Dueling Bob Bakers Vie for Top Ballot Spot

This article was updated Aug. 24 to reflect a change in date of the drawing. It will now be at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 30.

will draw lots to determine who gets top billing on the ballot for November's City Council election, state officials said Thursday.

The state came up with the solution when incumbent Councilman Bob Baker cried foul at being listed last on the ballot.

"The incumbent Bob Baker, reasonably concluding that he had secured the first, and, thus, lowest number and would appear above the newcomer Bob Baker on the ballot," Incumbent Baker said in an Aug. 17 news release last week.

"The new Bob Baker, however, instead of logically choosing any number from '2' upward, was allowed to select '0.'" Incumbent Baker's release continued. "The story should have ended there, with the Clerk rejecting the Johnny-Come-Lately Baker’s selection and requiring him to choose number '2' or any other positive integer besides '1.'"

City Clerk and the elections official Joanne Baade said in a Thursday email to candidates and the media that she did some research and found there have been no two candidates with the same name running for the same office in California's recent history.

This being the case, she consulted with the California Secretary of State, and determined the two men would draw randomly to determine their ballot order.

Currently, Incumbent Bob Baker -- marked "Robert 'Bob' Baker 1" -- is at the bottom of the list of six candidates, while the challenger Bob Baker is right above him, marked "Robert 'Bob' Baker 0."

The California Secretary of State selects the ballot order for candidates every election by randomly drawing the 26 letters of the alphabet, and publishing that randomized alphabet for elections officials to use in placing the candidates in alphabetical order, Baade said.

Now the two Bob Bakers will be selected at random so each has a 50-percent chance to be above the other on the November ballot.

The selection process will happen at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 30 in Council Chambers, 100 Ave. Presidio. It will follow these procedures, according to Baade's letter:

I... will provide each of the Mr. Bakers with a piece of paper upon which to write his name and the numerical designation that he selected pursuant to Elections Code Section 13118. I will look at each piece of paper to ensure that each paper is legible and that each candidate properly listed his name and previously selected numerical designation. Each Bob Baker will then be asked to fold his paper into fourths and to then place his paper into an opaque capsule. Each candidate will then place his capsule into a drum. I will turn the drum for approximately 30 seconds. Assistant City Clerk Anthony Mejia will blind-draw a capsule from the drum. I will then open the capsule and read aloud the name and numerical designation that was drawn. The corresponding candidate will then be the Robert “Bob” Baker who appears on the ballot before the other Robert “Bob” Baker. This piece of paper will be immediately available for public inspection. I will then remove the capsule that remains in the drum and will read the name and ballot designation of the other Robert “Bob” Baker. This piece of paper will also be immediately available for public inspection. The Robert “Bob” Baker that is drawn second will be listed on the ballot immediately below the Robert “Bob” Baker that is drawn first. 

Patch will be there to cover the selection. The Bakers are two of the six candidates who will appear on the San Clemente City Council ballot vying for two seats.