Roger Allan Hedgecock (born May 2,1946) is an American politician and conservative talk radio host,who served as 30th mayor of San Diego between May 1983 and December 1985. His show is syndicated by Radio America.
Hedgecock was born in Compton,California. When Hedgecock was 10 years old,his family moved to the Loma Portal area of San Diego. His father was unable to work because of illness. The family faced tough times,and the younger Hedgecock worked various jobs in his youth. Since his youth,he has been an avid surfer.
Hedgecock was not qualified for military service during the Vietnam War for medical reasons. His severe acne caused him to be rated first 1-Y and then 4-F.[2]
Political career
Hedgecock during his tenure as mayor of San Diego
Hedgecock became politically active at an early age,volunteering to work in US Senator Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign. In 1976,he was elected to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and served until 1983.
In 1983 he was elected mayor of San Diego. Although San Diego municipal elections are "non-partisan" (party affiliation is not listed on the ballot),Hedgecock ran as a "progressive" Republican.[citation needed] He campaigned to stop the "Los Angelization"[3][failed verification] of San Diego,a term in San Diego that is synonymous with the uncontrolled urban and suburban development,overcrowding and pollution of Los Angeles.[4][5]
In 1985,Hedgecock was charged with felonies related to receiving over $350,000 in illegal campaign funds and was forced from office because of the scandal.[6] The key players,including Hedgecock and his associates,[7] admitted in sworn statements that they knowingly and willingly broke the law when they conspired to funnel money from a wealthy financier into Hedgecock's 1983 mayoral campaign fund.[8] Though Hedgecock claimed none of it was true,he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and was found guilty of 12 counts of perjury,related to the alleged failure to report all campaign contributions. Since California,like most other states,does not allow convicted felons to hold elected office,Hedgecock resigned on December 5 of that year. His first trial ended in a mistrial with a hung jury after the jury deadlocked 11–1 in favor of conviction. However,two of the 12 jurors in the first trial submitted sworn statements that the jury bailiff,Al Burroughs,provided them with alcohol and tried to pressure them into finding Hedgecock guilty. State prosecutors investigated the possibility of criminal jury tampering. As part of the investigation,Burroughs admitted trying to influence the verdict. Under California superior court rules,any attempt on a bailiff's part to influence a verdict is serious misconduct that can be grounds for reversal. However,prosecutors refused to release transcripts of their investigation interviews to Hedgecock's attorneys.[9]
A San Diego appellate court ruled in 1988 that the judge presiding over the second trial "who had announced from the bench that he believed Hedgecock was guilty was wrong to block release of the transcripts to the defendant. Hedgecock was denied access to the documents for two more years until he appealed to the California Supreme Court,which ordered the transcripts released. In that appeal,the Supreme Court threw out 12 perjury convictions and set aside the remaining conspiracy charge pending a hearing on Hedgecock's motion for a jury trial on grounds of jury tampering.[9]
The defense obtained the transcripts in October 1990. The following month,Hedgecock reached a plea deal with prosecutors of one count of conspiracy in return for no prison time and no retrial. As part of the deal,a judge reduced the felony to a misdemeanor and dismissed the case on December 31,1990.[9]
Radio and television career
With the controversy ending his political career,Hedgecock accepted a job as a talk show host on San Diego's AM 1130 KSDO,where he remained until moving to KOGO AM 600 in 1997.[10][11] He started four days after resigning from the mayoralty,with his first show on January 20,1986. His show aired from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Several years later,Hedgecock's time slot moved to 12 noon to 3 p.m.,to make room for The Rush Limbaugh Show in the schedule. His show eventually moved to the 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. time slot.
Beginning in November 2007,Hedgecock hosted a nationally syndicated radio talk show on Saturdays from 9:00a.m. to 12p.m.,Pacific Time,the flagship station being KOGO. On January 5,2009,his show began being syndicated nationwide by Radio America. Originally,the plan was for the fourth hour of the show to continue only on KOGO and continue the discussion of topics relevant to the local San Diego/Southern California audience,but KOGO later decided to drop the fourth hour altogether,thus bringing to an end the Community Forum,which had been his focus since the show's inception in 1986.[citation needed]
In November 2011,it was announced that Hedgecock would be leaving his local flagship station,KOGO,and would move his nationally syndicated show to a new flagship home,radio station AM 760 KFMB,San Diego's CBS radio and television network affiliate. His weekday 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Time broadcast debuted there on January 2,2012. The show's format continues to focus on political and social topics from a conservative point of view.
Until October 2007,he was also a frequent guest host for The Rush Limbaugh Show,also nationally syndicated. Hedgecock was not invited again to guest host for Limbaugh after that time,according to Hedgecock's producer of 15 years,because Limbaugh became angry when Hedgecock started a syndicated radio program on Saturdays without first informing Limbaugh.[12]
On February 23,2015,during the opening of his radio program,Hedgecock announced that he would be leaving his show on March 27,2015. He made clear he would continue to do correspondence and interviews,but it would be the end of his radio show that he started in 1986,"before Rush and before Hannity," when people told him that talking politics on the radio was taboo.
Controversies
In 1994,Hedgecock organized a group of protesters calling themselves "The Normal People". They applied to march in the Pride parade “in political disagreement to the homosexual agenda.”When rejected by the organizers of the parade,Hedgecock filed a lawsuit,arguing that their exclusion violated San Diego's "Human Dignity Ordinance." The Superior Court rejected their claim,arguing that their right to march was not protected under the ordinance,since the parade was a private event and the "Normal People" message was intended to interfere with the event.[15]
Hedgecock drew the attention of civil rights groups in 2006 when he invited white nationalists and other extremists to an anti-immigrant conference that he organized.[16] He also was criticized for inviting one of the white nationalists,Peter Brimelow,onto a radio program Hedgecock hosted in 2008.[17]
Lawsuit against the City of San Diego
In April 2017,Hedgecock sued the City of San Diego for "the loss of support,service,love,companionship,society,affection,relations and solace from his wife" (according to court records) after his wife broke her breast implants when she tripped on a public street;the lawsuit alleges that the sidewalk was uneven due to a nearby tree,causing Hedgecock's wife to fall.[18]
In 1986 he formed a band with well-known San Diego journalist Thomas K. Arnold called The Arnold-Hedgecock Experience. Arnold was a writer for the San Diego Reader,San Diego Magazine,the Los Angeles Times and numerous other publications;in the early 1980s he also engineered 1960s pop star Gary Puckett's comeback. They recorded a cover of "Louie,Louie" and donated proceeds to St. Vincent de Paul,a local charity;they played several concerts around town,including opening for The Kingsmen in Oceanside in front of 10,000 people.[20] Arnold is currently the publisher and editorial director of Media Play News,one of five Hollywood trades and the only one dedicated to the home entertainment sector.[21]
Personal life
He resides in San Diego. Since 2016,Hedgecock and his wife Cindy Hedgecock also own a 10-acre apple orchard in Julian,California,a mountain town east of San Diego.[22] They have two sons.
Published works
Roger Hedgecock and Francine Phillips,If We Say it Enough We'll Believe It (1992)
Roger Hedgecock and Francine Phillips,Fight City Hall and Win (1993)
Related Research Articles
Michael Edward Reagan is an American conservative political commentator,Republican strategist,and former radio talk show host. He is the adopted son of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan and his first wife,actress Jane Wyman. He works as a columnist for Newsmax.
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues,dialogues between the hosts,interviews with guests,and/or listener participation which may be live conversations between the host and listeners who "call in" or via voice mail. Listener contributions are usually screened by a show's producers to maximize audience interest and,in the case of commercial talk radio,to attract advertisers.
KFI is a radio station in Los Angeles,California,owned and operated by iHeartMedia,Inc. It began operations in 1922 and became one of the first high-powered,clear-channel Class A stations. It was the first U.S. station west of Chicago to broadcast at 50,000 watts.
KSEV is a commercial radio station,licensed to Tomball,Texas,and serving Greater Houston. It broadcasts a talk radio format and is owned by Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. The studios and offices are on Katy Freeway (I-10) in Houston. The transmitter is off FM 2978 in Magnolia,Texas.
Michael Robin Jackson was a British-American talk radio host and occasional actor. He was based in the Los Angeles area. Jackson is best known for his radio show which covered arts,politics,and human interest subjects,particularly in the Los Angeles and greater Southern California area in the era before "shock jocks". His show originally aired on L.A. radio station KABC and briefly aired on KGIL.
The John and Ken Show was an American talk radio show,hosted by John Chester Kobylt and Kenneth Robertson Chiampou. The show aired Monday thru Friday,from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific Time on KFI AM 640,a local Southern California talk radio station. The program is one of the most listened to local talk radio programs in the United States and draws an estimated weekly audience of approximately 1.2 million listeners.
Springer on the Radio was an American radio program broadcast from WCKY and later WSAI in Cincinnati from January 17,2005 to December 5,2006 and syndicated nationally on the Air America Radio network from April 1,2005 to September 18,2006 when it moved to Air America syndication,meaning that it was still syndicated nationally,but not on the Air America network lineup. It was hosted by Jerry Springer,best known as a TV talk show host. Springer is a former Democratic politician still active in the party organization. His radio show focused on the day's news with a liberal and progressive standpoint. It aired on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET on select Air America radio stations. Executive Producer,Stephanie Cornett and technical producer Paul Mason. The theme on all Friday shows was called Freedom Fridays,allowing callers to talk about whatever topic they desired. On the other days of the week,callers were only allowed to comment on what Springer was discussing.
KKSF is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Oakland,California and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and has an all-news radio format,with programming from the co-owned Black Information Network (BIN). The studios are located on Townsend Street in San Francisco's SoMa district.
The Rush Limbaugh Show was an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh. Since its nationally syndicated premiere in 1988,The Rush Limbaugh Show became the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States. At its peak,the show aired on over 650 radio stations nationwide.
The mayor of the City of San Diego is the official head and chief executive officer of the U.S. city of San Diego,California. The mayor has the duty to enforce and execute the laws enacted by the San Diego City Council,the legislative branch. The mayor serves a four-year term and is limited to two successive terms.
KGB is a commercial AM radio station licensed to San Diego,California. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a sports radio format. KGB has local sports talk shows along with play-by-play coverage of San Diego State Aztecs football and basketball,Los Angeles Lakers basketball,San Diego Gulls hockey,and national programming from Fox Sports Radio. The studios are in the Serra Mesa neighborhood in northeastern San Diego.
KOGO is a commercial AM radio station in San Diego,California. The station airs a news/talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia,Inc. The studios and offices are located in San Diego's Kearny Mesa neighborhood on the northeast side.
KLSD is a commercial radio station in San Diego,California,broadcasting a conservative talk radio format branded as "The Patriot." It is owned by iHeartMedia with studios on Granite Ridge Drive. Programming is also heard on FM translator K227DH at 103.3 MHz.
KEIB is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles,California. Owned by iHeartMedia,the station brands itself as The Patriot,and broadcasts a conservative talk radio format. The station's studios are on West Olive Avenue in Burbank.
KSDO is a radio station in San Diego,California,broadcasts at 1130 KHz. The station is licensed for 10,000 watts of power from a directional antenna system,but has been operating since 2016 with 2,500 watts non-directional from a different site. It is owned by Hi-Favor Broadcasting,and airs a Spanish Christian format branded "Radio Inspiración".
Rick Roberts is an American conservative talk radio host who most recently hosted an afternoon show on WBAP (AM) in the Dallas/Fort Worth market. He was formerly on KOKC AM and later KTOK AM in Oklahoma City during morning drive,5am to 8am. He has a law degree.
America's Talk was a talk radio channel available exclusively on iHeartRadio. Owned by Clear Channel Broadcasting,Inc.,America's Talk featured terrestrial radio show simulcasts and tape delay broadcasts from across the United States. Advertising sales were handled by Premiere Networks.
Steve Yuhas is a conservative radio personality in Southern California. He is a frequent guest on radio and television programs and contributes to a myriad of newspapers and magazines. The Steve Yuhas Show airs on News Radio 600 KOGO. The moniker of the program produced by Clear Channel Communications is 'Uniquely Conservative Talk Radio' and is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues,as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough that libertarian talk show hosts are also included in the definition. The format has become the dominant form of talk radio in the United States since the 1987 abolition of the fairness doctrine.
Richard Warner Carlson is an American journalist,diplomat and lobbyist who was the director of the Voice of America from 1986 to 1991. Carlson has also been a newspaper and wire service reporter,magazine writer,documentary filmmaker,and television/radio correspondent. He is the father of conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
