City Councilman Steve Gregory responds to owning a vehicle with Idaho license plates
City Councilman Steve Gregory
Editor’s note: In this letter, Paso Robles City Councilman Steve Gregory responds to accusations of driving an out-of-state vehicle in town. The story was first reported by Cal Coast News: “Why is Paso Robles Councilman Gregory’s car registered in Idaho?“
To the editor,
– We purchased my wife Dawn’s Toyota RAV4 in January of 2021 from a Toyota dealer in Bakersfield. We paid for all registration fees and taxes for that vehicle for that purchase in California.
After getting the Toyota RAV4 we purchased a property in Idaho in March of 2022. We took several trips to Idaho to vacation there and eventually, my wife’s son decided to move to Sandpoint Idaho where our property is located.
We purchased a Ford pickup in Sandpoint to use and keep in Idaho and we ended up selling the truck to Dawn’s son so they would have a vehicle. We continued to visit our property and in January of 2024, we took another 2013 California Toyota Highlander up to Sandpoint and sold that to our son so they would have two cars.
A Toyota RAV4 owned by Steve and Dawn Gregory.
While visiting on one of those trips we decided to register my wife’s Toyota RAV4 in Idaho because of their Dual Residency Policy with the Idaho DMV. We brought that home to Paso Robles with the intent of eventually leaving the RAV4 in Idaho at a future date.
Later that month I purchased a used 2023 Toyota Highlander at a dealership in Sandpoint to replace the truck I had sold to the kids. We also licensed and registered that vehicle to our Sandpoint home with the intent to leave it in Sandpoint.
A Toyota Highlander owned by Steve and Dawn Gregory
This vehicle was fully equipped for a cold climate. Four-wheel drive, heated everything, tow package, and snow and mud tires. That vehicle has made several trips back to Idaho through inclement weather and in the spring and summer. We drove it back to Paso Robles around the middle of August this summer.
During our visits, we were searching for a weather-protected garage or storage area to leave the Highlander in Sandpoint on or near our property. We had no success in finding a good weatherproof place and we are still working on a place to keep it there.
That brings us to today.
I apologize for all of the concern that our cars have caused because of the licensing in Idaho. I believed Idaho’s Dual Residency Policy would be honored here but then recently learned that it isn’t.
Idaho has agreements with several states, but the State of California does not officially recognize that policy and they do not enforce their registration requirements. I am registering both vehicles with the DMV today, and we will keep the California registration on both vehicles until we move them back to Idaho permanently.
I would like to thank a local resident who wrote me a letter and he shared his experiences with the registration issues he dealt with that were similar to ours with Idaho. He suggested that I should get the vehicles licensed and registered in California, which I now agree with.
I spoke to the Idaho DMV again yesterday and they confirmed their Dual Residency Policy and they did not state a residency requirement of 6 months was necessary. I am correcting a situation that I did not fully comprehend and I am doing the right thing by registering our vehicles in California.
Sincerely
Steve Gregory
Paso Robles City Councilman
Editor’s note: Opinion pieces and letters to the editor are the personal opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Paso Robles Daily News or its staff. We welcome letters from local residents regarding relevant local topics. To submit one, click here.
Nice Steve, you got caught and now you are going to do the right thing! Not sure about a leader that doesn’t follow CA laws.
This is not the first time he’s been caught doing the wrong thing. He thinks an apology makes the problem go away. Not so much with a repeat offender!
We need to vote for better.
Nice Steve, you got caught and now you are going to do the right thing! Not sure about a leader that doesn’t follow CA laws.
This is not the first time he’s been caught doing the wrong thing. He thinks an apology makes the problem go away. Not so much with a repeat offender!
We need to vote for better.