Selectman Candidate Defends 'Lifelong Resident' Claims

WILMINGTON, MA — Rob Fasulo, one of six candidates running for two Wilmington selectmen seats up for reelection in the April 27 town election, defended his campaign's claim that he is a lifelong resident. Fasulo and his wife owned a house in Tewksbury from 2005 to 2012 and his wife was registered to vote in Tewksbury. But in a Facebook post published Thursday, Fasulo said he maintained his legal residency in Wilmington the entire time the couple owned the home in Tewksbury.

"Not that it’s anybody’s business, but after my wedding my wife and I had to live in separate houses because we could not find a home in Wilmington. During the time that my wife and I owned the property in Tewksbury, I maintained my legal residency in Wilmington as I continued to pay excise tax on my vehicle here, as well as received my mail here, paid my bills from here, and had my driver’s license and professional certifications maintained here," Fasulo said. "I continued to vote in Wilmington and a majority of my belongings were here the whole time. Even my dogs license was here. Tewksbury was never intended to be a long-term situation for me and it wasn't."

Fasulo's Facebook post came hours after Patch first reported on his Tewksbury property. He has still not responded to a request for comment that was sent to an email address he has used to send Patch campaign announcements. In his post, Fasulo claimed that he had never been contacted by Patch.

"When a soldier goes away to war do they give up his or her residency when they lay their head down in a foreign land? How about when a child who goes away for school?" Fasulo wrote. "I can document my residency in Wilmington, you cannot document your claim of my residency in Tewksbury."

It's the second straight year that Fasulo has run for selectman. After losing in 2018, he vowed he would not run for elected office again, but jumped into this year's race after being a vocal critic of a proposed drug treatment facility on Middlesex Avenue. Wilmington residents who commented on Fasulo's post were mostly supportive, but John Reagan questioned his explanation.

"You lived in separate houses from your newlywed wife? Rob, I want to like you but that is odd. You 'swore' you’d never run again after losing last time, which sounded like an immature temper tantrum, and then you supported a horrid candidate for Representative," Reagan wrote. "You talk about being a common sense guy but all of this adds up to a lot of unanswered questions."

In a response to Reagan, Fasulo's wife, Melissa, said the couple could not find a house in Wilmington in their price range until they purchased their home in 2012.

"Neither one of us was happy with the situation but we couldn’t find a house in our price range at the time," Melissa Fasulo wrote. "We both come from old fashioned homes with old fashioned values and living together before marriage was not an option for us."

Fasulo's complete post and the comments from his supporters are published below:

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).