Jeff Hewitt (politician)

Last updated
Jeff Hewitt
Jeff Hewitt December 2021 (cropped).jpg
Hewitt in 2021
Chair of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors
In office
January 11, 2022 –January 10, 2023

Jeffrey Hewitt [1] (born 1953) is an American politician who served on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors from 2019 to 2023, and as its chair from 2022 to 2023. A member of the Libertarian Party, Hewitt previously served on the Calimesa City Council and as the city's mayor.

Contents

Hewitt was elected to the Calimesa city council in the 2010 election and reelected in the 2014 election before being selected by the city council to become mayor in 2015. He unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the California State Senate and California State Assembly in the 2014 and 2016 elections. Hewitt was elected to the board of supervisors despite being outspent and was labeled as the most powerful elected Libertarian in the United States by the Los Angeles Times . He ran in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election with the support of the Libertarian Party of California.

Calimesa City Council (2010–2018)

Hewitt as Mayor of Calimesa Calimesa Mayor Jeff Hewitt.png
Hewitt as Mayor of Calimesa

Hewitt was elected to the Calimesa City Council on November 2, 2010, and sworn in on December 7. [2] He was appointed to a second four-year term by the Council in 2014. [3] The council unanimously elected Hewitt Mayor on December 11, 2015, succeeding Joyce McIntire. [4]

In 2018, Hewitt limited Calimesa's contract with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) to circumvent the state's union requirements. In its place, Calimesa established its own fire department that was free to offer 401(k) retirement plans to its employees in lieu of the pensions required by the Cal Fire union, which had accounted for a large portion of the city's budget. The change also allowed Calimesa to reduce its staffing levels on fire trucks. Hewitt argued that the staffing levels mandated by Riverside County cities with Cal Fire contracts were unnecessarily high, and claims cost cuts made possible by the switch to a city-run fire department saved Calimesa from bankruptcy. [5]

Hewitt resigned from the council on December 20, 2018, after being elected to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors in November. He was succeeded by Bill Davis. [6]

Riverside County Supervisor (2019–2023)

Hewitt's official portrait, 2019 Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Hewitt portrait 2.jpg
Hewitt's official portrait, 2019

In an upset victory, Hewitt was elected to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors from District 5 in 2018 against former Republican Assemblyman Russ Bogh, despite Bogh raising twice as much money as Hewitt. Hewitt was sworn into office as a supervisor on January 8, 2019, by Libertarian National Committee Chair Nicholas Sarwark, succeeding retiring supervisor Marion Ashley. [7] [8] [9] In 2018, the Los Angeles Times named Hewitt as the most powerful Libertarian ever elected in the United States, though according to Reason he has since been surpassed by Wyoming State Representative Marshall Burt. [7] [10] [11]

Amid the California government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hewitt pushed Riverside County to reopen its businesses more quickly than the rest of California. In September 2020, Hewitt introduced legislation to establish restrictions specific to Riverside County, which would've been looser than those set by the state. The legislation would've allowed some indoor services that had been ordered closed to reopen with capacity limits, including restaurants, gyms, hair salons, places of worship, movie theaters, libraries, and retailers. Hewitt's proposal would have reopened the County fully by November 3, with large events being permitted starting on October 13. Due to a threat by Governor Gavin Newsom to cut state funding to counties that did not follow his guidelines for reopening, Hewitt's plan had the potential to cost Riverside County between $28 million and $656 million in state funding. Hewitt argued that the additional tax revenue gained from reopening the County would offset any loss of state funds. On September 22, the Board of Supervisors voted 3–2 to advance Hewitt's proposal, but delayed its implementation to October. [12] On October 6, the Board voted 4–1 to enact a modified version of Hewitt's plan, with Hewitt as the sole opposing vote. Hewitt says he voted against the final version because the specific deadlines in his original proposal had been removed, and language had been added directing the County to cooperate with the state on reopening guidelines. [13]

In November 2020, a female county employee filed a lawsuit against the county which accused Hewitt of sexual harassment back in May 2020. [14] Riverside County settled the lawsuit in connection with the allegation for $50,000 in April 2021. [15] Later that month, another female county employee filed suit against the county, and accused Hewitt and his chief of staff of making "disparaging and vulgar comments" back in October 2020. [16]

On January 12, 2021, Hewitt was elected by the board to serve as its vice chair for the year. He succeeded Karen Spiegel, who was elected Chair. [17] [18] On January 12, 2022, Hewitt was elected by the board to serve as its chair for the year, with Kevin Jeffries elected Vice Chair. [19] In an unusual move, supervisors Chuck Washington and V. Manuel Perez, both Democrats, abstained from voting on the 2022 appointments. Such votes have been unanimous for at least the last two decades, with the positions rotated annually by district. Washington has also endorsed Hewitt's 2022 re-election challenger, Democratic mayor Yxstian Gutierrez of Moreno Valley, potentially the first such endorsement by a sitting supervisor against a colleague. [20] [21] Hewitt and Gutierrez advanced from the top-two primary on June 7, 2022. [22] Hewitt lost re-election to Gutierrez in the general election. [23]

Other political activities

Hewitt speaking on a panel at FreedomFest 2021 in Rapid City, South Dakota, during his gubernatorial campaign Jeff Hewitt (51702594347).jpg
Hewitt speaking on a panel at FreedomFest 2021 in Rapid City, South Dakota, during his gubernatorial campaign

Hewitt sought election to the California State Senate in 2014 and the California State Assembly in 2016. [9]

On April 2, 2016, Hewitt was elected the Region 4 representative to the Libertarian National Committee, succeeding Daniel Wiener. [24] [25] He was re-elected in 2018 [26] and 2020. [1] Hewitt announced his candidacy in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election in an op-ed in the Orange County Register on May 2, 2021. [11] The 50% threshold to recall incumbent Democrat Gavin Newsom was not reached. [27] Hewitt received 0.7% of the replacement candidate vote. [28]

Electoral history

2010 Calimesa City Council election [29]
CandidateVotes %
Jim Hyatt1,56038.4
Jeff Hewitt1,00724.8
John Keith88221.7
Arthur Guerrero61415.1
Total votes4,063 100%
2014 California State Senate special election, District 23 [30]
Primary election
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Mike Morrell 43,447 62.6
Democratic Ronald O'Donnell 10,531 15.2
Democratic Ameenah Fuller6,7059.7
Libertarian Jeff Hewitt4,4796.5
Republican Crystal Ruiz4,1876.0
Total votes69,349 100%
2016 California State Assembly election, District 42 [31]
Primary election
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Chad Mayes (incumbent) 49,580 50.8
Democratic Greg Rodriguez 40,446 41.4
Libertarian Jeff Hewitt7,6017.8
Total votes97,627 100%
2018 Riverside County Board of Supervisors election, District 5 [32] [33]
Primary election
CandidateVotes %
Russ Bogh 14,69826.6
Jeff Hewitt14,30425.9
Jaime Hurtado11,40920.7
Patricia Vargas Sanchez8,38815.2
Altie Holcomb6,40211.6
Total votes55,201 100%
General election
Jeff Hewitt54,89151.9
Russ Bogh 50,87848.1
Total votes105,769 100%
2021 California gubernatorial recall election (replacement candidates) [28]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Larry Elder 3,563,86748.4%
Democratic Kevin Paffrath 706,7789.6%
Republican Kevin Faulconer 590,3468.0%
Democratic Brandon M. Ross392,0295.3%
Republican John Cox 305,0954.1%
Republican Kevin Kiley 255,4903.5%
Democratic Jacqueline McGowan214,2422.9%
Democratic Joel Ventresca186,3452.5%
Democratic Daniel Watts167,3552.3%
Democratic Holly L. Baade92,2181.3%
Democratic Patrick Kilpatrick 86,6171.2%
Democratic Armando "Mando" Perez-Serrato85,0611.2%
Republican Caitlyn Jenner 75,2151.0%
Democratic John R. Drake68,5450.9%
Green Dan Kapelovitz64,3750.9%
Libertarian Jeff Hewitt50,3780.7%
Republican Ted Gaines 47,9370.7%
No party preference Angelyne 35,9000.5%
No party preference David Moore31,224nil
Republican Anthony Trimino28,101nil
Republican Doug Ose 26,204nil
No party preference Michael Loebs25,468nil
Green Heather Collins24,260nil
No party preference Major Singh21,394nil
Republican David Lozano19,945nil
Republican Denver Stoner19,588nil
Republican Sam Gallucci18,134nil
Republican Steve Chavez Lodge17,435nil
Republican Jenny Rae Le Roux16,032nil
Republican David Alexander Bramante11,501nil
Republican Diego Martinez10,860nil
Republican Robert C. Newman II10,602nil
Republican Sarah Stephens10,583nil
No party preference Dennis Richter10,468nil
Republican Major Williams (write-in)8,965nil
No party preference Denis Lucey8,182nil
No party preference James G. Hanink7,193nil
Republican Daniel Mercuri7,110nil
Republican Chauncey "Slim" Killens6,879nil
Republican Leo S. Zacky6,099nil
No party preference Kevin Kaul5,600nil
Republican David Hillberg4,435nil
No party preference Adam Papagan4,021nil
Republican Rhonda Furin3,964nil
Republican Nickolas Wildstar3,811nil
No party preference Jeremiah "Jeremy" Marciniak2,894nil
Republican Joe M. Symmon2,397nil
No party preference Miki Habryn (write-in)137nil
Democratic Roxanne (write-in)116nil
Democratic Stacy Smith (write-in)81nil
No party preference Vivek B. Mohan (write-in)68nil
American Independent Thuy E. Hugens (write-in)19nil
No party preference Vince Lundgren (write-in)5nil
Total valid votes7,361,568100
Turnout 12,892,57858.5%
Registered electors 22,057,154
2022 Riverside County Board of Supervisors election, District 5 [22] [34]
Primary election
CandidateVotes %
Yxstian Gutierrez19,33733.6
Jeff Hewitt18,29231.8
Lloyd White15,06626.2
Deni Antionette Mazingo4,9088.5
Total votes57,603 100%
General election
Yxstian Gutierrez47,31254.3
Jeff Hewitt39,88745.7
Total votes87,199 100%

Personal life

Hewitt was born in 1953 in Redlands, California. [35] He is married to his third wife Wendy, who is the secretary of the Riverside County Libertarian Party. [7] She has served on the Calimesa City Council since 2020. [36] Hewitt has six children. [35]

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References

  1. 1 2 Johnston, Bob (28 July 2020). "New LNC Elected at National Convention". Libertarian Party . Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  2. ↑ Waldner, Erin (7 December 2010). "CALIMESA: City Council election winners sworn in". The Press-Enterprise . Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  3. ↑ Waldner, Erin (23 August 2014). "CALIMESA: Hewitt, Hyatt appointed to City Council". The Press-Enterprise . Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  4. ↑ "Hewitt voted in as Calimesa's new mayor". Calimesa News Mirror. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  5. ↑ Greenhut, Steven (12 January 2018). "Tiny California City's Firefighting Reform Could Be Model for Others". Reason . Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  6. ↑ DaSilva, Karen (December 20, 2018). "Outgoing Mayor Hewitt honored and Davis elected Calimesa mayor". Calimesa News Mirror. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 Arellano, Gustavo (5 February 2019). "Can this Riverside County Libertarian make a fringe party mainstream?". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  8. ↑ Welch, Matt (7 December 2018). "Libertarian Jeff Hewitt Wins Seat on Riverside County Board of Supervisors". Reason . Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  9. 1 2 Horseman, Jeff (16 October 2017). "Calimesa Mayor Jeff Hewitt is running for Riverside County supervisor". The Press-Enterprise . Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  10. ↑ Weissmueller, Zach (8 July 2019). "How Libertarian Politician Jeff Hewitt Won in California". Reason . Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  11. 1 2 Shackford, Scott (3 May 2021). "Libertarian Jeff Hewitt Jumps Into California Governor Recall Race". Reason . Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  12. ↑ Pinho, Faith (22 September 2020). "Riverside County moves to dump state's plan and allow a quicker coronavirus reopening". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  13. ↑ "Riverside County approves reopening plan as region may slide back to purple tier". KABC-TV . 6 October 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  14. ↑ Horseman, Jeff (11 December 2020). "Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Hewitt accused of sexual harassment". The Press-Enterprise . Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  15. ↑ Damien, Christopher (10 April 2021). "Riverside County pays $50K to settle sexual harassment claim against Supervisor Hewitt". The Desert Sun . Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  16. ↑ Reyes, Jesus (16 April 2021). "Second harassment claim filed against Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Hewitt". KESQ-TV . Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  17. ↑ Riverside County Clerk of the Board (12 January 2021). "Board Member Appointments 2021" (PDF). p. 1. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  18. ↑ "Supervisor Perez to Lead Riverside County as Board Chair". Greater Coachella Valley Chamber. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  19. ↑ Riverside County Clerk of the Board (11 January 2022). "Board Member Appointments 2022" (PDF). p. 1. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  20. ↑ Reyes, Jesus (11 January 2022). "RivCo Board of Supervisors seats new chair, but some abstain from vote in rare move". City News Service . KESQ-TV . Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  21. ↑ Horseman, Jeff (13 January 2022). "Riverside County Supervisor Chuck Washington endorses foe of Supervisor Jeff Hewitt". The Press-Enterprise . Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  22. 1 2 "Riverside County Statewide Direct Primary Election, June 7, 2022 – Official Election Results". County of Riverside Registrar of Voters. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  23. ↑ Rodriguez, Sal (27 November 2022). "Notable midterm losses across Southern California". The Orange County Register . Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  24. ↑ "2016 Convention Minutes" (PDF). Libertarian Party of California. 3 April 2016. p. 13. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  25. ↑ Wiener, Daniel (12 July 2015). "Region 4 / California Report" (PDF). Libertarian Party . Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  26. ↑ "2018 Convention Minutes" (PDF). Libertarian Party of California. 29 April 2018. p. 32. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  27. ↑ Ronayne, Kathleen; Blood, Michael (15 September 2021). "California Gov. Gavin Newsom beats back GOP-led recall". Associated Press . Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  28. 1 2 California Secretary of State. "Statement of Vote – September 14, 2021 California Gubernatorial Recall Election" (PDF). p. 11. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  29. ↑ "Riverside County Consolidated General Election, November 2, 2010 - Final Official Results". County of Riverside Registrar of Voters. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  30. ↑ Secretary of State of California. "March 25, 2014 Special Primary Election Official Canvass - 23rd Senate District" (PDF). Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  31. ↑ Secretary of State of California. "June 7, 2016 Presidential Primary Election Statement of Vote - State Assemblymember by District" (PDF). p. 120. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  32. ↑ "Riverside County Statewide Direct Primary Election, June 5, 2018 - Final Official Results". County of Riverside Registrar of Voters. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  33. ↑ "Riverside County Consolidated General Election, November 6, 2018 - Final Official Results". County of Riverside Registrar of Voters. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  34. ↑ "Riverside County Consolidated General Election, November 8, 2022 – Official Election Results". County of Riverside Registrar of Voters. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  35. 1 2 "About Jeff Hewitt". Jeff Hewitt – Riverside County Supervisor. Riverside County, California. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  36. ↑ DaSilva, Karen (20 December 2020). "Calimesa council welcomes Hewitt, and says goodbye to Clark and Smith". Calimesa News Mirror. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Daniel Wiener
 Member of the Libertarian National Committee
from the 4th region
2016–2022		Succeeded by
Carrie Eiler
Political offices
Preceded by
Joyce McIntire
 Mayor of Calimesa
2015–2018		Succeeded by
Bill Davis
Preceded by
Marion Ashley
 Member of the Riverside County
Board of Supervisors from the 5th district
2019-2023		Succeeded by
Yxstian Gutierrez
Preceded by
Karen Spiegel
 Vice Chair of the Riverside County
Board of Supervisors
2021–2022
Served under: Karen Spiegel		Succeeded by
Chair of the Riverside County
Board of Supervisors
2022–2023
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