| Roger Hedgecock | |
|---|---|
| 30th Mayor of San Diego | |
| In office 1983–1985 |
|
| Preceded by | William E. Cleator, Sr. (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Maureen O'Connor |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 2, 1946 Compton, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Cindy (?-present) |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | San Diego, California |
| Alma mater | University of California, Santa Barbara Hastings Law School |
| Profession | Radio Talk Show Host, Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www.rogerhedgecock.com |
Roger Allan Hedgecock (born May 2, 1946, in Compton, California) is a conservative talk radio host and former mayor of San Diego, California. His show is syndicated by Radio America. Hedgecock still resides in San Diego. He is married to Cindy Hedgecock, and they have two sons, James and Christopher.
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When Hedgecock was ten years old, his family moved to the Loma Portal section 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.
He graduated from the Roman Catholic-affiliated St. Augustine High School. He received a bachelor's degree from University of California, Santa Barbara in 1968 and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1971. He practiced law and became city attorney for Del Mar in 1974.
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 later 4-F.[1]
Hedgecock first became active in politics at an early age, having volunteered to work in U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater's 1964 Presidential campaign. In 1976, he was elected to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and served until 1983, having become the youngest person to have served as a county supervisor in San Diego. In 1983 he was elected mayor of San Diego. Although San Diego municipal elections are "non-partisan" (i.e., party affiliation is not listed on the ballot), Hedgecock ran as a "progressive" Republican. He campaigned to stop the "Los Angelization" of San Diego, a term, in San Diego politics, synonymous with the uncontrolled urban and suburban development, overcrowding and pollution of Los Angeles.
In 1985 he was forced from office, after a second trial found him guilty of one count of conspiracy and twelve counts of perjury, related to the alleged failure to report all campaign contributions. His first trial had ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. "Within days of the Oct. 9 guilty verdict, two of the 12 jurors in Hedgecock's case alleged in sworn statements that Burroughs [the jury bailiff] provided jurors with alcohol, told them stories, guided deliberations and pressured the jury to reach a quick verdict," and even expressed his opinion that the defendant was guilty. State prosecutors then conducted an investigation into the possibility of criminal jury tampering, but they refused to release the transcripts of their investigation interviews to the defendant's attorneys.[2]
An appellate court in San Diego ruled in 1988, that the judge that presided over the second trial " -- who had announced from the bench that he believed Hedgecock was guilty -- was wrong to block release of" those transcripts to the defendant. Nevertheless, the defense was still denied access to those documents for two more years, until the time of the final appeal to the California Supreme Court which "...threw out the 12 perjury convictions and set aside the remaining conspiracy charge, pending a hearing on Hedgecock's claim for a new trial, which was based on allegations of jury tampering."[2]
"The hearing for a possible third trial never took place. The defense obtained the transcripts in October, 1990. The next month, the deal was struck. Hedgecock accepted a conviction on a single felony charge in return for no jail sentence and no retrial. The deal also called for a judge to reduce the felony to a misdemeanor and dismiss the case, which is precisely what happened."[2]
With the controversy ending his political career, Hedgecock became a talk show host four days after resigning. Despite having been a moderate Republican as a County Supervisor and Mayor, as a talk show host and practicing Roman Catholic, he moved rightward by taking conservative stances on most political, economic, and social issues, especially opposition to illegal immigration, abortion, homosexuality, and equal rights under the law for homosexuals, even though he courted the gay/lesbian vote during his campaigns for County Supervisor and Mayor of San Diego, and in October 2011 endorsed fellow Republican and San Diego mayoral candidate Carl DeMaio, an openly gay member of the San Diego City Council. He frequently speaks against environmental extremism, despite having been a spokesman, in his early career, for the Sierra Club. His ratings were initially fueled by his campaign contribution controversy, but he still remains a popular commentator among conservatives. He has done simulcasts with talk hosts from other areas of the country, such as Lars Larson of AM 750 KXL in Portland, Oregon, and often does transatlantic simulcasts with James Whale on the British station, talkSPORT, and was also, until October 2007, a frequent guest host for the nationally syndicated Rush Limbaugh Show.
Hedgecock's weekday radio show began in 1985 on San Diego's AM 600 KOGO.
As of Wednesday, January 23, 2008, he expanded his show to four hours, so that the program started at 3 p.m. and ended at 7 p.m. Pacific time. The fourth hour was later dropped and the program now runs from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific time..
Beginning in November 2007, Hedgecock hosted a nationally syndicated radio talk show on Saturdays, from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon Pacific Time; flagship station is AM 600 KOGO.
On January 5, 2009, his show began being syndicated nationwide by the Radio America network. Originally, the plan was for the fourth hour of the show to continue only on KOGO and continue 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" that had been his focus since the show's inception in 1986.
In November 2011, it was announced that Hedgeock would be leaving KOGO for radio station AM 760 KFMB, San Diego's CBS radio and TV network affiliate. His weekday 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Pacific time broadcast debuted there on Monday, January 2, 2012. The show includes topics and discussion relevant to the San Diego/southern California audience.
In his early years, entrepreneur Hedgecock tried his hand at music concert promotions. One notable co-production of his was the 1969 Mother's Day concert at Aztec Bowl (now the site of Viejas_Arena, SDSU). Performers included Canned Heat, Grateful Dead, and Santana. In the naive months before the infamous Altamont Free Concert, security was provided by the local Hells Angels motorcycle club, to whom Hedgecock paid a signing bonus of a case of Jack Daniel's.[3]
He also works as a lobbyist, authored books, and has a career on the lecture circuit.
Hedgecock formerly owned a restaurant in downtown San Diego named Roger's on Fifth. It is now called George's on Fifth or G5.
Hedgecock has appeared at several Tea Party events.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William E. Cleator, Sr. |
Mayor of San Diego, California 1983—1985 |
Succeeded by Maureen O'Connor |