RivCo Voters Reject Jeff Hewitt in Recall Election

99% of Riverside County Voters Reject Supervisor Jeff Hewitt

MORENO VALLEY ­– Initial results released Tuesday night, Sept. 14, show Fifth District Supervisor Jeff Hewitt earned the support of about 1.1% of voters in Riverside County.

Despite a first term that has been besieged by scandal, Hewitt was one of a handful of elected leaders to run in the gubernatorial recall election. He was the highest profile candidate from the Inland Empire, but very few local voters cast ballots for him.

“Jeff Hewitt’s disastrous campaign for Governor has weakened his chances for re-election to the Board of Supervisors, assuming he even seeks re-election” Derek Humphrey, a consultant to Moreno Valley Mayor Yxstian Gutierrez, said in a prepared statement. “Hewitt’s quixotic attempt to run statewide, despite being relatively unknown and not well liked locally, has further alienated him from mainstream Democratic and Republican voters. I mean, he tried to run for Governor and got around 1% of the vote in his home district. People aren’t going to forget that. It’s hard to imagine any politician recovering from this bad of an electoral showing.”

Earlier this year, Riverside County paid $50,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim involving Supervisor Jeff Hewitt. The county, not insurance, paid the claim. The civil claim, filed Nov. 13, was filed by a lawyer on behalf of Nasim Nicole Hamrang, a clinical therapist in the county’s behavioral health department.

Earlier this year, a former employee filed a harassment claim against Hewitt and his Chief of Staff Boomer Shannon. The claim, submitted by Brenda Dennstedt on April 8, alleges that Hewitt and Shannon, made “disparaging and vulgar comments.” Dennstedt also alleges that Hewitt and Shannon engaged in age discrimination in her wrongful discharge, which caused further damages. The incident in question dates back to Oct. 26, 2020.

Hewitt and his chief of staff were accused earlier this year of harassing and discriminating against a female employee, who alleges in a legal claim that she was “wrongfully discharge(d).”  The claim filed against the county April 8 on behalf of Brenda Dennstedt.

As of Tuesday night’s (Sept. 15) tally, Hewitt received only 3,515 votes in Riverside County, which means he probably got around 700 votes in his own district. For reference, he received 54,891 votes when running for Supervisor in 2018.

In 2018, Jeff Hewitt was elected to the seat of County Supervisor for the Fifth District of the Riverside County, representing more than 2.4 million residents. The Fifth District includes six incorporated cities (Moreno Valley, Calimesa, Beaumont, Banning, Perris, and Menifee) and more than unincorporated communities. In this geographically diverse landscape, Supervisor Hewitt has had the opportunity to alleviate many of the problems and concerns raised by residents in the Fifth District and throughout the entire county of Riverside, according to the county website.

Hewitt is a controversial Libertarian who was elected to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors in 2018. He’s been a magnet for scandals ever since.

Hewitt pushed for ignoring the advice of doctors and public health experts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Humphrey,

Yxstian Gutierrez  is a teacher and community leader who has served as Mayor of Moreno Valley since 2016. As the city’s first directly elected Mayor, Gutierrez has a proven record of creating jobs, ensuring safe neighborhoods, protecting public health, initiating various youth programs, and tackling the homelessness crisis with urgency.

Gutierrez previously served on Moreno Valley’s City Council, owned and operated the Berrybean Cafe, taught in the Moreno Valley Unified School District, and worked as a reading instructor at Moreno Valley College.