Baxter Ward

Baxter Ward (November 5, 1919 – February 4, 2002) was a television news anchor who served two terms on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Prior to his election on the board, he ran third in an unsuccessful bid to unseat Sam Yorty for Mayor of Los Angeles in 1969.

Ward served as a supervisor from 1972–1980. As supervisor Ward was a strong advocate for public transport. Under his aegis the county acquired eight rail cars, dubbed El Camino, to bootstrap commuter rail in the Los Angeles area. This effort failed, although the cars operated on Amtrak's San Diegan route for six months in 1978. Critics dubbed the train "Baxter Ward's Choo-Choo" and it contributed to his failed re-election in 1980.^[1]

He was born Baxter Ward Schwellenbach in Superior, Wisconsin, and grew up in Ephrata, Washington. He was the nephew of Lewis Baxter Schwellenbach.

During the 1950s and early 60s he introduced a non-fiction documentary television show called Adventure Tomorrow with Dr. Martin L. Klein, which presented technology of the exciting years of the early Space Age. The program's producer, George Van Valkenburg described the series as covering anything that moves, flies or explodes. ,

Ward was a television news anchor first at KCOP-Channel 13, and then with KABC-Channel 7 in Los Angeles before he ran for Mayor.

References

External links

• Klein, Stacey. "Baxter Ward, L.A. County Supervisor, 1974-80". Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. Retrieved 2002-02-04. 
• obituary at ourcamcapigns.com