Roger Hernández (born July 29, 1975) is an American former

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

, representing the 48th district. Prior to being elected to the state assembly, he was the Mayor of West Covina, a member of the West Covina City Council, and Professor of Government at Rio Hondo and Citrus Community Colleges. Prior to his tenure on the City Council, Hernández was elected to the Rowland Unified School Board where he served from November 1999 through July 2003. He lost his bid to return to the West Covina City Council on Nov. 6, 2018, coming in fourth.

Early life and education

Hernández was raised in El Monte and attended Nogales High School. He received a bachelor's degree in Political Science from the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

, a master's degree in Public Administration from the University of La Verne and a Master's in Governance Certificate from the California School Boards Association (CSBA). Hernández has worked as a youth counselor in La Puente, working with at-risk teenagers in an after-school program.

Career

In 1998, at the age of 23, Hernández was elected to the Rowland Unified School Board and implemented community service graduation requirements as well as a parent empowerment program. In 2003, Hernández was elected to the West Covina City Council. Hernández was elected to the

in 2010 representing the 48th District. As an assemblymember for 6 years, Hernández passed 34 bills, and co-authored Senate Bill 3, which raised California's minimum wage to $15 an hour. Hernández's petition for divorce in 2014 only after a year of marriage claiming "irreconcilable differences" in court documents. Hernández was legally separated from his estrange wife for about a year before the domestic violence allegations according to court documents. After being served with a

restraining order A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and personal protection or ...

for

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

during divorce proceedings and during his run for his congressional campaign, Hernández was stripped of his committee assignments. A few months later, he took a medical leave of absence.

2014 California State Assembly

2016 run for Congress

In 2016, as he was termed out of his Assembly seat, Hernández ran for 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 ...

in the 32nd District, challenging

Grace Napolitano Graciela Flores "Grace" Napolitano (; born December 4, 1936) is an American Democratic Party politician who has represented California's San Gabriel Valley and other parts of Los Angeles County in the United States House of Representatives sin ...

. In August, after gaining a spot in the general election following a 2nd-place finish in the primary, Hernández withdrew from the race, citing fallout from his controversial divorce.

Controversies

Hernández was arrested for drunk driving in Concord, California on March 27, 2012. A jury later found him not guilty.The former West Covina public information officer and city manager sued Hernández alleging a hostile work environment in 2012, which was rejected by a jury. In January 2015, he was charged with money-laundering by the California Fair Political Practices Commission after a probable cause finding that Hernandez's campaign committee had filed "an inaccurate semi-annual campaign statement with the Secretary of State, falsely reporting information regarding the true sources of contributions received." The case was later dropped. In April 2016, while in the process of divorcing his estranged wife

Susan Rubio Susan Rubio (born December 25, 1970) is an American politician serving in the California State Senate. A Democrat, she represents the 22nd Senate District in eastern Los Angeles County. Prior to being elected to the California Legislature in 201 ...

, Hernández was served with a temporary

and ordered to have no contact with Rubio. A city councilmember in

Baldwin Park Baldwin Park may refer to: * Baldwin Park, California ** Baldwin Park (Metrolink station) in Baldwin Park, California * Baldwin Park, Florida, a neighborhood in Orlando, Florida * Baldwin Park, Missouri * A public park in Baldwin, Nassau County, ...

, Rubio claimed that during their marriage Hernández physically attacked and assaulted her, providing photos with scratches and bruises. In August of the same year, Hernández took a leave of absence but was criticized for continuing to collect

per diem ''Per diem'' (Latin for "per day" or "for each day") or daily allowance is a specific amount of money that an organization gives an individual, typically an employee, per day to cover living expenses when travelling on the employer's business. A '' ...

reimbursements while on leave. In 2007, West Covina police responded to Hernández's home after a neighbor reported hearing a loud argument and "someone getting slammed around with a male and female yelling," but no charges were filed. These allegations were also made during Hernández's re-election campaign for the West Covina city council. Hernández claimed that the allegation was politically motivated.

References

External links

Join California Roger Hernandez
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Roger 1975 births Living people California city council members Educators from California Hispanic and Latino American mayors in California Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California Mayors of places in California People from West Covina, California Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly People from El Monte, California University of California, Riverside alumni American politicians of Mexican descent 21st-century American politicians University of La Verne alumni