Lawmaker's Residence Under Scrutiny for Airbnb Ad

Frank Lasee stays in 2 different places
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 17, 2016 2:55 PM CDT
Wis. GOPer's Residency Under Scrutiny for Airbnb Ad
Stock photo   (Shutterstock)

If Frank Lasee ran for office using his wife's house as his primary residence, he'd have to run against incumbent Paul Ryan—which the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says would be "political suicide." Instead, the GOP state senator looking to fill a soon-to-be-vacant congressional seat says he mainly lives in a De Pere apartment in a different district. Only problem: He's listed out the place on Airbnb, Roll Call notes. The listing has since been taken down, but a cached version shows a $210-a-month offering for the "luxury apartment," which Journal Sentinel reporters actually tried booking in April. They dealt with Amy Joy Lasee, Frank's wife, who asked why they wanted to stay there and ultimately denied their request.

Why did they pull the listing? "Because we wanted to," says Lasee, who adds that they didn't want "everyone in the world looking at it." He then described a "crazy living arrangement" involving him mostly shacking up at the apartment and sometimes in Racine. This isn't new for Lasee, who had to produce a lease in 2014 when pressed by Democrats wanting evidence that he wasn't subletting the apartment. In a response to the state's Government Accountability Board, he said custody arrangements and the challenges of a "blended family" forced him to retain both residences. Yet he has switched his official residence a few times between Racine and De Pere during various divorce and child custody proceedings. Lasee chalks the whole hubbub up this time around to "a campaign issue." (More Airbnb stories.)

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