Edwin Reinecke

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Ed Reinecke)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Ed Reinecke
File:Edwin Reinecke, 1971.jpg
Official portrait, 1971
39th Lieutenant Governor of California
In office
January 21, 1969 – October 2, 1974
GovernorRonald Reagan
Preceded byRobert Finch
Succeeded byJohn L. Harmer
13th Chair of the National Lieutenant Governors Association
In office
1973–1974
Preceded byMartin J. Schreiber
Succeeded byJulian Carroll
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 27th district
In office
January 3, 1965 – January 21, 1969
Preceded byEverett G. Burkhalter
Succeeded byBarry Goldwater Jr.
Personal details
BornHoward Edwin Reinecke
(1924-01-07)January 7, 1924
Medford, Oregon, U.S.
DiedDecember 24, 2016(2016-12-24) (aged 92)
Laguna Hills, California, U.S.
PartyRepublican
Spouse
Jean Hrabec Mietus
​
​
(m. 1967; died 2011)​
Children4
EducationCalifornia Institute of Technology (BS)
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Battles/warsWorld War II

Howard Edwin "Ed" Reinecke (January 7, 1924 – December 24, 2016) was an American politician from California. He served three terms in the United States House of Representatives. He was the 39th lieutenant governor of California from 1969 until his resignation in 1974, in connection with a federal conviction for perjury.[1]

Early life and career

[edit | edit source]

Reinecke was born in Medford, Oregon, and he graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1942. He served in the Navy during World War II as a radioman. He attended the California Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in 1950 with a degree in mechanical engineering. Together with his sister (Charlotte) and two brothers (Fred and Bill), he founded FEBCO, a manufacturing company, in southern California.

Political career

[edit | edit source]
File:Edwin Reinecke.jpg
Reinecke as a Congressman.

Reinecke served in the U.S. House of Representatives between 1965 and 1969. As a member of the Interior Committee, he worked to preserve Western rivers (including the Colorado River, which was to be dammed within the Grand Canyon). During his tenure in Congress, he voted in favor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[2] He voted for the initial House Resolution for the Civil Rights Act of 1968 but voted against the accepting the final Senate amendments to the Act.[3][4]

In 1969, President Richard Nixon appointed California's Lieutenant Governor Robert Finch to be the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. To fill the vacancy, Governor Ronald Reagan appointed then-Congressman Reinecke as Lieutenant Governor on January 9, 1969.[5] He was re-elected in 1970.

In 1974, Reinecke ran for the Republican nomination for Governor of California to succeed Reagan, who chose not to seek a third term. As part of the conservative wing of the Republican Party in contrast with the more moderate State Controller Houston Flournoy, he could expect a strong conservative turnout for the primary election.[6] Early in the race, he held a lead over Flournoy.[7] He had just earned the endorsement of the California Republican Assembly, a leading conservative group, when a Federal grand jury indicted him for perjury on April 3, 1974.[6]

Indictment and conviction

[edit | edit source]

Reinecke's indictment was an offshoot of the investigation into the Watergate scandal. In 1972, he testified before the Senate during a confirmation hearing of Richard Kleindienst, the nominee for Attorney General. He was asked about an offer by Sheraton Hotels, a division of ITT Inc., which was the subject of a Federal antitrust investigation, to underwrite the 1972 Republican National Convention. Specifically, the committee wanted to know if he discussed the offer with then Attorney General John N. Mitchell (R) during the Watergate scandal, before or after ITT settled its case with the government. Reinecke told Senator Hiram Fong that the conversation took place after the settlement despite his earlier comment to a reporter that the conversation had taken place several months earlier.

Reinecke stayed in the race for governor, but was defeated by Flournoy, who went on to lose to Jerry Brown (D) in the general election. He was convicted of perjury in July 1974, but refused to resign until the state law required him to do so.[8]

California law barred anyone convicted of perjury from holding office in the state; but the state attorney general ruled that this provision would not take effect until sentencing.[9] On October 2, 1974, he was sentenced to an 18-month suspended term and resigned from office the same day.[10]

On December 8, 1975, an appeals court overturned the ruling because "the Senate Judiciary Committee before which he was accused of perjuring himself had failed to publish its rule permitting a one-man quorum."[11][12]

Later life

[edit | edit source]

Reinecke married Jean Hrabec, a former model who used the pseudonyms Jean Mills and Keith Kierrgan.[13] The couple owned the Diamond R Ranch on Bucks Bar Road in Placerville, California. They were the first ranchers to import and breed Charolais cattle in El Dorado County, California. In 1981, they opened the restaurant "Zachary Jacques"[14] known for prime rib and live musical entertainment. They also operated the brokerage firm, Reinecke Realty Residential.

Death

[edit | edit source]

Reinecke died of natural causes on Christmas Eve 2016, in Laguna Hills, California, at the age of 92.[15]

Electoral results

[edit | edit source]
1964 United States House of Representatives elections in California[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Edwin Reinecke 83,141 51.7
Democratic Tom Bane 77,587 48.3
Total votes 160,734 100.0
Republican gain from Democratic
1966 United States House of Representatives elections in California[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Edwin Reinecke (Incumbent) 93,890 65.3
Democratic John A. "Jack" Howard 49,785 34.7
Total votes 143,675 100.0
Republican hold
1968 United States House of Representatives elections in California[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Edwin Reinecke (Incumbent) 158,309 72.2
Democratic John T. Butchko 60,808 27.8
Total votes 219,117 100.0
Republican hold

See also

[edit | edit source]

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ [1] | DEC 25, 2016 | Ed Reinecke, who resigned as California's lieutenant governor after a perjury conviction, dies at 92 | Cindy Chang | [2]
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ Ronald J. Ostrow, "Prosecutor Decides Not to Appeal Reinecke Case," Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1976, page 19
  12. ^ 524 F.2d 4351 United States of America v. Howard Edwin Reinecke, Appellant
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Ed Reinecke, California lieutenant governor who resigned after perjury conviction, dies at 92
  16. ^ 1964 election results
  17. ^ 1966 election results
  18. ^ 1968 election results
[edit | edit source]

Lua error in mw.title.lua at line 392: bad argument #2 to 'title.new' (unrecognized namespace name 'Portal').

Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Edwin_Reinecke&oldid=11577181"