BOARD CHAIR HEWITT PRESIDES OVER FINAL MEETING

Libertarian bids farewell to chamber after losing re-election in November

Riverside County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff Hewitt presided over his last meeting Dec. 12, ahead of his exit from county service following his defeat for reelection, telling his colleagues it was an “honor to work with a lot of very capable and special people.”

“Thank you to all my colleagues,” Hewitt said, standing at the head of the dais in the board chamber at the end of the meeting.

“There are so many instances over the last four years that I’ve been honored to be part of,” he said. “Some things we did extremely well. Some things we didn’t get right the first time. But every time I’ve come into this room, I’ve always felt it was a great privilege to have the trust of the people of this county, especially the Fifth District.”

Supervisors Kevin Jeffries and Karen Spiegel presented Hewitt with an oversize, all-wood gavel — with nearly the same dimensions as a sledgehammer — as a parting gift, eliciting laughs from the chairman, who thanked them and quipped, “Nancy Pelosi, eat your heart out!”

“This fits real well with your personality, trying to get things done here,” said Jeffries, who will be rotating into the chairmanship at the start of next year. “We wanted to thank you. I’ve enjoyed my service with you. It’s been fun — most of the time.”

Spiegel seconded her colleague’s impartation, telling Hewitt, “you’re going to be missed.”

“We didn’t always agree, but most of the time, we did,” she said. “We picked the battles. You and I built our relationships at the city level and each brought something different to the table. We all have something different to offer, and you brought a different look at things. It’s important to make the engine go and the team run. I appreciate your time here. You did a great job.”

Both Hewitt and Spiegel were first elected to the board in November 2018.

“I’ll never consider my constituents anything less than the best in the world,” he said.

Hewitt’s chairmanship did not muster unanimous support when his turn came in January to rotate into the seat — a first in the current century for Riverside County.

Supervisors Manuel Perez and Chuck Washington abstained from voting for the chair, leaving it to Hewitt, Jeffries and Spiegel to affirm the Fifth District supervisor as the chairman.

Perez and Washington did not state their reasons at the time, though both publicly endorsed Hewitt’s opponent — Moreno Valley Mayor Yxstian Gutierrez, a fellow Democrat — in the June primary and November general elections.

“You and I disagreed on many things,” Washington said. “I know you wanted to do the best for your constituents.”

Perez also noted the men’s divergent positions, saying “we could agree to disagree. I appreciate the work you did.”

Hewitt, a Libertarian, lost to Gutierrez 46 percent to 54 percent.

The next Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled for Jan. 10.