New county commissioner exonerated following election law complaint, probe

Strafford County District I commissioner Leslie Feliciano (Courtesy photo)

Strafford County's newly appointed commissioner has been exonerated following an investigation by the Attorney Generals Elections Law Unit into whether she fraudulently certified herself as a resident of Farmington, the district she was appointed to represent on the county commission on Oct. 23.
Following a months-long investigation Senior Assistant Attorney General Brendan A. O'Donnell wrote in his Dec. 4 decision that there was no way to prove that Leslie Feliciano had made a false statement when she listed a Farmington property as her domicile.
O'Donnell explained that while Feliciano lived in Dover earlier this year, she was working to acquire her parent's former Farmington property, which is in District 1, the seat she acquired following a vote by the Strafford Delegation, which comprises state reps from throughout the county.
Feliciano recently moved to Rochester's Ward 6, which is also part of District 1.
O'Donnell in his four-page decision explained that "domicile is a question of intention and fact, and this Office's investigation revealed that Feliciano intended to be domiciled in Farmington and took numerous acts that support her stated intent."
O'Donnell further said that in conversations with Feliciano she has stated her intent is to live in Rochester until she makes some renovations on the family property in Farmington.

Feliciano told The Rochester Voice on Saturday that she knew all along she would be vindicated.
"I had no doubt that the Department of Justice would come to the conclusion that it did," she said. "I only wish that the concerned citizen and representatives involved would have reached out to me directly and asked me about my candidacy. Instead, they accused me of committing felonies without any basis to do so, which should be concerning to all of your readers.
"When I decided to run for Strafford County Commissioner, I did my due diligence to make sure I could legally represent Strafford County Commission District 1, which is shown by the DOJ investigation. I only wish those who tried to dissuade me from running had used the same due diligence. Time, effort and taxpayer money would have been spared from the unnecessary distraction of this investigation into nothing."
Nonetheless, Feliciano said she's looking forward now to working with all the commissioners and the entire county delegation including those who cast aspersions on her candidacy.
Republican Strafford District 19 state rep Kelley L. Potenza, who filed the original complaint, said today she would have no comment on the decision.
Meanwhile, state rep Glenn Bailey, R-Farmington, who said he got notice of the decision late last week, is expected to drop his court case following the ruling.

To read the full decision click here