Anonymous voicemail appears against Bakersfield City Council candidate Mike Madrigal

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Local politicians are certainly feeling the tension in the week before the election.

Another local race became more murky after an anonymous voicemail against a city council candidate appeared Tuesday afternoon.

The voicemail – which sounds like an automated message – begins: “This is a critical voter alert for residents of Bakersfield City Council Ward 5. Candidate Mike Miguel Madrigal is a convicted domestic violence perpetrator. Kern County prosecutors charged Madrigal with assault with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment after he held a knife to a local woman’s throat. When you cast your vote on November 5, send a strong message and tell Mike Madrigal “no” means “no.”

Kern County Detail: Interview with Bakersfield City Council District 5 Candidates

That’s the content of an anonymous voicemail that emerged Tuesday afternoon, shaking up the three-candidate race Bakersfield City Council District 5.

The candidate in question, Mike Madrigal, will face fellow Republicans Larry Koman and Kevin Oliver.

Both Koman and Oliver vehemently denied having anything to do with the automated message.

Unlike most political ads, this voicemail does not contain any information about who or what group is behind it.

And here the question arises – is it legal?

“Until this is clarified from a legal standpoint, which is extremely difficult to do over the phone… in the meantime, the damage has already been done,” said Dr. Michael Ault, a CSUB political science professor.

Dr Ault added that the timing of the allegations should be kept in mind.

“I think one of the strategic reasons from a campaign perspective is that you want to save the best for last, and this is quite a bomb,” the professor said:

Jenny Huh ’17: “Is this dirty politics?”

Dr. Michael Ault: “It’s dirty politics.”

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According to the case files, Madrigal was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and false imprisonment.

He accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 12 days in jail and three years probation for a misdemeanor after pleading not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false imprisonment.

The second bill was rejected.

“So the claim that this is false, completely false and disingenuous,” Dr. Ault said.

In a statement to 17 News on Tuesday morning – before the voicemail was reported – Madrigal stated in part: “In June 2005, 19 years ago, I went to a party with my ex-girlfriend. I was only 21… We were both drunk and I had her keys in my pocket. She wanted me to give her the car keys, but I refused because I didn’t want her to drive drunk… I had a pocket knife and I took it out to scare her. It was a stupid mistake… She tried to physically take my keys and during the brief scuffle she accidentally suffered a minor cut… The district attorney dismissed the assault charge and I instead pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false imprisonment for restricting her movement by refusing to give her the keys. I was placed on probation for a misdemeanor and given several days off work. I regret this mistake… I am a much more responsible person now than I was when I was 21.”

The victim and her family do not want to comment on this case for now.

Madrigal’s campaign manager and Kern GOP leader Cathy Abernathy told 17 News Madrigal is maintaining her entry in the race despite calls to suspend the campaign.

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