John Rutherford | |
|---|---|
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Ander Crenshaw |
| Constituency | 4th district (2017–2023) 5th district (2023–present) |
| 4thSheriff of Jacksonville | |
| In office July 1, 2003 – July 1, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Nat Glover |
| Succeeded by | Mike Williams |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Henry Rutherford (1952-09-02)September 2, 1952 (age 73) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Florida State College at Jacksonville (AS) Florida State University (BS) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
John Henry Rutherford (/ˈrʌðərfərd/; born September 2, 1952) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer serving as theU.S. representative fromFlorida's 5th congressional district since 2017. A member of theRepublican Party, his district encompasses southeastJacksonville and all ofSt. Johns County.
Rutherford was an officer with theJacksonville Sheriff's Office for four decades, before being electedDuval Countysheriff in 2003; he remained in that post until 2015. In 2016, he ran for the House of Representatives in what was at the timeFlorida's 4th congressional district. He won the election and was reelected in 2018, 2020, and 2022.
John Rutherford was born inOmaha, Nebraska, in 1952.[1] His father was in the U.S. Navy and was serving in Korea at the time of his son's birth. In the 1950s, Rutherford's family moved toJacksonville, Florida. He graduated fromNathan Bedford Forest High School in 1970.[2] He surfed in his free time.[3] In 1972, he earned hisAssociate of Science incriminology fromFlorida State College at Jacksonville, formerly Florida Junior College, followed by hisBachelor of Science in criminology fromFlorida State University in 1974.[1]
Rutherford spent 41 years at the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, first as a sheriff's deputy and for the final 12 years as the elected sheriff.[3] He joined the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office in 1974 as a patrolman.[4] He was promoted to sergeant in 1980[3] and ultimately rose to the rank of captain.[3] At various points, he commanded the Arson and Burglary divisions, led the Police Academy, and led patrol units on the Southside. He was also Chief of Services, Traffic and Special Operations, and Chief of Patrol.[4] He was appointed director of corrections in 1995[4] by then-Sheriff Nat Glover.[3] In that role, he was responsible for overseeing the jail.[3]
Rutherford ran for Jacksonville Sheriff in 2003. A candidate for the Jacksonville City Council filed a complaint against Rutherford in February, alleging violations of the FederalHatch Act of 1939, which prohibits employees working for federally funded agencies from running for office in partisan elections. Rutherford said that a lawyer had told him there was no conflict, but he retired in March 2003 anyway, in order to remove any doubt, with 28 years of service.[5]
TheFlorida Times-Union reported in 2015, "Supporters and even those who criticize him say Rutherford has been steadfast and unwavering in his faith and his convictions as a lawman, a trait some say has brought success while others say is to his detriment."[3] Rutherford's tenure was marked by rises and falls in crime: from 2002 to 2005, Jacksonville suffered an increase in murder and other violent crime; murders briefly declined in 2005, but then rose again each year until 2008, when another decline began.[3] In 2007, theFlorida Times-Union endorsed Rutherford for reelection—saying that he was generally moving his department "in a positive direction"—but criticized the pace and inadequacies of key initiatives, such as reducing the murder rate, tackling illegal guns, and initiating a management audit.[6] Overall, the Jacksonville crime rate was about the same at the beginning and end of Rutherford's tenure.[3]
As sheriff, Rutherford was a staunch critic of State AttorneyHarry Shorstein and an ally of his successor,Angela Corey.[3] He was credited with improving the sheriff's department's capacities to deal with mental health matters and his oversight of aprisoner reentry program, but was criticized for enduring tensions and a lack of trust between the localAfrican American community and police, as well as a high number ofpolice shootings by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.[3] According to aWall Street Journal report, Jacksonville had the ninth-highest rate ofjustifiable homicides among the U.S.'s 105 largest police department efforts between 2007 and 2012.[3]
After initially considering a run for thestate House,[7] Rutherford announced his candidacy forFlorida's 4th congressional district on April 15, 2016, for theopen seat created by the retirement of the Republican incumbent,Ander Crenshaw.[8] Originally he announced he would run forFlorida's 6th congressional district in 2015.[9] Because the 4th district is a Republicansafe seat, Rutherford was heavily favored in each election.[10][11][12]
In the August 2016 Republican primary, Rutherford faced State RepresentativeLake Ray,St. Johns County Commissioner Bill McClure and formerSt. Johns Water Management District executive director Hans Tanzler III.[13][14] Rutherford won the nomination with 38.7% of the vote, to Ray's 20.1%, Tanzler's 19.0%, and McClure's 9.8%.[15] In the general election, Rutherford defeated Democratic nominee David Bruderly,[12] 70.2% to 27.6%.[16]
In 2018, Rutherford was challenged by Democratic nominee Ges Selmont, aPonte Vedra Beach attorney.[17] He was reelected, 65.2% to 32.4%.[18]
In 2020, Rutherford won re-nomination in a low-key Republican primary, defeating retired Navychief petty officer Erick Aguilar[19] with 80.2% of the vote to Aguilar's 19.8%.[20] In the general election, Rutherford defeated Democratic nomineeDonna Deegan, a former local TV anchor and breast cancer awareness advocate,[11] 61.1% to 38.9%.[21]
Rutherford won the Republican primary with 65.6% of the vote.[22] He was uncontested in the general election.[23]
Rutherford ran for re-election in 2024.[24]
On January 11, 2017, Rutherford collapsed on the floor of the House, in what his staffers described as an "acute digestive flareup";[25][26][27][28] he was taken to the hospital, and released ten days later.[29][30]
For the118th Congress:[31]
In February 2021, Rutherford joined the House Committee on Ethics. TheOffice of Congressional Ethics (OCE) board filed a February 2022 report stating that there was "substantial reason to believe"[37] Rutherford had not filed timely disclosure reports as required by federal law and House rules.[38] The House Committee on Ethics released a report on May 31, 2022, indicating that it was investigating one of its members over repeated reporting violations of theSTOCK Act, enacted in 2012 to preventinsider trading using non-public information by members of Congress and other government employees. Members of Congress are required to report any stock transaction over $1,000 within 45 days. Violations are subject to a $200 fine. Between January 2017 and December 2021, Rutherford had 157 late reports involving trades worth between $652,000 and $3.5 million.[37][38] Most were from his first term, but the violations continued thereafter. The OCE report noted an $800 fine payment in November 2021 but asked whether Rutherford had been "properly penalized for his repeated violations of federal law and House rules".[37] The OCE report also said that Rutherford and Jen Bailey, his chief of staff, were uncooperative by refusing to meet and answer questions. The fine for 157 violations would be $31,400. During his time in Congress, Rutherford had "several trainings on his disclosure obligations" for reporting stock transactions, according to the OCE report.[37][39]
Rutherford initially contended that the stock trades are made by the manager of his IRA, so he should have been exempt from the reporting requirements. One of his lawyers, Kate Belinski, sent the OCE a letter on March 18, 2022, insisting that the late reports were "an entirely inadvertent oversight" based on a "simple misunderstanding of the requirements".[37] She wrote that Rutherford had cooperated by providing the documents OCE requested. Belinski also claimed that Rutherford has a new system to track and file STOCK transactions.[37] Rutherford said, "Everything is done, as far as I know. I paid the fine that they asked for, and I'm done with it."[37]
Rutherford aligned himself with PresidentDonald Trump,[10] voting in line with Trump's position 96.6% of the time.[40] He voted against a majority of fellow Republicans approximately 3.9% of the time.[41][when?]
In 2017, Rutherford signed a letter to theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives expressing his support for legislation to banbump stocks.[42]
From 2015 to 2016, Rutherford received $1,000 in campaign donations from theNRA Political Victory Fund.[43]
In 2018, Rutherford sponsored a bill, theSTOP (Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing) School Violence Act, that authorized $50 million a year to create a federal grant program "to train students, teachers and law enforcement on how to spot and report signs of gun violence"; the House approved the bill, 407–10. The bill authorized funding for the development of "anonymous telephone and online systems where people could report threats of violence" and $25 million for schools to "improve and harden their security, such as installing new locks, lights, metal detectors and panic buttons."[44] A separate spending bill would be required to provide money for the grant program;[44] Rutherford sought to include such funding as part of an omnibus spending bill.[45]
In interviews in 2016[46] and 2019,[47] he acknowledged the existence ofclimate change butquestioned thescientific consensus that human activity has caused the increase in warming.[47] Rutherford has expressed concern oversea level rise, which would adversely impact St. Augustine.[47][48] He has criticized theGreen New Deal proposal as a "socialist manifesto".[47]
Rutherford and RepresentativeJeff Van Drew introduced the Atlantic Coastal Economies Protection Act, which would prohibitseismic air gun testing in theAtlantic Ocean.[49] In 2019, in a break with Trump's position, Rutherford voted in favor of legislation to banoffshore drilling along theAtlantic coast, Pacific coast, andeastern Gulf of Mexico coast.[40] In 2019, he introduced bipartisan legislation (cosponsored by eight Florida Democrats and nine Florida Republicans) to extend a moratorium on oil and gas drilling in federal waters off Florida's Gulf Coast until 2029, and to create a similar moratorium on offshore drilling in federal waters off Florida's South Atlantic coast and in theStraits of Florida.[50]
Rutherford supported the unsuccessful2017 effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[10] In 2021, he sponsored legislation seeking to block the government from asking passengers on domestic flights whether they had beenvaccinated against COVID-19.[51]
Rutherford voted against theEquality Act in 2019[52] and 2021.[53]
Being one of two former sheriffs in Congress,[10][when?] Rutherford is "skeptical" of shorter prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenses.[1] During his campaign for Congress, he calledBlack Lives Matter a "hate group".[10]
Rutherford opposescapital punishment,[10][7] citing his Catholic faith.[7]
Rutherford voted for theTax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017,[54] a measure he praised as good for the economy.[55]
Rutherford's district includes two majorU.S. Navy bases (Naval Air Station Jacksonville andNaval Station Mayport), and he has pressed issues important to the bases. Like other members of Florida's delegation, he pressed for two squadrons of theF-35 Lightning II to be based with the125th Fighter Wing of theFlorida Air National Guard in Jacksonville.[10]
Rutherford defended some of Trump's most controversial statements and actions as president, including his pardon of ex-sheriffJoe Arpaio and his comments after adeadly far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.[10] Rutherford voted against bothTrump's first impeachment (in 2019, on articles of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power) and hissecond impeachment (in 2021, on an article ofincitement of insurrection).[40]
Rutherford refused to accept the results of the2020 presidential election, in which Trump lost toJoe Biden. He echoed Trump's false claims of election fraud and suggested that Republican-controlled state legislatures in swing states Biden won could hold a "decertification vote" that would lead to the U.S. House selecting the next president, though he acknowledged that this was unlikely to succeed.[56] On January 7, 2021, afterthe Capitol was attacked by a pro-Trump mob in an attempted insurrection, Rutherford was one of 138 House Republicans whovoted not to count the electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania, despite a number of audits and recounts confirming the election outcome in those states.[57]
In December 2020, Rutherford was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign anamicus brief in support ofTexas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at theU.S. Supreme Court that sought to overturn the election results.[58][59] The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lackedstanding underArticle III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.[60][61][62]
After Trump was impeached for his role in inciting a pro-Trump mob to storm the Capitol over false claims of election fraud, Rutherford condemned RepresentativeLiz Cheney for voting to impeach Trump, accusing her of not being a "team player."[63]
In 2018, Rutherford defended theTrump administration policy of separating parents and children at theU.S.-Mexico border, and opposed legislation that would end the practice.[64] After coming under pressure, Trump reversed his policy, a move Rutherford welcomed.[65]
In 2017, Rutherford introduced legislation to create a path to citizenship for holders ofE-2 Treaty Investor Visas, a special visa for business owners.[66]
Rutherford opposes abortion.[67] In interviews in 2015, he contended that the U.S. had a "culture of death" he attributed toRoe v. Wade[7][67] and violent video games and movies.[7]
Rutherford opposes the legalization ofmarijuana. He voted against the2014 ballot initiative to legal medicinal marijuana in Florida, believing that it would ultimately lead to thelegalization of recreational marijuana[1] and to marijuana "in every backpack in every high school in Duval County."[68]
Rutherford voted against theHonoring our PACT Act of 2022 which expandedVA benefits to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during their military service.[69]
Rutherford has supported the use ofearmarks and has called for the elimination or restriction of theU.S. Senate rule that requires 60 Senate votes to invoke cloture (i.e., end debate on bills); he described both proposals as a way to facilitate compromise between the parties and reduce gridlock.[10][70] Rutherford has said that he supports local referendums to resolve disputes over thefate of public Confederate monuments.[10]
Rutherford campaigned forDuval County sheriff, running against fellow Republicans David Anderson and Lem Sharp. In the election on April 15, 2003, he received 135,038 votes, 78% of the total. He took office on July 1, 2003. Rutherford was reelected in 2007 and 2011.[71]
On August 30, 2016, he won the Republican primary for Florida's 4th Congressional District.[72]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John Rutherford | 38,688 | 38.7% | |
| Republican | Lake Ray | 20,111 | 20.1% | |
| Republican | Hans Tanzler III | 18,999 | 19.0% | |
| Republican | Bill McClure | 9,854 | 9.8% | |
| Republican | Edward Malin | 7,879 | 7.9% | |
| Republican | Stephen Kaufman | 2,413 | 2.4% | |
| Republican | Deborah Katz Pueschel | 2,137 | 2.1% | |
| Total votes | 100,081 | 100 | ||
Rutherford is married to his wife, Patricia, and has two children[25][1] and six grandchildren.[74] He and his wife areCatholic.[7][1]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's 4th congressional district 2017–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's 5th congressional district 2023–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 179th | Succeeded by |
| People | |
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| Other | |
