Jeff Hewitt was elected in November 2018 to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors in California, following three years as mayor of Calimesa, where he led the charge to replace the town’s expensive contract for state-run fire protection with its own more responsive and cost-effective fire department. Armed with this Libertarian solution, Hewitt enabled his city to fend off the spiraling pension costs that affect many California communities.
Hewitt’s commitment to fiscal responsibility in Calimesa prompted the Press-Enterprise to award him a “strong” endorsement, describing him as “the rare sort of politician who can get straight to the point about the problems of county government and speak honestly about what needs to be done.” He also earned a rare campaign endorsement from Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, and the R Street Institute’s Steven Greenhut lauded Hewitt’s accomplishment with the fire department as a “model for the state.”
Prior to his time as mayor, Hewitt served for eight years on the Calimesa City Council and six years on the Calimesa Planning Commission. He has also held leadership positions in the Libertarian National Committee and the executive committee of the Libertarian Party of California.
Hewitt started his own contracting company more than three decades ago by creating new applications for existing technology. He eventually applied what he learned to pool construction, including excavation and plumbing. Since 1985, he has navigated his small business into the successful Champagne Pools. He has a bachelor’s degree in biology from California State University at San Bernardino.