Lewis Called Legislature’s ‘Shrewdest Political Mind’

Assemblyman John Lewis, accused Tuesday of forging Ronald Reagan’s signature on a campaign hit piece, is described by friends and associates as a soft-spoken bundle of nerves who thrives on political strategy.

Lewis, 34, who represents a safely Republican district in Orange County, has been the Assembly GOP’S chief political strategist since he rose to power in 1984 with one-time college classmate Patrick Nolan, the former Assembly minority leader.

Lewis introduces few bills and rarely speaks during floor debate. Not many members know him well. But his voice carries weight in the back rooms where political campaigns are plotted. Nolan once called him “the shrewdest political mind in the Legislature.”

The heir to a dog food fortune, Lewis is independently wealthy. Yet for much of his life he has tirelessly worked trying to build a Republican majority in the Legislature, which he hopes one day will implement the conservative positions he espouses.

Doesn’t Need the Grief

“He is a very private person,” said Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach). “He doesn’t need this job, and he certainly doesn’t need this grief.”

A native of Los Angeles who now represents Orange, Lewis attended Valencia High School, where he was a leader in the Young Americans for Freedom. At USC, Lewis met Nolan and Dennis Brown, now an assemblyman from Los Alamitos.

Lewis at age 20 was a member of the state Republican Central Committee. Two years later, he was a Ronald Reagan delegate to the 1976 Republican convention.

After helping Nolan and Brown win Assembly seats in 1978, Lewis served as Brown’s administrative assistant. Two years later, he stunned the Republican Establishment by winning the party primary against Beverly Nestande, the favorite of GOP leaders and the former wife of then-incumbent Bruce Nestande.

After his primary election victory, the county GOP Central Committee took the unusual step of censuring Lewis for sending a last-minute mailer giving the misleading impression that Lewis had Reagan’s endorsement when he did not.

Once in the Assembly, Lewis helped form a cadre of Republicans who were known as “cavemen” for their conservative views. But Lewis, installed in 1984 by Nolan as chairman of the caucus’ election committee, has been best known for devising political strategies and then working feverishly to implement them. He has been instrumental in electing more than half a dozen state lawmakers.

“Many office holders are not concerned with trying to change the landscape,” Royce said. “They may wish it to happen, but they’re not willing to put forth the effort and the time it takes to go out and do it. John is.”

According to his most recent financial disclosure reports, Lewis owns stocks, bonds and other investments worth at least $794,000 and perhaps four times that amount. He was the nephew of D. B. Lewis, owner of Lewis Foods, manufacturer of Dr. Ross’ dog food, and inherited much of the elder Lewis’ fortune.

But Lewis does not flaunt his wealth. He maintains a comfortable yet modest life style, living in condominiums in Sacramento and Orange. A fisherman and avid sports fan, he is engaged to marry an Orange County woman he met through politics.