Commissioner, where do you live?
A pre-holiday ride-along for Holmes Beach Commissioner Jayne Christenson with a police officer resurfaced residency questions that arose during her campaign for office.
The city attorney was tasked in December with an investigation into Christenson’s residency after information obtained during the police ride-along pointed to her property in Bradenton as her primary residence.
By January, Christenson had accused the mayor of a witch hunt, denied her actions on the ride-along and defended alleged code violations involving a vacation rental unit at her home.
It began with the budget.
During the city budget process for fiscal 2021-22, Christenson pushed to lower the Holmes Beach Police Department’s proposed spending plan, questioning the need for a new department employee.
The funding was to fill a gap at the bottom rung left by a step up the ladder for Brian Hall to lieutenant, among others.
HBPD Officer Michael Van Horn attended an October 2021 commission meeting, where he underscored the need for another patrol officer. He offered a ride-along to any officials who wanted to learn more about law enforcement’s responsibilities.
The commission passed the police budget 3-2 in October, with Christenson and Commissioner Kim Rash voting “no.”
Christenson, however, accepted Van Horn’s offer and joined him for a ride-along Nov. 20, 2021.
According to a Nov. 24 memo written by Van Horn detailing the ride-along, Christenson inquired about the computer system and offered her license to demonstrate use of the Driver and Vehicle Information Database — DAVID.
Van Horn wrote, “I advised Commissioner Christenson that I did not have anyone currently to run through the system.”
Van Horn said he offered to use a training box to verify how the system is used and assured her that he was not looking for information about her other than to demonstrate how the system worked.
“I assured her several times that I had no ulterior motives, and she did not have to run her name. Commissioner Christenson stated that she wanted to see the system,” he wrote.
After some issues running her license through the database, Van Horn stated in the report that he got a match from a search using her name and date of birth.
However, the computer identified Christenson’s Bradenton property as her primary address.
Christenson faced questions surrounding her residency since she first campaigned for a commission seat in 2020, when people questioned her use of her Holmes Beach property as a vacation rental.
She then attempted to certify the single-family home she owns with her mother in Holmes Beach as a duplex in order to establish a rental unit, but city code requires vacation units be rented out in their entirety — not as a unit or bedroom within the dwelling.
Also, in keeping with the property’s homestead exemption, Christenson can rent her property for up to 30 days a year.
Christenson’s property was found in violation of city code for advertising and renting a portion of the property as a vacation rental in December 2021. She claimed she erred in an online advertisement where she listed the property as a one-bedroom vacation unit and came into compliance within a week after the violation was posted.
Christenson’s Bradenton address — a property she owns with her husband in Northwest Bradenton — on the police database elicited concern from the commissioner, according to Van Horn.
“Christenson seemed overly concerned that the address information was incorrect. She stated that she has never lived at that address,” Van Horn wrote.
Van Horn’s body camera video — which lacks audio — appears to corroborate his account, as it shows Christenson willingly handing him her license twice, gesturing at the screen as information appeared.
However, the video lacks audio because it is only activated during crime scene activity or traffic stops.
Van Horn wrote that he briefed HBPD Chief Bill Tokajer the next day about the incident.
“I can assure you that I had no motives other than to attempt to give Commissioner Christenson an opportunity to further understand what systems we use. … Our ride along was professionally conducted and Commissioner Christenson seemed pleased with the opportunity,” he wrote.
Tokajer shared the ride-along outcome with Mayor Judy Titsworth, and the pair next briefed then-city attorney Patricia Petruff, who was tasked with an investigation.
Petruff contacted Christenson about her review on Dec. 8, 2021, which apparently sparked a series of emails between the commissioner and Titsworth — emails collected in a records request by The Islander.
“I want to assure you that I have no intention of making this a public matter but ask that you as expeditiously as possible, provide the attorneys with the information needed to make the necessary determination so that we feel comfortable with your continued responsibilities,” Titsworth wrote Dec. 8. “Please understand that my loyalty lies with the city and I have absolutely nothing against you personally.”
Christenson responded by email to Titsworth the same day: “In May of 2021, my husband and I bought a 2016 wave runner (sic) and trailer for my son. The dealer put the wave runner and trailer in my name and used our Bradenton property address as where it would be stored for insurance purposes. It appears that DMV is picking up my name from that title.”
The exchange of emails included a list of various dates when the DMV recorded the Bradenton address on Christenson’s license as her primary residence, and even a photo attachment from Christenson of her driver’s license among the public records.
“I am thankful that at least Patty had the decency to contact me today to inquire about your concerns,” she wrote. “All you had to do was ask me rather than go behind my back on a witch hunt!”
Titsworth emailed back the same day: “The information that you asked to be pulled (in the ride-along) is what got you in this mess. You have accused me of a witch hunt … This is the prime reason why I am allowing the appropriate people to handle it … it isn’t an issue that I want to be anywhere near.”
But a Jan. 3 email from Christenson to the mayor and commissioners contradicts Van Horn’s account of the ride-along and alleges wrongdoing.
“I asked questions about the police budget and took the time to ride in the field with an officer on a Saturday evening for 7 hours. I later found out that the police department used my driver’s license number to gain access to my personal information,” Christenson wrote.
“The administration went behind my back on a witch hunt racking up attorney fees at the expense of the taxpayer which led nowhere. This should concern all Holmes Beach citizens,” she added.
Christenson did not respond to calls and text messages Jan. 6-7 from The Islander.
Newly named city attorney Erica Augello did not reply to a Jan. 6 call and message from The Islander about Christenson’s threats.
The photo of Jayne Christenson’s driver’s license, provided by her in this email, although public record, has been removed by The Islander in a spirit of cooperation. Removal was requested by Commissioner Christenson, who expressed she had “suffered damages,” and fear of identity theft. The emails between Commissioner Christenson and Mayor Judy Titsworth are, however, public record and Mrs. Christenson included her driver’s license on her own volition and, therefore, is the responsible party.
— Bonner Joy, publisher
The Islander
