Andrew Jackson Hinshaw (August 4, 1923 – January 21, 2016) was an American politician who served as a Congressman for California between 1973 and 1977. In 1977 he was convicted of accepting bribes from the Tandy Corporation in his previous job as

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

, assessor.

Biography

Hinshaw was born in

Dexter, Missouri Dexter is a city in Stoddard County, Missouri, United States, founded in 1873. The population was 7,927 at the 2020 census. History Dexter was platted in 1873. Mr. Dex, an early settler, gave the community the name of his horse, Dexter. Dexte ...

, and attended public schools in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He was in the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

from 1942 to 1945. He received a B.S. degree from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in 1950 and attended the USC Law School.

Political career

Hinshaw worked for 10 years for the

California State Board of Equalization The California State Board of Equalization (BOE) is a public agency charged with tax administration and fee collection in the state of California in the United States. The authorities of the Board attempt to ensure that counties fairly assess ...

and five years for the

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

Assessor's Office. He entered politics as the Property Assessor of

, serving from 1965 to 1972. This had been a controversial office and there had been calls from Orange County grand juries to change the extremely lenient treatment given to large landowners. In 1972 Hinshaw entered the Republican primary for California's 39th Congressional District in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. The district, which had been the 35th District prior to redistricting, was represented by outspoken conservative

John G. Schmitz John George Schmitz (August 12, 1930 – January 10, 2001) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives and California State Senate from Orange County, California. He was also a member of the John Birch Society. In 19 ...

. Hinshaw, considered a moderate Republican by Orange County standards, was personally recruited by

President 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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

, whose home in

San Clemente San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement" ) is a coastal city in southern Orange County, California, United States. It was named in 1925 after the Spanish colonial island (which was named after a Pope from the first century). Located in the O ...

was in the district, after Schmitz suggested that Nixon should not have returned from his 1972 visit to China. Hinshaw scored a considerable upset in the Republican primary election, narrowly defeating Schmitz by 2.7 percentage points. This was

tantamount to election A safe seat is an electoral district which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both. With such seats, there is very little chance of a seat changing h ...

in what has long been considered the most Republican district in California. Hinshaw was reelected in 1974 but was defeated in the 1976 primary by State Assemblyman Robert Badham, who won the general election.

Arrest and conviction

In 1976 Hinshaw was accused of twelve counts of accepting bribes from the Tandy Corporation while he had been Assessor of Orange County as well as using county employees, staff and supplies for his 1972 Campaign for Congress. He was found guilty and sentenced to one to fourteen years in prison, serving eight months.

Death

Hinshaw died on January 21, 2016, at the age of 92.Andrew J. Hinshaw obituary
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References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinshaw, Andrew J. 1923 births 2016 deaths California politicians convicted of crimes Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California People from Dexter, Missouri People from Mission Viejo, California Politicians from Orange County, California United States Navy personnel of World War II University of Southern California alumni USC Gould School of Law alumni 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Biography

Political career

Arrest and conviction

Death

See also

References