A “For Sale” sign is up in front of the house that state Rep. Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, used to establish residency in his district.

Davis said he moved out of 1527 Mass., which he had been renting, in August. He now lives in a house he bought at 1731 Ind.

Recently, a “For Sale” sign was placed in front of the house on Massachusetts, which has caused some buzz in Lawrence political circles.

Davis said when he moved into the house on Massachusetts, he had negotiated a deal with the owner, former Douglas County Commissioner Jim Chappell, to rent the house with an option to buy if he could clear up liens that had been placed on the property.

“It just never happened. It got to the point where it became too much of a mess to clear up, and we just decided to buy another house,” said Davis, who is an attorney.

Davis was elected state representative in January by Democratic precinct committee members to replace Troy Findley, who went to work for Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Davis had lived at 1520 Stratford Road, which was about one block outside the district. He said he moved into the district at 1527 Mass. just days before Findley announced he was leaving the Legislature. Findley backed Davis as his replacement.

Several of Davis’ critics questioned whether Davis had really moved into the house on Massachusetts.

But Davis maintained the house was indeed his residence, and that he was familiar with the district, having lived, worked and gone to school there in previous years.

¢ Questions linger whether Davis lives in 46th District (1-14-03)¢Davis’ legislative columns