Residency Questions Prod Hayden to Leave Guest House

City Council candidate Tom Hayden has moved from a Westwood guest house into the main house on the same property after questions were raised about his legal residency.

Hayden moved from his Brentwood home into a guest house in the backyard of campaign coordinator Sandy Brown to establish residency in the 5th Los Angeles City Council District so he could compete in the April 10 election, according to Hayden.

That move drew charges of carpetbagging from other candidates.

A neighbor of Brown filed a complaint with the city Building and Safety Department, alleging that Hayden’s rental of the guest house for $1,000 a month violated zoning codes limiting the use of such structures to unpaid, temporary stays by guests of the main residence.

When inspectors arrived at Brown’s property Thursday, they found a guest house with no signs of permanent occupancy, according to Dave Keim, an administrator for the department.

“There were no clothes in the closet, no kitchen with cooking materials, no bed,” Keim said in announcing that no violations were found.

Parke Skelton, a campaign consultant for Hayden, said that “about the time the building inspectors contacted Sandy and said there might be a problem, Tom moved his bed and stuff into the main house.”

Fred Woocher, an attorney for Hayden, said that once the candidate established his legal residency at Brown’s Weyburn Avenue property, that residency is not affected by a move from one portion of the property to another.

Even so, other candidates in the race questioned Hayden’s mobility.

“He doesn’t sleep there,” said Steve Saltzman. “Everybody knows it. It’s a joke. He doesn’t have legal residency.”