Barstow Mayor thinks he pulled one over on his Council colleagues and the general public

On August 22, Barstow Mayor Lawrence Dale wrote what some have characterized as a vitriolic letter to Clay Gregory at the Sacramento office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs which was an unauthorized and unwarranted attack on the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe.

At a special meeting of the Barstow City Council on August 28, 2007, Councilman Joe Gomez and members of the public chastised the Mayor for, among other things, sending the letter without first getting City Council review and approval. Those critical of the Mayor’s action feel Mayor Dale's track record may be what costs Barstow any chance to establish Indian gaming.

This was part of Dale’s defiant response:

"The letter that was written, was written under my signature; not under this Council’s signature. It was not written by the City of Barstow."

Is that so?

TVT has reviewed the Dale letter and is astonished that Mayor Dale would make such a boldface lie to his four Council colleagues and the public when he knew the letter was going to be made available for public inspection.

You be the judge ... Consider these following details.

The first paragraph of Mayor Dale’s letter begins as follows:

"The City of Barstow submits this letter in response to the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe's August 8, 2007 letter to Analytical Environmental Services…"

The second sentence begins as follows:

"The City of Barstow suspects that the Chemehuevi Tribe’s August 8 letter is …"

Routinely throughout the letter Dale makes other representations that he is speaking for the City of Barstow and uses “we” where he would have used “I” if the letter was intended to represent it was coming from him personally rather than in his official capacity as Mayor or from the Council or the City of Barstow.

And then he begins the closing paragraph of his three page letter to the BIA as follows:

"For these reasons, the City of Barstow respectfully requests that your review be focused on the criteria that are legally relevant…"

You be the judge. Is Mayor Dale being truthful when he attempted to convince his Council colleagues that the letter was not written by the Mayor in his official capacity representing the Council or the official position of the City of Barstow?

Should the Barstow City Council censure Mayor Dale for this action? How can the Council be sure Dale hasn’t abused his role as Mayor by engaging in these kinds of actions or practices on other matters? What exposure does the Council/City have if it knowingly allows Dale to get away with this behavior without a reprimand?

What would compel Dale to make such public representations when the preponderance of evidence suggests otherwise?

You may obtain copies of letter from TVT by writing us at allverifiable@gmail.com