Ex-Irvine Councilman Baker Takes ‘Full Responsibility’ in Letter on Forgery Case

In an open letter published Thursday in an Irvine newspaper, former City Councilman C. David Baker said he takes “full responsibility” for the extraordinary events that led authorities to charge the one-time rising Republican star with forgery.

Baker’s nine-paragraph letter appeared in the weekly Irvine World News one day after the county district attorney’s office filed a single felony count against him. Baker is charged with forging the signature of an Orange County Superior Court judge on a $48,000 check written on the account of a local nonprofit foundation that Baker headed at the time.

The check was allegedly written in the closing days of Baker’s bid for the Republican nomination in the 40th Congressional District when his campaign was short of cash.

‘Another Day in Paradise’

Baker begins the letter by saying: “For so many in Irvine, yesterday was, true to the bumper sticker, just ‘Another Day in Paradise.’ For me it was a day that changed my life.”

He said he has resigned from his law firm and “unfortunately” sold the family’s two-story Woodbridge home. He continues by saying “goodby and thanks to friends and colleagues that I love so dearly.”

He said his problems are the result of actions that “I alone made and for which I take full responsibility.”

Baker has refused to make any public comment since the forgery allegations surfaced, two days after Baker narrowly lost the June 7 GOP primary to C. Christopher Cox. Even his closest supporters say Baker has uncharacteristically kept to himself, refusing to return phone calls or even meet socially. His silence, at first understandable to supporters, has frustrated and even angered some in recent weeks.

“When this thing unfolded, a lot of Dave’s friends were willing to stand by him and wait until he came out of hiding . . . ,” said one key campaign supporter, who asked not to be identified. “But it has gone too far. He has completely withdrawn. You work hard for someone, put time into their campaign and then they just vanish.”

Way to Communicate

Baker’s attorney, Paul S. Meyer, said his client wanted to communicate with the “many people” who have expressed “sympathy and support” for Baker and his family, and the councilman believed that the best way was through a letter in the Irvine World News. The newspaper is delivered weekly to every Irvine home.

Jeanne Keevil, the newspaper’s editor, said that the letter was not solicited, that Baker submitted it.

Although Baker has sold his home, Meyer said the councilman and his family are still living in Orange County. As for the future, Meyer said Baker is “evaluating his options.”

Baker’s Irvine council term ended last month and he resigned Aug. 11 from the law firm where he worked--Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.

At one point in the letter, Baker says that he must draw his future happiness from within himself, and then adds: “God willing, someday that shall be as fulfilling and as wonderful as Irvine has been for me.”