John Rutherford (Florida politician)
John Henry Rutherford (; born September 2, 1952) is an American politician. Since 2017, he has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, elected from Florida's 4th congressional district, which encompasses most of Jacksonville and most of its suburbs in Nassau and St. Johns counties, including St. Augustine. Rutherford was an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office before serving as the Duval County sheriff from 2003 to 2015. Early life and education. John Rutherford was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1952. 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 to Jacksonville, Florida. He graduated from Nathan Bedford Forest High School in 1970. He surfed in his free time. In 1972, he earned his Associate of Science in criminology from Florida State College at Jacksonville, formerly Florida Junior College, followed by his Bachelor of Science in criminology from Florida State University in 1974. Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. 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 . He joined the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office in 1974 as a patrolman. He was promoted to sergeant in 1980 and ultimately rose to the rank of captain. 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. He was appointed director of corrections in 1995 by then-Sheriff Nat Glover. In that role, he was responsible for overseeing the jail. 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 Federal Hatch 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. The "Florida 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." 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. In 2007, the "Florida 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. Overall, the Jacksonville crime rate was about the same at  the beginning and end of Rutherford's tenure. As sheriff, Rutherford was a staunch critic of State Attorney Harry Shorstein and an ally of his successor, Angela Corey. He was credited with improving the sheriff's department's capacities to deal with mental health matters and his oversight of a prisoner reentry program, but was criticized for enduring tensions and a lack of trust between the local African American community and police, as well as a high number of police shootings by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. According to a "Wall Street Journal" report, Jacksonville had the ninth-highest rate  of justifiable homicides among the U.S.'s 105 largest police department efforts between 2007 and 2012. U.S. House of Representatives. Elections. After initially considering a run for the state House, Rutherford announced his candidacy for Florida's 4th congressional district on April 15, 2016, for the open seat created by the retirement of the Republican incumbent, Ander Crenshaw. Originally he announced he would run for Florida's 6th congressional district in 2015. Because the 4th district is a Republican safe seat, Rutherford was heavily favored in each election. In the August 2016 Republican primary, Rutherford faced State Representative Lake Ray , St. Johns County Commissioner Bill McClure and former St. Johns Water Management District executive director Hans Tanzler III. Rutherford won the nomination with 38.7% of the vote, to Ray's 20.1%, Tanzler's 19.0%, and McClure's 9.8%. In the general election, Rutherford defeated Democratic nominee David Bruderly, 70.2% to 27.6%. In 2018, Rutherford was challenged by Democrat nominee Ges Selmont, a Ponte Vedra Beach attorney. He was reelected, 65.2% to 32.4%. In 2020, Rutherford won re-nomination in a low-key Republican primary, defeating retired Navy chief petty officer Erick Aguilar with 80.2% of the vote to Aguilar's  19.8%. In the general election, Rutherford defeated Democratic nominee Donna Deegan, a former local TV anchor and breast cancer awareness advocate, 61.1% to 38.9%. Tenure. On January 11, 2017, Rutherford collapsed on the floor of the House, in what his staffers described as an described as an "acute digestive flareup"; he was taken to the hospital, and released ten days later. Political positions. Rutherford aligned himself with President Donald Trump, voting in line with Trump's position 96.6% of the time. He voted against a majority of fellow Republicans approximately 3.9% of the time. Gun policy. In 2017, Rutherford voted  for a measure to make permits for the concealed carrying of firearms valid across state lines. Also in 2017, Rutherford signed a letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives expressing his support for legislation to ban bump stocks. In 2019, he voted against universal background checks for firearm purchases and against giving additional time to law enforcement agencies to conduct background checks on firearm purchasers. From 2015 to 2016, Rutherford received $1,000 in campaign donations from the NRA's Political Victory Fund. In 2018, Rutherford sponsored a bill, the STOP (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." A separate spending bill would be required to provide money for the grant program; Rutherford sought to include such  funding as part of an omnibus spending bill. Environment. Rutherford voted to rescind the Stream Protection Rule. In interviews in 2016 and 2019, he acknowledged the existence of climate change but questioned the scientific consensus that human activity has caused the increase in warming. On 2019, Rutherford voted against a measure to block Trump from withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement to combat climate change. Rutherford has expressed concern over sea level rise, which would adversely impact St. Augustine. He has criticized the Green New Deal proposal as a "socialist manifesto" and in 2018 voted for a resolution opposing  a carbon tax. Rutherford and Representative Jeff Van Drew introduced the Atlantic Coastal Economies Protection Act, which would prohibit seismic air gun testing in the Atlantic Ocean. In 2019, in a rare break with Trump's position, Rutherford voted in favor of legislation to ban offshore drilling along the Atlantic coast, Pacific coast, and eastern Gulf of Mexico coast. 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 the Straits of Florida. Health care. Rutherford supported the unsuccessful 2017 effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In 2021, he sponsored legislation seeking to block the government from asking passengers on domestic flights whether they had been vaccinated against COVID-19. LGBT rights. Rutherford voted against the Equality Act in 2019 and 2021. He voted against a 2019 measure opposing a ban on openly transgender people serving in the U.S. military. Policing and criminal justice. One of two former sheriffs in Congress, Rutherford is "skeptical" of shorter  prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenses, but in December 2018 voted for the First Step Act (legislation amending federal sentencing and prison laws). During his campaign for Congress, he called Black Lives Matter a "hate group"; in 2020, he voted against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a police reform bill aimed at preventing brutality and racial discrimination in policing. Rutherford defended the doctrine of qualified immunity for police officers. Rutherford opposes capital punishment, citing his Catholic faith. Economy, trade, and taxation. Rutherford voted against an increase in the federal hourly minimum wage to $15. He voted for  the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. He voted against a $3 trillion COVID-19 economic rescue package in May 2020, but for a pandemic relief bill in December 2020. Rutherford voted against the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2020. Rutherford voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, a measure he praised as good for the economy. He voted against legislation to repeal the cap on state and local tax deductions. In 2018, Rutherford voted for legislation that repealed some of the Dodd-Frank banking regulations. He voted against a bill to restrict companies from imposing mandatory  arbitration clauses. During the 2018–19 federal government shutdown, Rutherford voted against bills to reopen the government without money that Trump had demanded for construction of a U.S.–Mexico border wall. Rutherford voted against restoring net neutrality regulations. Foreign and military policy. In February and April 2019, Rutherford voted against legislation to end U.S. military assistance to the Saudi Arabian war against Yemen. In July 2019, he voted against legislation to block U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In October 2019, he voted against a measure opposing Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. In  January 2020, he voted against a bill to restrict Trump from initiating military action against Iran without approval by Congress. Rutherford's district includes two major U.S. Navy bases (Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport), and he has pressed issues important to the bases. Like other members of Florida's delegation, he pressed for two squadrons of the F-35 Lightning II to be based in Jacksonville. Donald Trump. Rutherford defended some of Trump's most controversial statements and actions as president, including his pardon of ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio and his comments after a deadly far-right rally  in Charlottesville, Virginia. Rutherford voted against both Trump's first impeachment (in 2019, on articles of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power) and his second impeachment (in 2021, on an article of incitement of insurrection). Effort to overturn 2020 election result. Rutherford initially refused to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Trump lost to Joe 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. On January 7, 2021, after the Capitol was attacked by a pro-Trump mob in an attempted insurrection, Rutherford was one of 138 House Republicans who voted not to count the electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania, despite a number of audits and recounts confirming the election outcome in those states. In December 2020, Rutherford was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of "Texas v. Pennsylvania", a lawsuit filed at the U.S. Supreme Court that sought to overturn the election results. The  Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state. 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 Representative Liz Cheney for voting to impeach Trump, accusing her of not being a "team player." Immigration. In 2018, Rutherford defended the Trump administration policy of separating parents and children at the U.S.-Mexico border, and opposed legislation that would end the practice. After coming  under pressure, Trump reversed his policy, a move Rutherford welcomed. In 2017, Rutherford introduced legislation to create a path to citizenship for holders of E-2 Treaty Investor Visas, a special visa for business owners. In 2019, he voted against legislation to establish a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children. Social issues. Rutherford opposes abortion. In interviews in 2015, he contended that the U.S. had a "culture of death" he attributed to "Roe v. Wade" and violent video games and movies. Rutherford opposes the legalization of marijuana. He voted against the 2014 ballot  initiative to legal medicinal marijuana in Florida, believing that it would ultimately lead to the legalization of recreational marijuana and to marijuana "in every backpack in every high school in Duval County." Other. Rutherford has supported the use of earmarks and has called for the elimination or restriction of the U.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. Rutherford has said that he supports local referenda to resolve disputes over the fate of public Confederate monuments . He voted against statehood for the District of Columbia. Elections. Rutherford campaigned for Duval 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. On August 30, 2016, he won the Republican Primary for Florida's 4th Congressional District. Personal life. Rutherford is married to his wife, Patricia, and has two children. He is Catholic.