Mettler tussle condemned, defended
| Monday, Oct 27 2008 08:44 PM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 12:58 PM
Images
Ken Mettler
In this image from a video, Kern High School District Trustee Ken Mettler is shown punching an opponent of Proposition 8. Mettler is head of the local Yes on Proposition 8 campaign. The video was taken by an opponent of Proposition 8.
Related Stories:
- School board rejects resolution on same-sex marriage
- Prop. 8 debaters square off at Cal State
- Marylee Shrider: Proposition 8 no civil rights issue
- Two events, two very different takes on Proposition 8
- Polarizing races fueling rampant sign thievery
- Mettler scuffle with protester caught on video
- Good intentions led to scuffle over signs, Mettler says
The few Kern High School District trustees and board candidates willing to speak out were divided Monday on Ken Mettler’s scuffle with a protester Friday night.
Candidate Chuck Cournyea said trustee Mettler reacted poorly when he kicked and punched a Proposition 8 protester in a flap over signs.
Cournyea said he would not lead a recall attempt, but would participate in one.
“It’s the wrong message to be sending our kids ... . If you are inflicting violence or put yourself in a position to be attacked or instigate a fight, you should be removed,” he said.
Mettler acted appropriately, candidate Larry Bly and trustee Chad Vegas said.
“Ken Mettler was attacked by a homosexual activist,” Vegas said. “Yeah, I think that is unfortunate.”
After rallying to support the ban on same-sex marriage, Mettler got into a scuffle with an opponent at California Avenue and Stockdale Highway.
After anti-8 protester Rob Badewitz attempted to stop Mettler from taking some campaign signs, Mettler kicked and hit the 20-year-old, which is visible in a video on Bakersfield.com.
Mettler said the protester also threw a punch but missed. Badewitz denied swinging at Mettler.
Mettler said that while he believes his response was appropriate self-defense, he regrets taking attention away from election issues.
He had no plans to apologize and insisted the incident does not affect his ability to be a trustee.
“Just because I’m a high school board member does not mean I give up the First Amendment, the right to walk down the sidewalk and carry campaign signs or the right to defend myself,” Mettler said.
The Bakersfield Police Department took a report Friday night but had not forwarded the case to the District Attorney’s office for possible charges late Monday afternoon, said spokeswoman Mary DeGeare.
Mettler and Badewitz had said they did not want to push the issue, she said.
But Monday afternoon, Badewitz said he does plan to pursue criminal charges and a civil complaint. He was consulting with local attorney Kathleen Ellis-Faulkner.
KHSD Trustee Bob Hampton and candidate Bill Perry had no comment on the incident or repercussions.
Candidate Charlie Rodriguez said he didn’t know enough about the incident to comment.
The other KHSD trustees and candidates did not return calls Monday.
Some parents spoke out.
After her 7-year-old son saw the video of Mettler punching Badewitz, he asked why people would get physical over this issue, parent Lisa Neath said.
She said Mettler should resign for setting a bad example.
“As a leader, you have to hold yourself to a higher or at least similar standard,” she said.
Neath said someone on a nonpartisan board should not take such a strong partisan stance on an issue like Proposition 8.
“I am concerned about him injecting his perspective onto the board,” she said.
Parents waiting to pick up their children at North High School on Monday condemned Mettler's actions, saying it was bad example for a public official to set.
Lisa Eobichov said people are entitled to their opinions on gay marriage “and to go to blows over it, that’s more childish than what happens in school.”
She pointed out that students who fight at school can be suspended.
Diana Peaker, another parent, said Proposition 8 “has brought the bad out in people" but she split on whether Mettler should face repercussions.
“Maybe it's my age, but I just tend to look at it as silly," she said.
— Staff writer Stacey Shepard contributed to this report.
