The Curious Case Of 2 Men Named Bob Baker

SAN CLEMENTE (CBSLA.com) — Two San Clemente City Council candidates who share the same, identical name were battling Thursday over who's name will appear first on the Nov. 6 ballot.

A drawing was held by the city clerk to decide whether incumbent councilman Robert "Bob" Baker or challenger Robert "Bob" Baker would take the spot above the other.

The incumbent filed his candidacy papers first and put a "1" by his name.

Challenger Baker filed later and put a "0" by his name.

The state still didn't know who to put first.

So with four other candidates already on the ballot, the fifth spot became prime commodity.

Although Baker "0" ended up winning the top spot, that's not what's bothering incumbent Baker.

His supporters believe challenger Baker's race is a "political ploy" to knock the incumbent off of his council seat and deliberately mislead voters.

All so Baker "1" can stop voting down big development in San Clemente.

"It's a dirty trick to (try) to spilt the vote and elect some third candidate," said incumbent Baker. "I would suspect that those that side with the developers would be opposed to me."

Challenger Baker said his candidacy is the real deal.

"I'm truly running for office. My platform is progressive responsibility for the city," he said.

The incumbent believes the situation will help his bid for reelection.