Roger Hedgecock

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.

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 degree from University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1971.

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.

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"^{[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.

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. The key players, including Hedgecock and his associates, 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. 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.

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.

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.