Presidential Candidate Squatting in Detroit House

Ms. Blair's campaign button

A Detroit homeowner is living with an unwelcome houseguest because she cannot legally kick the woman out, pending a civil judgment. The alleged squatter, Missionary-Tracey Elaine Blair, is a write-in candidate for president of the United States.

According to a local news story, Heidi Peterson bought the house for $23,000 and rented it to Blair and other tenants in 2010. However, in February 2011 she kicked everyone out because the house was not safe to live in anymore.

Little did Peterson know that at some point this year Blair moved back in and started making repairs. According to the story, Blair put in new appliances and plumbing, changed the locks and placed a construction lien on the property.

When Peterson and her one-year-old daughter tried to move back in earlier this month, they found Blair waiting for them. And getting her out has not been so simple: Blair claims she has a lease, and Peterson cannot legally remove her from the house until she proves home ownership in front of a court.

In the meantime Blair has apparently been claiming that she’s participating in a Detroit program that allows people to take over abandoned homes by fixing them up. “I’m an advocate for affordable housing,” the squatter told the news station.

For now, the odd-couple roomies are sleeping one room apart from each other, because Peterson cannot afford to go anywhere else, even as she worries about the safety of her daughter. At least she can take heart that if Blair somehow wins the election in November, she’ll be able to move out of Detroit and into some new digs in Washington D.C.