Rep. Eric Swalwell’s claims about living in a rented California home have raised “red flags” among members of the state Democratic Party after multiple neighbors at his supposed home of nine years have never seen or met him.
The Democrat frontrunner for Governor claims he’s lived since 2017 with another family in a 1,350-square-foot Livermore home owned by the sister-in-law of his political mentor, Tim Sbranti.
But five neighbors failed to identify Swalwell on Wednesday when The Post showed them a picture of the congressman and identified him by name.
“I’ve never seen him,” said Gita Prusty, who noted she’s lived on Michell Court for five years.
Lauren Antony, 19, lives in a house two doors down from Swalwell’s listed address, but she told The Post she had “never seen” him after being shown his picture.
When asked how long she has lived on the street, she said: “All of my life.”
Swalwell’s unusual housing arrangement in his East Bay district, as well as frequent campaign spending on luxury hotels in and around his district, have brought the congressman’s claims to California residency under fire.
The home on Wednesday had running shoes strewn across the doorstep, an upside-down container of cottage cheese was left in the yard, and faded patio chairs were placed near the doorstep next to a fire pit table.
Behind a chain-linked fence, a German Shepherd barked.
State law requires a candidate for California governor to be a resident for five years immediately preceding the election, and residency is generally defined as a fixed place where a person lives and intends to remain.
Swalwell is married with three children and his family lives in a $1.2 million home in Washington, D.C., and he allegedly rents a room in the home on Michell Court as a place to stay when back in the district.
Lee Fink, an Orange County attorney who worked in the Obama administration and now serves as a delegate for the California Democratic Party, told The Post on Thursday that Swalwell’s residency issues have become “a big concern for us Democrats.”
“There’s red flags all over the place — that his neighbors don’t know he’s there suggests that he’s not actually there,” Fink said.
“If the campaign records show that he’s staying at a hotel nearby, it means he doesn’t have a permanent place of abode in California. That’s critical.”
“That’s a huge problem for the Democratic Party, because Swalwell is at or near the top of the polls.
“The last thing any Democrat wants is some right-winger like Steve Hilton or Chad Bianco to fall into the governor’s chair because the leading candidate is disqualified.”
“You’d think Swalwell would do a lot more to ease the doubts.”
Ryan Hughes, an attorney for progressive billionaire Tom Steyer, called on the Secretary of State’s office to launch an investigation into Swalwell’s residency claims, while Steve Hilton, a Republican former Fox News host, on Thursday called for Swalwell to be disqualified from the June election.
“Swalwell’s fake residency disqualifies him from running for CA Governor!” Hilton’s campaign tweeted Thursday. “This fraud doesn’t even live in California!”
Michelle Jeung, a campaign consultant for the gubernatorial campaign of former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, told The Post that anxiety over Swalwell is ripping through the Democratic Party.
“We keep hearing concerns from Democrats that if Swalwell and Hilton make the top two and the federal [Department of Justice] determines Eric Swalwell is a D.C. resident, then Swalwell’s disqualification would result in a Republican winning the Governor’s race,” Jeong said.
Swalwell, a former prosecutor who maintains a license with the State Bar, filed a sworn affidavit under penalty of perjury claiming that he has been a California resident since 2006 and has lived in Livermore since 2017.
Records show he lists his domicile as a home owned by Nicholas and Kristina Mrzywka, the latter of whom is reportedly the sister-in-law of Swalwell’s former political mentor, Tim Sbranti.
Krstina Mrzywka also filed a sworn affidavit claiming that Swalwell and his wife Brittany entered into a lease for the property in June 2017.
In his own sworn affidavit, Swalwell did not state that he rents the property and his campaign has refused to release any documentation or bank statements regarding a lease.
Instead, Swalwell attacked Steyer and The Post in a tweet Wednesday evening, saying he and his family have had their lives threatened, which is why keeps his address private.
Swalwell has been under fire for his residency claims since January, when right-wing filmmaker Joel Gilbert filed a lawsuit claiming Swalwell was not a true resident of California.
A court hearing in that case is scheduled for later this month.
California officials seem unlikely to investigate Swalwell’s residency issues, with Attorney General Rob Bonta saying the law doesn’t require the Secretary of State to verify where a candidate actually lives.
Campaign records also show the congressman has spent a significant amount of time and money staying at hotels in and around his congressional district.
In 2025, Swalwell made 19 different charges to his campaign at the luxury hotel Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park, according to federal campaign records. Swalwell’s frequent campaigning and rubbing elbows with celebrities led him to miss the most votes of any active member of Congress by the end of last year.
In 2023 and 2024, Swalwell made 24 charges at hotels in San Francisco, mostly staying at the five-star 1 Hotel San Francisco on the Embarcadero as well as the waterfront boutique inn Hotel Griffon.
Just last year, Swalwell made 19 different charges to his campaign at the luxury hotel Rosewood Sand Hill in Menlo Park, according to federal campaign records. While Swalwell has been busy with frequent campaigning and rubbing elbows with celebrities, he’s also missed the most votes of any active member of Congress by the end of last year.
Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School, told The Post that the state constitution requires five years of residency in California before an election, and a domicile requires a candidate to have a physical presence and intent to remain or return to the home.
A crowded field on the left has created panic that two Republicans — Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco — could be the top two finalists to emerge from the June primary.
Rusty Hicks, chair of the state Democratic Party, published an open letter earlier this month calling on low-polling candidates to drop out of the race.
If Swalwell and one of the GOP candidates advance to the runoff, lingering questions about the congressman’s California residency could become a wedge issue for voters in November.
