Assessor Bill Postmus isn't doing himself any favors with his paranoid-sounding reactions to the calls for him to refute allegations that he was addicted to methamphetamine, or to resign.

The embattled official, rather than tackling the illegal drug-use accusations head-on, accused Board of Supervisors Chairman Paul Biane of trying to destroy him politically and stage a "political coup d'etat."

Come on, now. Far from being political enemies, Postmus and Biane were virtually joined at the hip during 2005 and 2006, when Postmus was chairman of the board and Biane was vice chairman.

During the same years, Postmus was chairman of the county Republican Party and Biane was his vice chairman.

The pair together tried to directly negotiate a lawsuit settlement with Colonies Partners while the developer was suing the county over a flood control basin on its property.

In other words, they were Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Postmus seems to think Biane enjoyed turning over to the DA a series of e-mails implying assessor's staff conducted political activity on county time and equipment.

I don't believe Biane enjoyed it. I think he just finally decided to do the right thing, once he was out from under Postmus' thumb -- after Biane became chairman of the board in 2007 and Postmus was safely ensconced in the assessor's office.

It's a shame Postmus hasn't followed the advice of his former peers to come clean about his alleged drug use.

American voters have shown themselves to be very forgiving when elected officials admit their mistakes and promise no future transgressions.

There's no shame in seeking help for substance abuse (assuming the allegations are true). Sources close to Postmus say he's been in rehab twice.

One of the first things rehab programs require is that the abuser admit he has a problem.

It doesn't serve Postmus' credibility (or his future electability) to keep dodging the question and saying it's a "personal matter." He's an elected public official; the public deserves to know whether he conducted the public's business under the influence.

One of those closest to him, Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt, said he never saw signs of drug abuse during the six years he was Postmus' chief of staff. In fact, Postmus rarely drank alcohol, Mitzelfelt said.

He is high-strung and sometimes showed visible signs of stress, but that was true years before the allegations of meth use arose, Mitzelfelt said.

I asked Mitzelfelt during our phone interview Wednesday afternoon whether county supervisors have considered asking Postmus to voluntarily take a drug test. He said they have not.

A few minutes later, by coincidence, I received a news release from Treasurer/Tax Collector Dick Larsen calling for mandatory random drug testing of all top county officials.

Larsen believes the people of San Bernardino County deserve drug-free public servants, and said, "We shouldn't be paying for a drugged-up employee who endangers others."

The idea has appeal. But it might make county leaders feel they're paying for the sins of one wayward colleague, the same way every county employee felt under suspicion after the bribery scandal of 1998.

And that doesn't seem quite fair.

Cassie MacDuff can be reached at 909-806-3068 or cmacduff@PE.com