A 23-year-old City Councilman from Riverbank, California was charged with a litany of offenses after crashing his Corvette into a parked car, while drunk, with his four-year-old kid strapped into the car. Councilman Jesse James White then proceeded to leave his bleeding son in the car as he ran away, only to be "tackled and held by bystanders" until the police arrived.

After spending nearly $69,000 to remove White from office, the City Council of Riverbank gave up because it was too expensive oust him.

It's a victory for small government.

White's accident happened back in February, but the story has continued as the young Councilman — who was elected when he was 19 — has fought to keep his seat and clear his name. Or, well, clear his name from the current set of charges.


In 2009, a grand jury concluded he wasn't a registered voter in Riverbank when he ran for office initially. He was also arrested in 2010 on drug charges. But leaving your bleeding kid in a car you crashed while three-times above the legal limit is a bridge too far even for Riverbank's non-discerning voters.

"What are you gonna do, you know, if people keep electing these idiots?" asked resident Elsa Bayly in in interview with the Sacramento CBS affiliate.


White pleaded not guilty to the charges and said he was going into rehab. His attorney then blamed the media for their coverage when they asked if he actually was going to rehab, saying "That's not your business."

The City Council is hoping voters will take care of White when his term is up in November, but White is apparently still running claiming people shouldn't "believe the hype."

My campaign will continue; I will not be deterred from initiating a petition to cut the huge executive pay raises in Riverbank rather than a sewer rate increase. This is at the core of recent events, liberal progressives who want to raise taxes.

None of the recent events alters that I am the only candidate who has been, and continues to work for you before asking for your vote. I have kept my promises as a Riverbank city councilman. I shall continue my crusade."


You hear that liberal progressives? He will continue, even if he has to abandoned 100 bleeding, crying offspring in 100 wrecked Corvettes.

(Hat tip to Godfathercorvette!)