Hedgecock Fund Reaches $94,000; Debt Remains

Californians for the Future, the group raising money to pay for the legal defense of former Mayor Roger Hedgecock, had raised $94,315 as of Dec. 31, but remained $91,023 in debt, according to a financial statement filed Friday by Nancy MacHutchin, the committee treasurer.

Among the contributors during the latest reporting period, from July 1 to Dec. 31, 1985, were former San Diego Chargers owner Eugene Klein ($1,000); television producer Quinn Martin ($5,000); Chula Vista Councilman David Malcolm ($1,000); developer Chris Mortenson ($500); Rudy Murillo, the former top aide to Councilman Uvaldo Martinez ($500), and philanthropist Danah Fayman ($450).

Those donations were received after a ruling in August by Superior Court Judge Mack Lovett that Hedgecock’s defense fund was not subject to the city’s $250 contribution limit because Hedgecock was not raising money for a personal political campaign.

During the committee’s first six months, ending in August, it had raised $49,099, working within the $250 limit.

The committee was formed after Hedgecock’s first trial ended in a mistrial and the former mayor said he would face a financial hardship in defending himself for a second trial. The second trial resulted in the mayor being convicted of perjury and conspiracy charges Oct. 9, and he resigned in December just before being sentenced on those charges.

Hedgecock also faces the prospect of a civil trial stemming from a suit filed against him by the state Fair Political Practices Commission. MacHutchin has estimated Hedgecock’s defense expenses could go as high as $250,000 if the FPPC suit goes to trial.