Scottville Mayor Joe Baxter Should Not Resign Because He Was Drunk Driving...

[XLFD]

... He Should Resign Because He Looks to Have Lied to the Police

 

On October 18, 2012 at 8:35 AM, Scottville Mayor Joe Baxter wound up at the bottom of Scottville's gully at the end of East Second Street after being observed by witnesses as accelerating at a high rate of speed into it with his 2011 Ford pickup.  He said to the responding Scottville officers that he had swerved to avoid some deer.  He was transported to the Memorial Medical Center and mild injuries were treated leading up to his interview by Trooper Adam Clement of the Michigan State Police.  Due to Baxter's Mayor status, the Scottville police turned the investigation over to the MSP to avoid any appearance of impropriety in any investigation.

Clement interviewed the mayor and conducted a portable breathalyzer test on Mayor Baxter, then had blood drew from him shortly thereafter, according to protocol.  The breathalyzer, took nearly three hours after the crash, showed a BAC of .072, and there may be some delay to get the blood test results in before the new year, as per the normal waiting times for such tests.  A BAC of .08 or better defines whether someone is driving drunk, as per the law, and breathalyzer results are generally not admissible as proof of a DWI, so this blood test may determine whether he was intoxicated or not.

One could say he was likely over the .08 limit since he blew .072 a good deal later (which normally would reduce the BAC by .04 for 160 minutes of elapsed time), and that responding emergency units smelled alcohol on his breath, including the trooper over two hours after the crash.  The witnesses of the crash seem to indicate that Baxter had drove a bit wild in his journey into the ravine.  The empty alcohol flask in the back of the truck may indicate him having recently imbibed.  These are either circumstantial or inconclusive of DWI, what should concern everyone is the Mayor's likelihood of lying and the fact that he put a lot of innocent people in danger.

Liar, Liar Pants in the Quagmire

If we consider Mayor Baxter's own words and Trooper Clement's report, we can establish a solid timeline of pertinent facts:

10-17-2012

5-6 PM:  Baxter says he drained about a pint (16 oz.) of whiskey in this period.  That's about the equivalent of 10-11 cans of beer.  He also says this was the last alcohol he consumed.

8:15 PM:  Detroit Tiger's post-season game gets rained out.  He sleeps until the morning.

10-18-2012

Around 7 AM or earlier:  Baxter takes his vehicle out to his hunting land.  Mason County property records have him owning land out in Whiskey Creek (very ironic, considering), this is about 20 miles from his home, and would take at least a half hour each way due to the rugged roads.  Give him an extra half-hour for patrolling around for deer, and for patrolling around the city of Scottville.

8:35 AM:  The crash occurs on Baxter's way home.

10:55 AM:  The MSP begins the interview

11:14 AM:  Breathalyzer test (.072)

11:29 AM:  Blood drawn for blood test (results pending)

Let's assume the breathalyzer results and Mayor Baxter's statements are accurate, he blew a .072 on the breathalyzer 17 hours after his last drink of about a pint of whiskey.  Let's say he guzzled the pint at 6 PM (which is a feat in itself), let's take his weight from the police report as accurate too, at 190 lb., then his expected BAC is:

That's right, the BAC estimate under such conditions is zero.  All should have been metabolized.  Using the BAC Calculator/Estimator (used above), if we consider his pint as accurate info, then the time to achieve a .072 would be around 8-9 hours.  If we consider instead that the timing was accurate, then he must have consumed nearly a quart of whiskey back around 6 PM the prior night, that's about 19 cans of beer!

But with the recollections he had, he should have had zero unless he still had some lingering in his mouth.  After seventeen hours, and  spitting out gully water he admits to drinking  when he crashed?!

Joe Baxter, you have spent your life serving your community, whether it be through your service in the Scottville government, or your military career, which is beyond distinguished.  The honorable thing to do is take responsibility for your actions in this case; it would be dishonorable to bring the City of Scottville down with you if you have told something less than the full truth in your station as the Mayor of Scottville.

The breathalyzer, or the mayor is way off.  My money is on the breathalyzer and the senses of smell and observations of the emergency responders.  Before this is confirmed by the results of the blood test, Joe Baxter should do the right thing, resign his post as mayor and city councilor of Scottville.  Not do the wrong thing, which was to apparently drive his vehicle around the streets of Scottville while intoxicated, during the same time that the kids of Scottville are traveling to school.  And then, by likely not giving us the full truth.  This is not something a public official should do, particularly a mayor, the titular head and figurehead of Scottville.

[XLFD]

I have to go with Lisa's thoughts on this.  I'd rather have the officials note the potential conflict of interest when they decide to conduct investigations, and the Scottville Police would have that in this case.  I have to admit I would have been among the first crying 'foul' if the Scottville Police did take up the investigation. 

I am at a loss of why the Mason County Sheriff's Office wasn't involved in the investigation,  however.  Anyone else know why they skipped up to the state level?

[masonco]

Mason County is part of the good ole boys club and there could have been conflict of interest claims is my thinking. However, I looked at the judge and wonder if he should recuse himself too and they get someone from out of the area to step in as judge. 

[Lisa O'Brien]

I agree Masonco -  anyone with any ties to Mason county should be recuse themselves, I think that is why the state police were called in. Mason county while large land wise, the population is not that large. I would think the mason county sheriff's office would be on more friendly terms with anyone in an official capacity.

[XLFD]

I would agree with both of you too, however, the county sheriff's office have not recused themselves in the recent past on similar matters with even more glaring conflicts of interest. 

I am just curious of the protocol that was involved with SPD Chief Barnett's decision to decide on the MSP before the MCSO, it seems non-standard in this instance.  I'm glad he did, but I want to know the rationale. 

[XLFD]

Scottville Mayor Joe Baxter went in front of the County Magistrate and was arraigned in 79th District Court this afternoon on a charge of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated.

He posted personal bond with a bail of $2,500 and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing in front of Judge Peter Wadel at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21.  See more here:   http://www.masoncountypress.com/2012/12/13/scottville-mayor-arraigned/

[Brian Carlson]

Should Scottville Mayor Joe Baxter Resign because

He was driving while under the Influence of alcohol

He lied to police

All of the above

I say all of the above

[XLFD]

Another sad commentary about the matter is that there have been a couple of inside baseball sources I have talked with who indicate that Mayor Baxter may have failed sobriety tests at public meetings he has attended.  This is the public face of Scottville?!  He and the rest of the City Commissioners who unanimously re-elected him, look like a car load of clowns intent on taking everyone else in Scottville over the gully's lip and into the muck at the bottom. 

[Willy]

Funny photo X. Another reason he should resign is that he put the public in danger. especially children. Driving intoxicated and speeding on a side street where kids could have been playing or walking is, in my opinion, a major offense. Then there's the factor of the possible collision with another vehicle and the possibility of killing a car full of innocents. He's lucky he didn't kill himself and that may be what he was trying to do. The public is darn lucky he met the ravine before he did any serious damage to others. I'm curious about the accident. Since it was because of his impairment, shouldn't he pay for the cost of his rescue from that ravine? Why should the citizens foot the bill for his antics?

I'm amazed that Scottville's charter provides for the election / appointment of Mayor by the City Council. That's as bad as having an unelected City Manager who does not answer to the public. For the good of the City Mr. Baxter needs to resign and if he does not then the Council needs to remove him from his duties. Mr. Baxter needs to seek  help with his drinking problem.

[XLFD]

Perhaps my own stridency in trumpeting the call for Joe Baxter to resign is the fact that he did put schoolkids and others in danger by driving around Scottville while drunk, and since that time failing to publicly show any sign of remorse for what he did.  On Dec. 3, he could have addressed the issue at the Scottville City Commissioner meeting, he didn't. 

As a longterm Scottville resident myself who, as a kid, walked and bicycled to Scottville Elementary, Middle, and High Schools, I find that inexcusable, and I am of the opinion that Scottville residents should find that inexcusable as well.  But I fear that most of the vocal critics of Scottville City's policy have already moved out to get away from the oppressive tax rates and ineffective governance.

[XLFD]

Rob Alway made his first official editorial at the Mason County Press, Mason County's number one news source, by laying out the case for why Joe Baxter has got to go.  Echoing my clarion call back in November that it needs to be done to save the image of Scottville for future tarnishing of their image. 

How easy it will be to use Scottville's well known monicker as "Clown Town" against them, when Mayor Joe faces the music for his endangering the community by driving drunk when the kids are walking and biking to school.  With this impending legal problem likely to occur, the other City Commissioners re-elected him as mayor, showing that they too were members of the City of Scottville Clown Band. 

Here is Alway's effort, which relies on his own personal interactions with Joe and shows why he must leave, and leave with the proper degree of contrition that too few public officials (particularly long-serving ones) have.

http://www.masoncountypress.com/2013/02/20/editorial-its-time-for-s...

[Willy]

I'm glad Alway resigned because in my opinion there was a conflict of interest between his news reporting and government involvement. I think, however, his editorial was to personal. He should have made the pitch for the Mayors resignation on the grounds of his drinking problems and the negative  light that it shone on the City. The Mayor has the backing of the Commissioners so I think all that Alway did was rile up the hornets nest.

[XLFD]

It's hard to be totally objective when you are so personally involved, as I've found out and wrestled with quite often.  He rightly declares it an editorial, and that helps me analyze it with a different set of eyeglasses.  I see him struggling with similar issues I've had to deal with, and he has chosen the path of pointing out something that is glaringly wrong, and dealing with it as a moral person with an extreme moral dilemma.  I believe he has pulled punches, so as to make it less personal, but he cannot divorce himself from the story. 

Those who prize the MCP for it's objectivity in news reporting, will hopefully realize that he sacrifices some of that here for the cause of good.  It may backfire, but all too often, when good people resign, the only thing that happens is that the power of good is diminished.  If Baxter ever gets the hint, Alway will have done more for the community than he could have as head of the Planning Commission.