Otto Banks (front) and his attorney John Bravacos outside the Dauphin County Courthouse after their hearing
In court on Tuesday, mayoral candidate Otto Banks attempted to prove his residency in Harrisburg in a case that, if lost, would knock him out of the race.
On March 16, Harrisburg resident Joseph Wright filed a petition against Banks, challenging his qualification as a mayoral candidate. The case was taken up in the Dauphin County Courthouse on Tuesday, but Judge Andrew Dowling did not immediately issue a decision.
Wright’s attorney, Karen Balaban, argued that while Banks may have changed his address to 1204 S. 19th St., Harrisburg, it’s not where he has been primarily living. Banks also owns a home on Hoffman Drive in Swatara Township.
“This is not a mere technicality,” Balaban said in court on Tuesday. “This is an absolute requirement that determines eligibility.”
According to Banks, he purchased the Harrisburg house in late August 2020, thereby meeting the requirement that a candidate must live in the city for at least a year before the general election, which is on Nov. 2. He did say that he still stays at his Swatara Township house, which he bought in 2007 and still owns, intermittently.
Balaban relied heavily on utility records to claim that Banks was not spending time in his Harrisburg home.
She used records from UGI Utilities to show that Banks had asked the company to not turn on natural gas service until Dec. 31.
Additionally, Nancy Kuhn a customer service manager at Capital Region Water, testified that, over the course of five months, records show that Banks’ water usage was zero. According to CRW, that could either mean that he used no water or that he used a very low amount, as the company’s meters only start recording at 1,000 gallons. Comparatively, Kuhn said a typical customer will use 1,800 gallons in one month. During those same months, she said that Banks was not receiving or paying water bills for his Harrisburg home.
Graph provided by Karen Balaban to show the decrease in Banks’ water usage compared to the previous owner of the S. 19th Street house.
“Changing his address doesn’t show he is using his address,” Balaban said.
Banks testified that he has intended to renovate the property, but that the COVID-19 pandemic has made following through on that difficult.
“The only thing I am guilty of today is investing in my house and raising property value in the community,” he said.
However, Ann Montgomery, deputy codes administrator for Harrisburg, said there have not been any building, electrical or plumbing permits issued to Banks’ Harrisburg property—some of which would have been required for the work he said he was having done.
Banks also attributed his low utility usage to the frequent traveling he does to Colombia, where his wife and son live. He also has a son who lives in Harrisburg.
Banks asserted that he intends to sell his Swatara Township home in the near future.
“I never really wanted that property, and I’m happy to sell that property,” he said. “I live in the city, that is where my home is.”
According to Banks, he uses his Swatara Township home as an office space for his consulting business, Skyler Group LLC, and occasionally stays the night. His son who lives in Harrisburg uses the house sometimes, as well, he said.
“He always returns to the property [in Harrisburg], and that’s the property he believes to be his home,” Banks’ attorney, John Bravacos, said.
After hours of hearing the case, Dowling adjourned the meeting.
Balaban suspects he will make a decision by the end of the week.
“We believe that is was a very fair hearing,” Banks said. “We are just looking forward to getting past this so we can continue to keep doing good work here in the community. Regardless of the outcome, Otto Banks is here to stay.”
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