Um … Mr. Councilman, the camera is on.An embarrassing moment at city hall was caught on camera when a city councilman refused to have a conversation with a local TV news reporter.
Councilman: “I’m Carl Baker and I’m a councilman here. Get your ass out of here.“
Reporter: “Why is that?“
Councilman: “Because I said so –”
Reporter: “This is a public building.“
Councilman: “Oh yeah it is and I am a public official … (Cue awkward pause when Baker notices the camera is on him) … is that on?“ The investigation is not in regards to the city, but a business, “The Sea Mountain Spa,” which a hidden camera report revealed was acting as undercover sex spa. The reporter went to City Hall after two separate interview requests were turned down.
“We asked the Desert Hot Springs City Manager Rick Daniels to speak with us about the code and more importantly about Sea Mountain Resort. He denied our request twice,” according to the reporter on the news station’s Web site.
“When I went to City Hall to try to discuss the topic with the City Manager, City Council Member Karl Baker walked out of his own office and told me to “get my ass out of here”. We stayed, since City Hall is public property. He also declined our request for an interview.”
City Councilman Russell Betts was much more cooperative, granting an interview and telling the reporter that he will ask City Manager Rick Daniels to conduct a full review of the Sea Mountain Spa.
Contact Editor James Spencer at jspencer@publicceo.com
The moment took place in Desert Hot Springs in the Coachella Valley when a reporter came looking for answers for his investigative report on a suspected sex spa in the city. According to city code: “A sexual encounter establishment is not a permitted use.“
“I’ve seen it, I know what it is, I’ve been inside it … it is no violation of city law,” Councilman Carl Baker told the reporter after realizing the camera was on. 