In what could serve as grounds for immediate removal from office, court documents obtained by SCVTalk show that a person sharing the same name, age and middle initial as Saugus USD Trustee Stephen S. Winkler resided in the City of Los Angeles neighborhood of Sylmar from at least August 22, 2012 through January 7, 2103.
Game Over? Multiple Court Docs Suggest Winkler Lived in Sylmar While Serving Saugus
On both dates, Winkler filed restraining orders against the same person and each were ultimately denied by a judge. According to the declarations, both men lived in the same home on Herrick Ave. in Sylmar, renting rooms from a common landlord.
Each declaration is signed, under penalty of perjury, with a signature that contains a distinctive "WinklerSS." UPDATE: Thanks to KHTS's Perry Smith, we have verified a signature match between these filings and a campaign-related filing made by Winkler.
For school board members, residency in the district must be continuous, or their office is considered vacated.
According to California Government Code 1770:
1770. An office becomes vacant on the happening of any of the following events before the expiration of the term:…(e) His or her ceasing to be an inhabitant of the state, or if the office be local and one for which local residence is required by law, of the district, county, or city for which the officer was chosen or appointed, or within which the duties of his or her office are required to be discharged.
Pursuant to this code, the Saugus USD Bylaws of the Board state:
A vacancy on the Governing Board may occur for any of the following events:....A Board member's ceasing to be a resident of the district (Government Code 1770)
(Also: this legal opinion by the CA Attorney General)
While we don't know where Winkler currently resides, we did receive an eyewitness account from a reader who confirmed that Winkler left the Santa Clarita Valley late last night and was seen driving South on Foothill Blvd. in the direction of Sylmar.
Here's a sample of the cover pages of each filing. The house number is obscured, but we can confirm that all instances show the same address.
Image not recoveredWInkler_court.jpg
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