- Roger Hedgecock
Infobox Mayor
name = Roger Hedgecock
birth_date = birth date and age|1946|5|2
birth_place = Compton, California
nationality = flagicon|USA American
children = 2
spouse = Cindy (?-present)
residence = San Diego, California
profession = Radio Talk Show Host, Politician
alma_mater = University of California, Santa Barbara Hastings Law School
website = [http://www.rogerhedgecock.com/ www.rogerhedgecock.com]
title = 30thMayor of San Diego
term = 1983–1985
predecessor =William E. Cleator, Sr. (acting)
successor = Maureen O'Connor
party = Republican
religion =
Roger Allan Hedgecock (born
May 2 ,1946 , in Compton,California ) is a Republicantalk radio host and former mayor of San Diego,California . Roger still resides in San Diego. He is married to Cindy Hedgecock, and they have two sons, James and Christopher.Early life
When Hedgecock was ten years of age, his family moved to the Loma Portal section of San Diego. Mr. Hedgecock 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 theRoman Catholic -affiliated St. Augustine High School. He then graduated fromUniversity of California, Santa Barbara in 1968 and from Hastings Law School in 1971. He practiced law and became city attorney for Del Mar in 1974.Politics
Hedgecock first became active in politics at an early age, having volunteered to work in
U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater 's failed 1964 bid for the presidency. 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 technically "non-partisan " (i.e., party affiliation in 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 ofLos Angeles .In 1985 he was forced from office, after a retrial convicted him on one count of conspiracy and twelve counts of
perjury involving, then-District Attorney Ed Miller asserted, improper campaign contributions; his first trial had ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. Hedgecock was alleged to have illegally failed to report over $350,000 in contributions from former Del Mar mayor Nancy Hoover, confidence man Jerry David Dominelli, and the last's eponymous J. David Company. (The J. David Company later imploded, after bilking investors of more than $82,000,000, in one of the largestPonzi scheme s in the nation's history. Dominelli would later serve twenty years in Federal prison.)Hedgecock's conviction was overturned after an appellate court ruled that the trial court had erred in its instruction to the jury regarding the issue of materiality in the perjury charges [To sustain a perjury conviction the false statements made under oath must be "material" to the underlying crime; telling a non-material falsehood on the stand in not a crime, although such a falsehood can be used to impeach a witness's credibility.] and juror misconduct. To settle the case, Hedgecock, in an agreement with prosecutors, allowed a misdemeanor charge to stand (i.e, he did not plead guilty). In a common disposition for first-time probation cases in
California , and other American states [See the disposition in a recent criminal case involvingRush Limbaugh ] , the charge was dismissed after Hedgecock successfully completed a short period of probation.Radio
With the controversy ending his political career, Hedgecock became a talk show host four days after resigning. Despite having been a moderate Republican for County Supervisor and Mayor, as a talk show host he has taken conservative stances on most political issues, especially illegal immigration. 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. He often doestransatlantic simulcast s 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 can be heard daily on San Diego's AM 600 KOGO.
As of Wednesday,
January 23 ,2008 , Roger expanded his show. The program now starts at 3 p.m. and ends at 7 p.m. Pacific time.Since November 2007, Roger has hosted a nationally syndicated radio talk show on Saturdays, from 9:00 am to 12 noon Pacific Time; flagship station is AM 600 KOGO.
On October 6, 2008, Radio America announced that the 3-6 pm hours of Roger's radio talk show will be syndicated nationwide, beginning January 5, 2009. The 6-7 pm hours will continue to be broadcast in the Southern California market as before.
Other endeavors
He also works as a lobbyist, authored books, and has a career on the lecture circuit.
Hedgecock also formerly owned a restaurant in Downtown San Diego named Roger's on Fifth. Now it is called George's on Fifth or G5.
References
External links
* [http://www.rogerhedgecock.com/ Roger Hedgecock's website]
* http://southernledger.com/blogs/rogerhedgecock/perspective/
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