Ernest “Ernie” Ewin, a longtime La Mesa councilman recalled for supporting unity and congeniality in politics, died Dec. 28 in Utah, where he lived. He was 76.
Ewin, a Republican, was on the City Council for 18 years, previously serving on the city’s Planning Commission. He held many other civic leadership positions, contributing to East County communities in the fields of education, healthcare and more.
Ewin represented the city on the Metropolitan Transit Board, where he has chaired the audit committee.
He chaired the Metro Wastewater Joint Powers Authority and served as executive director of the Grossmont College Foundation’s board of directors and was donor relations specialist for the Foundation for Grossmont & Cuyamaca Colleges.
In addition, he was chairman of the Prop G Grossmont Healthcare District’s Independent Oversight Committee and served on the board of the East County Visitors’ Bureau.
He was also a founding member of the San Diego Trolley Board of Directors, past member of the County of San Diego Finance Review Panel, past chairman of the San Diego County Organization Assessment Panel and past Chairman of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca District’s Prop R Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee.
He also chaired a volunteer finance committee for the city’s 2012 centennial celebration.
He worked for over 30 years in the banking and financial service industry, including at Grossmont Bank, and owned the Ewin & Associates consulting firm.
On the City Council, he was known as a strong supporter of the local business community, calling the downtown a “treasure” in a 2010 interview with East County Magazine.
He also supported civility in politics, hosting a luncheon each election day to bring together office holders, candidates and members of the media.
Raised in East County, where he lived since 1952, Ewin attended all local schools including Murray Manor Elementary and Fletcher Hills Elementary and Our Lady of Grace.
He graduated from defunct University High, Grossmont College and San Diego State University with a degree in economics/finance. Ewin was student body president at Grossmont College in 1968-69.
He was married to his wife, Nancy, for 53 years and is survived by children and grandchildren.
Ewin experienced heartache when his grown son, J. Corban Ernest Ewin, was sentenced in August 2003 after being found guilty of attempted murder in the first degree.
The son’s sentence was for 10 years, but he was paroled after serving at least 85% of his sentence, La Mesa Patch reported in 2011. Ewin was paroled Sept. 2, 2011.
In a 2006 interview with the East County Californian, he voiced love for the “sense of community” in East County neighborhoods. A Republican, Ewin saw an important role for government to be involved in “making things happen, not being obstructionist.”
He also recalled fondly his childhood days in East County, catching bullfrogs in creeks, making rafts and playing at Tom Sawyer, watching cowboys herd cattle around a barn near Fletcher Parkway, and riding horseback near Lake Cuyamaca.
Upon his retirement from the City Council in 2014, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported: “Ewin said some of this proudest accomplishments were being part of the city’s efforts to create new housing, including the condominiums along Fletcher Parkway, the elevator at the Grossmont Center Trolley stop, his request granted for periodic public updates of the city’s financial status, helping pass Propositions L (sales tax increase, 2008) and D (fire, police and emergency services bond measure, 2004) and rehabilitation of parks throughout the city.”
Despite his sometimes clashes with longtime Mayor Art Madrid, Madrid praised the long-serving councilman upon Ewin’s retirement.
“We can all look back to the contributions council members have made individually and collectively, and in the long term, Mr. Ewin has made decisions that are in best interests of the city,” Madrid said.
Miriam Raftery is editor of East County Magazine, a member of the San Diego Online News Association, where a version of this story first appeared.