Baxter Ward
Baxter Ward, born Baxter Ward Schwellenbach (November 5, 1919 – February 4, 2002) was a television news anchor who served two terms on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Prior to his election on the board, he ran third in an unsuccessful bid to unseat Sam Yorty for Mayor of Los Angeles in 1969.
Baxter Ward | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from District 5 | |
| In office 1972–1980 | |
| Preceded by | Warren Dorn |
| Succeeded by | Michael D. Antonovich |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 5, 1919 Superior, Wisconsin |
| Died | February 4, 2002 (aged 82) Kirkland, Washington |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Karen |
| Children | Torrey |
The nephew of Lewis Baxter Schwellenbach, Ward was born in Superior, Wisconsin, and grew up in Ephrata, Washington.
Ward served as a Los Angeles County Supervisor from 1972–1980. As supervisor, Ward was an early advocate for passenger rail transportation in the county, something Los Angeles had lacked since the abandonment of the Pacific Electric Railway in the 1950s.
Under Ward's aegis, L.A. County purchased eight rail cars from the El Camino in an attempt to bootstrap commuter rail in the greater Los Angeles area. Baxter Ward's initial effort failed, dubbed "Baxter's Choo-Choo" by its numerous contemporary critics,[1] and although the purchased cars were used on Amtrak's San Diegan for six months in 1978, the criticism stuck, ultimately contributing to his 1980 election loss to Michael D. Antonovich.[2] It is worth noting, however, that the original commuter rail route envisioned by Ward eventually did come to fruition in the form of Metrolink's Orange County Line, albeit some years after the end of his career as a Los Angeles County Supervisor.[3]
During the 1950s and early 60s he introduced a non-fiction documentary television show called Adventure Tomorrow with Dr. Martin L. Klein, which presented technology of the exciting years of the early Space Age. The program's producer, George Van Valkenburg described the series as covering anything that moves, flies or explodes. Ward also worked as a television news anchor first at KCOP-Channel 13, and then with KABC-Channel 7 in Los Angeles before he ran for Mayor.
He ran for mayor of Los Angeles one last time in 1989 against Mayor Tom Bradley.
Ward died in 2002, following a long battle with lung cancer. He was 82 years old.[4][5]
References
- Jones, Jack; Rich, Connell. "'Baxter's Choo-Choo' to Chug Chug in Mexico : Supervisors Giving County's Idle Train a One-Way Ticket". LATimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
- Hobbs, Charles P. (2014). Hidden History of Transportation in Los Angeles. The History Press. ISBN 1-6261-9671-0.
- Elkind, Ethan N. (2014). Railtown: The fight for the Los Angeles Metro Rail and the future of the city. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-95720-6.
- Oliver, Myrna. "Baxter Ward, 82; Political Maverick". LATimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
- Stacey, Klein. "Newsman, ex-supervisor succumbs to battle against lung cancer". SCVHistory.com. The Signal. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
External links
| Preceded by Warren Dorn |
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 5th district 1972—1980 |
Succeeded by Michael D. Antonovich |