Cecil Landau Heftel (September 30, 1924 – February 4, 2010), popularly known as Cec Heftel, was an American politician and businessman from
Hawai'i
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
. He served in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
from 1977 to 1986 for the First Congressional District, encompassing most of urban
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
.
Early years
Heftel was born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, Illinois; his maternal grandparents were from
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and his paternal grandparents from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. He attended
Roosevelt High School in
Albany Park, Chicago
Albany Park ( ) is one of 77 well-defined community areas of Chicago. Located on the Northwest Side of the City of Chicago with the North Branch of the Chicago River forming its east and north boundaries, it includes the ethnically diverse Albany ...
, then obtained his bachelor's degree from the
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
in 1951.
Heftel then attended the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
and
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
for graduate work.
Heftel was a Latter-day Saint.
Heftel settled in Honolulu and established Heftel Broadcasting.
He owned
KGMB-AM-FM-TV and several other television and radio stations across the country. From 1943 to 1946, Heftel served in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
.
In 1957 Heftel was a pioneer for what was then called Top 30 programming, when he purchased KIMN in Denver.
In one of the nation's most competitive radio markets, KIMN became the dominant #1 rated radio station. Heftel sold the station in 1960, returning to Hawaii, but once again in 1973 re-entered the mainland with the purchase of WHYI-FM, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, identifying the station as Y-100.
In 1974, Heftel hired consultant John Rook, who secured the services of Jackson, Mississippi programmer Bill Tanner, who crafted a Top 40 format described by Tanner as being "predictable unpredictability" that propelled the station to the top of the south Florida ratings, where it stayed for several years. The station was later sold by Heftel. Heftel also purchased WJAS-AM in Pittsburgh which he later sold.
Heftel had a knack for getting in and out of station ownership in the 1970s, 1980's, and 1990's. As broadcast revenues are tied to audience interest (ratings) and to advertising cycles, it can be a great business or a poor one. Heftel's mostly AM group of Top-40 stations was sold in the late 1970s. The next group of stations Heftel purchased consisted of FM stations which were coming into their own in the early seventies. These were sold off in the 1980s and included WZPL (move into Indianapolis) and WLLT (Cincinnati).
Heftel partnered with Scott Ginsburg for a time in 1986–1987 as H & G Communications. This group included WLUP AM/FM Chicago, stations in Miami, and other cities.
The last Heftel Broadcasting accumulation of stations consisted of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Miami. These were taken over by Clear Channel Communications in a 1996 tender offer. This in turn was merged with Mac Tichenor's Tichenor Media System into a new Heftel Broadcasting. That changed its name to Hispanic Broadcasting Corp (now
Univision Radio).
Political career
Upon returning to his business in Honolulu, Heftel decided to run for political office.
In 1970, Heftel was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, but lost narrowly to incumbent Republican
Hiram Fong
Hiram Leong Fong (born Yau Leong Fong; October 15, 1906 – August 18, 2004) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician from Hawaii. Born to a sugar plantation Cantonese immigrant worker, Fong became the first Chinese-American and first ...
. He became a delegate to the 1972 Hawai'i State Democratic Convention. There, he was elected in caucus to become a delegate to the
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...
.
In 1976, Heftel was elected to Congress from the First District and was reelected four more times. While in office, Heftel was part of the U.S. fact-finding mission to the Philippines, largely responsible for the forced ouster of dictator
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
.
Heftel resigned on July 19, 1986, to run for
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
, but lost the Democratic primary to
John Waihee
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
. Heftel blamed the loss on a smear campaign against him. Democrats have long asserted that the smear came from Republicans looking to run against Democrat John Waihee as an easier path to governor. Many in Hawaii political circles, however, believe the smear was orchestrated by a more powerful political machine that was afraid of Heftel's no-nonsense, honest approach.
Post congressional career
In 1992, he was a supporter of the
presidential campaign
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
of
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot (; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, politician and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an inde ...
.
In 1998, he briefly returned to the political realm, authoring a book, ''End Legalized Bribery'', in which he attempted to prove that the current state of
campaign finance
Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political ac ...
corrupts politicians, prevents qualified individuals from running for office, and costs citizens billions of dollars in
pork barrel
''Pork barrel'', or simply ''pork'', is a metaphor for the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district.
The usage originated in American English, and i ...
spending and
corporate welfare
Corporate welfare is a phrase used to describe a government's bestowal of money grants, tax breaks, or other special favorable treatment for corporations.
The definition of corporate welfare is sometimes restricted to direct government subsidie ...
. The book also contained arguments in favor of a national
Clean Elections law and mandatory free commercial airtime for political candidates.
After 18 years out of the spotlight, the 80-year-old Heftel made a successful return to elective politics by being elected in November 2004 to the
state Board of Education for the Oahu-At Large seat.
Death and legacy
Cecil Heftel died on February 4, 2010, from
natural causes
In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...
in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
, California. He was 85. (Numerous websites claim he died February 5, but his widow says he died on February 4.)
On June 13, 2011, U.S. Rep.
Colleen Hanabusa
Colleen Wakako Hanabusa ( ja, 花房 若子; born May 4, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she ran for her party's ...
introduced legislation to designate the post office at 4354 Pahoa Avenue in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
as the "Cecil L. Heftel Post Office Building".
References
External links
Cecil Heftel-a tribute by former employee John Rook*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heftel, Cecil
1924 births
2010 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American politicians
American radio executives
American television executives
Arizona State University alumni
Businesspeople from Hawaii
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Hawaii
Latter Day Saints from Arizona
Latter Day Saints from Hawaii
Latter Day Saints from Illinois
Members of the Hawaii Board of Education
Military personnel from Illinois
Politicians from Chicago
Politicians from Honolulu
United States Army soldiers
University of Utah alumni