobody is really paying attention to the race (it's county board, not president), a couple of bloggers and commenters have been giving him grief about being a "Kansas City native." He was born there and lived there for a few years, then Michigan, then Milwaukee County, then New Mexico, then Madison until he was 24 or so...he's lived in Wisconsin for most of his adult life, about 20 years total, and has been back in Milwaukee since 2005. Yes, he's not a lifelong Milwaukeean or a native Wisconsinite--he never made that representation--but he considers Milwaukee his hometown. Kansas City just happens to be where his parents were living when he was born.

This makes me wonder, though--I see a lot of "ooh, she moved into the district when she was 16 she's not a real Milwaukeean!" stuff out here. Is it just Milwaukee? Just small races? Just Republicans (the criticism has come almost exclusively from Scott Walker partisans)? Or just people who don't agree with that particular candidate looking for something other than differences on the issues (which there are)?

I'd like to know your thoughts; are you less likely to vote for someone who didn't grow up in the district, or who hasn't lived there for decades?

[rodeodance]

1. silly criteria in my book.

[Jimbo S]

2. Scott Walker is from Delavan

Came to Milwaukee to attend Marquette.

To answer the question, if a candidate moved to the district within the last year or two, yeah that would leave me suspect. I don't know what I would use as a cutoff, maybe four or five years.

On edit:
I don't think it's just a Milwaukee thing. When the effort was out to recall Madison's Mayor Dave, one of the organizers commented "He's from West Allis; not a native." That was his personal opinion.

[dembotoz]

3. might be valid for some

I used to live in Elkhorn, down in Walworth County.
I have (had) some friends there who had moved their
about 20 years prior. Their kids born and raised there.
Went thru the Elkhorn school system.
Yet they were considered outsiders.
There could offer actual instances where is was truly apparent
that they were treated as if they did not belong. They thought their kids
might be accepted because they were born there.
Funny thing is their kids move away a quickly as possible. The mom and dad remain there.

I truly do not care if someone is a lifelong member of a district.
But other people for whatever bizarre reason, seem to care.
People vote the way they do for strange reasons sometimes...
As proof, I offer George Bush...

I suspect it must be a factor, for no other reason that when a candidate
can say he(she) is a life long resident they almost always do.
I am also guilty because when a candidate asks me to review a draft of campaign lit, an
the lifelong resident phrase is in there, I never say it is fluff and suggest its removal.

[dragonlady]

4. Only in some cases

If the issues to be faced are very specific to the district and knowledge of the district's history is important, then it might be significant. But if the candidate is a quick study and can show a strong knowledge of the community and understanding of its problems, and the voters like what they hear, time in the district shouldn't have much effect. That's the rational analysis. But as dembotoz says, people vote in strange ways sometimes, so who really knows? Probably some of both. Glad to clear this up for you! :hi:

[sybylla]

5. If you think it might be an issue, make it work for you.

I’d pivot it and say, “It doesn’t take a life long resident of the county to see that the people’s business could be done better” and then list three idiotic things that happened in the past five years to show longevity and prove the point. Of course you can make that pivot statement stronger or weaker according to your taste.

I’m not saying residency and birthplace should never be a factor, but in this case I think it’s just being used as a distraction.

[LiberalFighter]

6. I'm from Wisconsin and consider myself a Wisconsin native

but have lived in Indiana for the last 21 years. They say I should be considered a Hoosier but NFW will I do that. As soon as I can I am out of here and back in Wisconsin.

Go Packers! More snow!