Kohring's housing situation continues to generate interest

Frontiersman editorial board

So what is going on with Vic Kohring, anyway? Kohring got zoned out of his district in 2001 so, he says, he moved in with Mom and Dad -- "renting" the back of their mobile home in the Kohring subdivision. In the meantime, he purchased a home in Oregon for his wife and stepdaughter. Kohring told Frontiersman he does visit his family when time permits, and his wife did visit Alaska last year, but that he certainly doesn't live in Oregon.

Charges about Kohring's living arrangements have run the gamut since 2001. Kohring has always maintained that he's a longtime Valley resident, and that he does live within his district. In the past, the charges have been mostly speculative and difficult to substantiate. Kohring was accused of camping out behind the Legislative Information Office, and of plugging his RV into the building's power supply. His motor home has been parked behind the LIO all through the night, but Frontiersman has never seen evidence of it being plugged in. "I hate to admit it," Kohring said, "but I wouldn't even know how to plug [the RV] in. I don't even know where the plug is on it." He added that he does frequently burn the midnight oil working on constituent issues, and that his office light is always on during those late night shifts. Some people have also said they're sure Kohring spends a great deal of time with his family in Oregon, but there hasn't been strong evidence of that, either. During all those charges in the past we could only deduce that Kohring has strange living conditions. We could deduce that he placed his career ahead of his family life, and that he'd rather live with his parents than with his wife as a result. Unusual, but certainly not inappropriate in political terms.

Some new information puts more meat on the bones, however. The property Kohring owns is in danger of foreclosure because Kohring owes the borough more than $2,000 in back property taxes. Kohring has always been a champion of smaller government and reduced taxes, but this is no way to champion that cause. Now Kohring's father may also be running into tax trouble over Kohring's living situation. If he has been renting to his son, he's not entitled to his senior citizen property tax exemption, which would mean he, too, owes back taxes. Kohring now says the rental agreement is not formal, and that he does odd jobs in exchange for the living space. We wonder why he hadn't mentioned that before.

Nothing says a legislator must own property in the district he serves. It would certainly help Kohring's cause if he was at least paying taxes in the borough, though. It would help even more if Kohring's explanation were more consistent.