Baca Jr. mulls bid for Railto City Council (SB Sun 072206)

Now the names are starting to enter the race for the City Council. The First Name has entered the hat. Joe Baca Jr. Is a Big name and should knock Joe Sampson or Winnie Hanson out, and that is what we want. They have to go, both of them have to go. Especially after the Police Department Issue that they had. It was terrible and very costly to the city to go through that whole thing. More so because we lost all that trained manpower, that fled to other departments like Riverside Police department. Officer Tim Roy had a great deal of traffic Experience working in traffic, after my accident. He worked there I am not sure if he went to the commercial enforcement class, because that is a class that can get you in a very specialized duty that the city will not touch you if you are producing a great deal of money from that revenue. The Current City Council let that Kind of Expertise go. Now we have to try to rebuild and see how hard it is to gain back the people that left.

So you see the current Council as they sit have to go. Sampson and Hanson, have got to go.

BSRanch...

Baca Jr. mulls bid for Railto City Council
Robert Rogers, SB Sun Staff Writer

Assemblyman Joe Baca Jr., D-Rialto, confirmed late Thursday he is considering the possibility of running for a seat on the Rialto City Council.

"I did pull the papers on Monday, and I will make a decision in the next week and a half," Baca said. "It's something I have to discuss at length with my wife and family."

Rumors have swirled for weeks that Baca Jr. a longtime Rialto resident who took a thumping from Assemblywoman Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Montclair, in a June showdown to replace outgoing state Sen. Nell Soto, D-Ontario may seek one of two council seats up for grabs in November.

Councilmembers Joe Sampson and Deborah Robertson both seek re-election to their seats.

City Clerk Barbara McGee confirmed late Thursday that Baca Jr. dropped in to pick up the paperwork. Candidates must be 18 or older, live in Rialto, and obtain 20 signatures from voters, McGee said.

In Sacramento Thursday, he said the possibility of running for the Rialto City Council is not interfering with his current job.

"I want people to know that foremost are my responsibilities as assemblyman for the 62nd district, duties which I will continue to fulfill," Baca Jr. said.

He was elected in 2004 to the 62nd district, representing San Bernardino, Fontana, Rialto, Colton, Bloomington and Muscoy. His two-year term expires this year.

Baca Jr. said his interest in city politics is based on giving back to his hometown.

If Baca Jr. does run in Rialto, the battle will be tough, said Councilman Ed Scott, who most recently wrangled with Baca Jr. over the latter's support for the Rialto Police Department, which earlier this year Scott wanted to disband.

"First, I am fully supporting the re-election campaigns of Joe Sampson and Deborah Robertson," Scott said. "His (Baca Jr.'s) heart is not in Rialto, he just wants a stop between running for a county or state office, and what we need are people who are committed to their city."