The Valadao-Cox race goes down to the wire, Father Craig Harrison wins a court case against an accuser and are you leaving Facebook for more conservative social media sites?

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not represent any other company or publication.

 * ... VALADAO-COX: Is history about to repeat itself in the race between Democrat Congressman T.J. Cox and Republican challenger David Valadao. Two years ago Valadao was the incumbent and on election night went to sleep thinking he had won. But after absentee and late reporting precinct ballots were counted, Cox

narrowly edged Valadao and won. As things stand now, Valadao leads Cox by 4,000 votes, yet once again Cox is slowly catching up thanks to late reporting precincts from Cox strongholds and mail-in ballots. There are some 34,000 votes yet to be counted in the four counties that comprise the 21st Congressional District, and 31,000 of them are in Kern County. And that is bad news for Valadao since the Kern ballots come from deeply Democratic pockets of Kern County. Hold tight because this will be another tight one.

 * ... FATHER CRAIG: A judge has ruled that Monsignor Craig Harrison can move forward with a defamation lawsuit against a former friend who said Harrison hit on him sexually and had a pattern of acting inappropriately with other young men. Judge Kennth G. Pritchard denied an anti-SLAPP motion filed by the attorney for Ryan Dixon, who at one time considered Harrison a close personal friend, mentor and spiritual guide. Dixon, who later studied to become a Benedictine monk, turned on Harrison after he claimed Harrison was guilty of "inappropriate touching, lies, manipulation and abuse of power." Perhaps equally damning, Dixon claims Harrison had a pattern of touching and being alone with children, subjecting them to grooming behavior including lavishing then with money and other gifts. Harrison has denied the allegations by Dixon, as he has the other now middle aged men who have accused Harrison of similar incidents of sexual touching and impropriety. Harrison was suspended by the Diocese of Fresno in April of 2019 after multiple allegations of abuse arouse involving Harrison over several decades at different parishes in the Central Valley. Since his suspension he has filed a lawsuit against the Diocese as well as against Dixon and other critics. Harrison can no long perform priestly duties for the church and has been waiting for the church to rule on his fate. The statute of limitations has expired on any possible criminal offenses but Harrison could face civil action by any of the men who have come forward to accuse him of sexual abuse. (file photo of Harrison and Dixon)

 * ... SPOTTED ON FACEBOOK: "I’ve blocked several family members on social media this year. Now how can I block them for the holidays?" 

* ... FACEBOOK EXODUS: Are you part of the migration of conservative voters away from Facebook and Fox News? A large number of viewers, most of them Trump loyalists, are angry at Fox News for allegedly showing bias toward liberals and they are also fed up with Facebook and Twitter because of its censorship policies. Those leaving Facebook are opting for more conservative social media platform options like Parler, MeWe, Rumble or Newsmax.

 * ... MEMORIES: Thanks to the Kern County History Fans for sharing this great old picture from Delano, back in the day.

More lurid details emerge as the case of Monsignor Craig Harrison plays itself out in court filings, the state of Texas seeks to benefit from California's ongoing woes, and Olvia LaVoice leaves KGET for greener pastures in Seattle

Welcome to Bakersfield Observed. Our mission is to celebrate life in Kern County by focusing on newsmakers and events and the local characters who make this community such a special place. The views expressed here are strictly my own and do not reflect the views of any other individual, organization or company. 

 * ... FATHER CRAIG: Are overzealous supporters of Father Craig Harrison harassing and intimidating those who speak out against the suspended priest? Those are the allegations made by a San Diego lawyer who wants to have a Harrison defamation lawsuit dismissed because it targets free speech. The allegations came in two statements included in a legal filing (called an anti-SLAPP motion) filed in response to Harrison's defamation lawsuits against two critics. Those two men are

Stephen Brady, head of a group called Roman Catholic Faithful, and Ryan Dixon, a former friend of Harrison's who is studying to become a monk and is now known as Brother Gilligan. Both have been sued by Harrison because of their criticism of Harrison. The anti-SLAPP motion seeks to have Harrison's lawsuit dismissed, and it provides Harrison's critics a new platform to raise questions about the monsignor's past behavior. Furthermore, the new charges by Brady and Dixon reveal a potential dark underside to the widespread support Harrison enjoys in the community. Some supporters, the motion alleges, have taken matters into their own hands in an attempt to harass and intimidate Brady and Dixon. Among the allegations:
  * Brady claims he received a long series of rambling emails from Harrison's brother, Rick Harrison, in which he brags about hundreds of thousands of dollars raised for his brother's defense. In one email, he refers to Brady as "Satan."
 * The more troubling allegations come from Brother Gilligan, in which he provides details about the time he and Harrison were close at St. Francis. Gilligan alleges Harrison lavished him with money and gifts to buy his allegiance. Gilligan also said Harrison would "befriend older wealthier people for financial gain." A one time, Gilligan said he felt betrayed ... when he (Harrison) asked me inappropriate questions to see whether I was homosexual." One other time, Gilligan said Harrison asked him, "What kind of porn do you watch?"
 * Gilligan went on to allege he grew suspicious that Father Craig was sexually abusing kids at St. Francis and was told by another man that Harrison "would take his temperature by grabbing his testicles." Gilligan also claimed that during one trip, he shared a bed with Harrison and that the monsignor "sexually caressed" his chest for about 10 minutes.
* Gilligan also alleges that Harrison "told me directly that he wanted to tell people the sins I confessed to him so that I would be kicked out of seminary... Fr. Craig threatened to break the seal of confession because he was upset with me for threatening to tell authority figures about how he mishandles money, how he would give young guys, including myself, large amounts of cash, and particularly how he would manipulate me."
 * Since giving testimony against Harrison, Brother Gilligan said his mother had been fired from her position at St. Francis and that his mother's home had been vandalized, her tires had been slashed and that his mother woke one morning to find her yard filled with "We Support Msgr. Craig Harrison" signs. He said his mother and grandmother were living in a "constant state of fear" and were forced to move to Oklahoma.
 Harrison and his attorneys have denied all of these allegations and have indicated they are building a strong case against Brother Gilligan to refute the charges, one by one. It should also be noted that nowhere in Gilligan's statement does he or anyone allege that Father Craig personally directed or was involved (or even knew about) in any retaliatory behavior toward his critics.
 THE NEXT STEP: The judge hearing the case, Judge J. Eric Bradshaw, is weighing a request to have Harrison's personnel file made public. Harrison's attorney, Craig Edmonston, opposes the move and dismissed it as an overly broad fishing expedition. At stake: the personnel files might include past reports of inappropriate behavior as well as how the Diocese of Fresno responded to any previous allegations. (file photo of Father Craig with Ryan Dixon)

 * ... BIRTHDAY: As an aside, it should be noted that Father Craig continues to enjoy enormous popularity in Bakersfield, and that many of his followers are willingly contributing to a defense fund on his behalf. There is open talk of his attorneys suing the Catholic Church itself, and as a show of support, several hundred people (one person estimated the crowd at 600) turned out for a surprise birthday party on Father Craig's 60th birthday last week.

 * ...COURTING TEXAS: The state of Texas has wasted no time in exploiting Calfornia's troubles, erecting billboards across the state to lure businesses to move to the Lone Star state. The billboards promise a steady supply of electricity as opposed to the ongoing blackouts and power outages that have bedeviled California during the fire and high wind reason.

 * ... ADIOS OLIVIA: Olivia LaVoice, one of the better investigative TV reporters to come around in a long time, is leaving KGET for another gig at a Seattle television station. LaVoice will join KCPQ in Seattle, her hometown, after four years with KGET.

 * ... BAD CITIES: Check out this map I spotted on Facebook, which identifies Bakersfield as the "worst" city in California. Who makes these maps anyway? I can think of a hundred towns "worst" than Bakersfield ... have you ever been to Compton, or Inglewood, or Brea, or Modesto, or Riverside, just to name a few? You get my drift.

 * ... MEMORIES:A couple of historic cool old photos of our town back in the day.