From Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris This began as one of those...

From Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris

This began as one of those posts I write and burn just to get it out of my system. Recent events have persuaded me to let it out to the public.

We once convened a joint meeting of the Palmdale and Lancaster councils. When I refused to let the local Freedom Coalition turn it into a Jerry Springer episode, I became their declared quarry. Colleagues in Palmdale warned me the Coalition harbored eccentrics. That was charitable. At a subsequent meeting they announced their mission was to “take out R Rex Parris.”

Since then, the threats have accumulated. I cannot assign each to a particular hand, yet it requires little imagination to see how talk of “taking out” an officeholder functions as a spur to those already inclined toward carnage. The Coalition, with a peculiar sense of righteousness, insists it will resort to violence only against those who visit it upon them first. Who talks like that?

Soon after the Lancaster City Council witnessed how menacing these people can be and voted to provide me security, a remarkable fact on its own. Symbols, however, outlast escorts. On the eve of a parade, someone painted “RIP Rex” on a rock overlooking the route where I appeared as Grand Marshal.

The threats continue, lately in graver form. A photograph of my family, grandchildren included, arrived with the wish that they all die. To date, the Sheriff’s Department and the FBI have seem powerless to do anything about these incessant attempts to intimidate public officials.

My wife has relocated, and she tells me she revels in ordinary liberties, like buying groceries without strangers accosting her. Coalition members heard she moved and boasted on social media that they spent a weekend searching for her house. They even posted pictures of their exploits. Why drive more than 120 miles to hunt for a residence the L.A. Times previously featured when we bought it. What reason is there, other than to send us a message that they can still reach us.

How is this not domestic terrorism? For more than eighteen years as Mayor of Lancaster I have occasionally endured what the Sheriff’s Department calls credible threats. I accepted it as part of the job. Allowing anonymous agitators with slogans and social media accounts to bend a single decision of mine is intolerable.

This is the first time my children and grandchildren have been targeted as "fair game." We are taking measures to protect them but should the inevitable occur, members of the Freedom Coalition will surely plead shock and innocence. Make no mistake, it is their rhetoric that loaded the gun.

The cost to our city is already too great. Fewer capable people are willing to consent to public service. Ballots already present slates of candidates who cannot hold a job. Our city will not endure when only the unqualified are willing to run for office.

It is time we all said: "Enough."