In Jack Baxter’s letter to the Record Bee dated Sept. 25 he took offense at his credibility being questioned. Who wouldn’t, especially if it is a baseless allegation?

In the same letter, Jack claimed, “I refused to join in personal attacks or rumor spreading and tried to stick to the issues of concern for our community.”

He goes on to claim how he kept an open mind and met with each candidate before deciding who to endorse.

I think there’s another side to this story.

In a June 1, 2010, article about campaign finances by lakeconews.com, a commenter using the screen name, “drjoaquin” posted:

“Mitchell, donation or bribe?

written by drjoaquin, June 01, 2010

A $10,000. contribution to Mitchell is quite a charge for a concealed weapons permit. I wonder how many other donors have CCW permits issued by Mitchell. If this is not an outright bribe what is it? What else is Mitchell doing for these generous special people? Would he do the same for those of us who don't have the cash to pay him off?”

Now I don’t know about you, but I would consider this comment a personal attack and rumor spreading. Seems to me the commenter is alleging improper conduct by a citizen and the sheriff with no apparent facts to back it up.

The donor who provided the contribution the comment referred to does not hold a concealed weapons permit nor have they applied for one.

Now in an August 18, 2010, lakconews.com article about Lakeport Police retirement package, we again hear from “drjoaquin,”, when he posts:

“Lakeport Police retirement

written by drjoaquin, August 19, 2010

I'm disappointed to see the City of Lakeport turn down the request for an improved retirement by their police officers. We are quite fortunate to have the good people we have here and failing to take care of their needs is a big mistake. Times are tough but these people have only to drive over the hill to double their salary. They are here because they want to be here and they do a fine job. I rate the current Lakeport PD as the finest in Lake County.

Remember Lakeport, you get exactly what you pay for.

Jack Baxter, Lakeport

As you can see, “drjoaquin” identifies himself as Jack Baxter.

Now, like Rivero, I don’t want Jack to dismiss this by claiming some type of mistaken identity, so I checked further.

“Drjoaquin” posts on another lakeconews.com article dated May 23, 2010, about the Clearlake Police Department. Again he identifies himself as Jack Baxter, but he goes even further and adds the fact that he is a candidate for the office of the sheriff. This is the post:

Clearlake Police Officers

written by drjoaquin, May 24, 2010

I'm disappointed to learn that Clearlake is having to lay off working Police Officers. Times are tough but In a time when crime is on the rise and police services are declining we can not afford to cat back on those who protect us. Taxes go up and services go down while our federal and state governments continue to throw money away to special interests leaving communities to fend for themselves.

You get what you pay for and with cutbacks in pay and benefits and job security a law enforcement career becomes much less attractive to good qualified candidates. In the long run playmng catch up in replacing these people when you can afford them will be more difficult and much more expensive. We must work smarter, reconsider priorities and use our officers where they will do the most good.

Jack Baxter, Lakeport

Candidate for Lake Co. Sheriff

www.baxterforsheriff.com

I believe this is pretty conclusive proof that I have the right Jack Baxter.

In this last Lakeconews.com article (which chronologically was the first) from Sept. 3, 2009, before he announced his intention to run for sheriff, Jack Baxter not only participates in a personal attack against Sheriff Mitchell, but he then goes on to claim he was former captain from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

I’ll let you read it for yourself.

“Local

written by drjoaquin, November 23, 2009

Meno Co. Sheriff thinks Mirchell is a GOB.

Odd indeed. Sheriff lee Baca from LA Co. thought he was a dork and shared it with some of his senior staff ioncliuding yours truely a former LASD Captain now living in Lake Co.”

I assume, “Meno Co. Sheriff” refers to the Sheriff of Mendocino County, Tom Allman, who has endorsed Rod Mitchell for Sheriff.

Additionally, I’ve had several conversations with Jack Baxter, never once did he mention he was a retired captain from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Nowhere in his resume or on his political Web site did he list or claim that he ever even worked for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, let alone promoted to the position of Captain.

Holding such a position would have made him a much stronger candidate for sheriff in my opinion and failing to include this fact would be an unconscionable omission on his part. It wasn’t included because it is not true; in fact, he is a retired sergeant from the San Jose Police Department.

I also know that screen names for Lakeconews.com are individual and, unlike Topix, require a password to access them.

So yes, I think Jack Baxter has a credibility issue, and a BIG one. As such, we should view his comments with a very critical eye.

Jack Baxter says his mind wasn’t made up about who to endorse, but it’s clear now that it was.

 

Jack Baxter said he did not engage in personal attacks or rumor spreading, but it’s clear that he did.

Jack Baxter now endorses Francisco Rivero.

Jack Baxter says he wasn’t promised a job.

 

Patrick McMahon lives in Middletown, Calif.

NOTE: Links to all of the stories and comments are listed below in the order they appear.

Links:

http://lakeconews.com/content/view/14258/919/ - June 1, 2010 Campaign finance story

http://lakeconews.com/content/view/15453/919/ - August 18, 2010 Lakeport PD story

http://lakeconews.com/content/view/14093/919/ - May 23, 2010 Clearlake PD story

http://lakeconews.com/content/view/10156/764/ - Sept, 3 2009