Despite some opposition, the Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a $75,000 appropriation for the upcoming “Riverside County State of the County” address, which was last held in 2018.
“We’re going to make this kind of a catch-up after two years that were horrible in all of our lives,” board Chairman Jeff Hewitt said. “This is a county event that’s kind of a three-headed monster.”
Hewitt said that in addition to him, Supervisors Manuel Perez and Karen Spiegel are slated to speak during the Dec. 8 mixer at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon.
Supervisor Kevin Jeffries was the sole dissenting vote on whether to allocate the $75,000 from county contingency funds to cover the cost of the event, which in past years has received sponsorships from businesses and chambers of commerce to cover at least half of the expenses.
No sponsorships have been announced this year.
Spiegel was absent from the meeting, and along with Hewitt, Perez and Supervisor Chuck Washington voted in favor of the expenditure.
Jeffries was adamant about not drawing on a reserve account to cover the cost of the speaking engagement. During his time as chairman in 2019, no State of the County event was held, and in 2020 and 2021, the matter was dispensed with because of re-occurring public health lockdowns stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.
Washington hesitated to vote in favor of the county outlay, mainly because he didn’t want the event to provide a stage for Hewitt ahead of the Nov. 8 general election, in which the chairman is seeking re-election.
“The chair’s name is on the ballot, and this might look like campaigning,” Washington said. “Can I get some assurance that this will be promoted (only) as a county event?”
Hewitt replied that he had “no intention of using this as a grandiose exposition.”
“We’re standing together as a county … celebrating our accomplishments during a difficult time,” he said. “This is a county event.”
Satisfied with Hewitt’s response, Washington voted in support.
Additional details about the mixer, including price of admission, will be released later.