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Obituary courtesy of Jerry Huffman 46859530
===========================================
The San Diego Union - October 19, 1985
Ron Bittner, pistol-packing ex-mayor of Escondido, dies
ESCONDIDO(Staff Writer) -- Ron Bittner, Escondido's former "gun-toting mayor," is dead.
Mr. Bittner, 54, a former gun shop owner who made headlines when he revealed that he carried a pistol to council meetings, died late Thursday night at Palomar Memorial Hospital here of internal bleeding, a hospital spokesman said.
A straight-talking man, Mr. Bittner was a grass-roots candidate who candidly spoke of his distaste for politicans, bureaucrats and government. A firm believer in private property rights and an opponent of government intervention, he rode a wave of anti-redevelopment sentiment onto the City Council in 1978. He served as mayor from 1980 to 1982.
He was a maverick whose election upset and alarmed the Escondido Chamber of Commerce and members of the Establishment. Even as late as last June, he caused City Hall headaches by leading an unsuccessful attempt to block a $52 million civic center complex. Even though his forays into the local political arena were sporadic since stepping down from the council in 1982 and losing a bid for the state Assembly, Mr. Bittner was a force to be reckoned with here. Barbara Jones, a long-time council watcher, said Mr. Bittner had told her recently he was planning to run for the council again next year. Mr. Bittner was a notably quotable figure, once calling himself "the old, gray mayor" in reference to his prematurely gray hair. His conservatism and patriotism made him an attractive target for editorial writers. But Mr. Bittner enjoyed talking to reporters and once confided that he had a yearning to be a journalist himself. But political opponents and city staff -- the bureaucrats he liked to keep o n their toes with his so-called "B-grams," short, pointed notes about anything that struck his fancy -- respected him for his forthrightness, dedication and hard work.
In fact, his devotion to the job of mayor caused him to ignore his gun-shop business on East Valley Parkway. Shortly after leaving the council, he closed the shop and took a job as general manager of Micromanipulator Microscope Co. in Escondido, which makes microscopes.
"He was as hard-working a councilman as I can recall, putting in more time than anyone before him or since," Councilman Jim Rady said yesterday. "And I think that was to the detriment of other things, including his business."
Mr. Bittner once said he spent about 60 hours a week in his job of mayor, with much of that time being taken up by people who would drop by his shop or phone him to talk about various city matters. Born in Kitzmiller, Md., Mr. Bittner moved to San Diego 30 years ago, after serving in the Marine Corps in Korea and at Camp Pendleton. Mr. Bittner managed the Durst Sporting Goods Store in Pacific Beach from 1955 to 1965. He moved to Escondido and managed Krasne's Sporting Goods from 1966 to 1972, before opening his gun shop. He was a member of the Boy Scouts; the California Rifle and Pistol Association; American Legion Post No. 149 in Escondido; an honorary member of the Deputy Sheriff's Association, and an associate member of the California Stat e Sheriffs Association.
Mr. Bittner leaves his widow, Barbara; a son, Lloyd of Escondido; three daughters, Deborah of Fullerton, and Barbara and Rebecca Tully of Escondido; a granddaughter, and his mother, Vera of Escondido. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Monday in the Bethel Baptist Church.
Internment will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Arrangements are being handled by Pacific Beach Mortuary.
Obituary courtesy of Jerry Huffman 46859530
===========================================
The San Diego Union - October 19, 1985
Ron Bittner, pistol-packing ex-mayor of Escondido, dies
ESCONDIDO(Staff Writer) -- Ron Bittner, Escondido's former "gun-toting mayor," is dead.
Mr. Bittner, 54, a former gun shop owner who made headlines when he revealed that he carried a pistol to council meetings, died late Thursday night at Palomar Memorial Hospital here of internal bleeding, a hospital spokesman said.
A straight-talking man, Mr. Bittner was a grass-roots candidate who candidly spoke of his distaste for politicans, bureaucrats and government. A firm believer in private property rights and an opponent of government intervention, he rode a wave of anti-redevelopment sentiment onto the City Council in 1978. He served as mayor from 1980 to 1982.
He was a maverick whose election upset and alarmed the Escondido Chamber of Commerce and members of the Establishment. Even as late as last June, he caused City Hall headaches by leading an unsuccessful attempt to block a $52 million civic center complex. Even though his forays into the local political arena were sporadic since stepping down from the council in 1982 and losing a bid for the state Assembly, Mr. Bittner was a force to be reckoned with here. Barbara Jones, a long-time council watcher, said Mr. Bittner had told her recently he was planning to run for the council again next year. Mr. Bittner was a notably quotable figure, once calling himself "the old, gray mayor" in reference to his prematurely gray hair. His conservatism and patriotism made him an attractive target for editorial writers. But Mr. Bittner enjoyed talking to reporters and once confided that he had a yearning to be a journalist himself. But political opponents and city staff -- the bureaucrats he liked to keep o n their toes with his so-called "B-grams," short, pointed notes about anything that struck his fancy -- respected him for his forthrightness, dedication and hard work.
In fact, his devotion to the job of mayor caused him to ignore his gun-shop business on East Valley Parkway. Shortly after leaving the council, he closed the shop and took a job as general manager of Micromanipulator Microscope Co. in Escondido, which makes microscopes.
"He was as hard-working a councilman as I can recall, putting in more time than anyone before him or since," Councilman Jim Rady said yesterday. "And I think that was to the detriment of other things, including his business."
Mr. Bittner once said he spent about 60 hours a week in his job of mayor, with much of that time being taken up by people who would drop by his shop or phone him to talk about various city matters. Born in Kitzmiller, Md., Mr. Bittner moved to San Diego 30 years ago, after serving in the Marine Corps in Korea and at Camp Pendleton. Mr. Bittner managed the Durst Sporting Goods Store in Pacific Beach from 1955 to 1965. He moved to Escondido and managed Krasne's Sporting Goods from 1966 to 1972, before opening his gun shop. He was a member of the Boy Scouts; the California Rifle and Pistol Association; American Legion Post No. 149 in Escondido; an honorary member of the Deputy Sheriff's Association, and an associate member of the California Stat e Sheriffs Association.
Mr. Bittner leaves his widow, Barbara; a son, Lloyd of Escondido; three daughters, Deborah of Fullerton, and Barbara and Rebecca Tully of Escondido; a granddaughter, and his mother, Vera of Escondido. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Monday in the Bethel Baptist Church.
Internment will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Arrangements are being handled by Pacific Beach Mortuary.
===========================================
Obituary courtesy of Jerry Huffman 46859530
===========================================
The San Diego Union - October 19, 1985
Ron Bittner, pistol-packing ex-mayor of Escondido, dies
ESCONDIDO(Staff Writer) -- Ron Bittner, Escondido's former "gun-toting mayor," is dead.
Mr. Bittner, 54, a former gun shop owner who made headlines when he revealed that he carried a pistol to council meetings, died late Thursday night at Palomar Memorial Hospital here of internal bleeding, a hospital spokesman said.
A straight-talking man, Mr. Bittner was a grass-roots candidate who candidly spoke of his distaste for politicans, bureaucrats and government. A firm believer in private property rights and an opponent of government intervention, he rode a wave of anti-redevelopment sentiment onto the City Council in 1978. He served as mayor from 1980 to 1982.
He was a maverick whose election upset and alarmed the Escondido Chamber of Commerce and members of the Establishment. Even as late as last June, he caused City Hall headaches by leading an unsuccessful attempt to block a $52 million civic center complex. Even though his forays into the local political arena were sporadic since stepping down from the council in 1982 and losing a bid for the state Assembly, Mr. Bittner was a force to be reckoned with here. Barbara Jones, a long-time council watcher, said Mr. Bittner had told her recently he was planning to run for the council again next year. Mr. Bittner was a notably quotable figure, once calling himself "the old, gray mayor" in reference to his prematurely gray hair. His conservatism and patriotism made him an attractive target for editorial writers. But Mr. Bittner enjoyed talking to reporters and once confided that he had a yearning to be a journalist himself. But political opponents and city staff -- the bureaucrats he liked to keep o n their toes with his so-called "B-grams," short, pointed notes about anything that struck his fancy -- respected him for his forthrightness, dedication and hard work.
In fact, his devotion to the job of mayor caused him to ignore his gun-shop business on East Valley Parkway. Shortly after leaving the council, he closed the shop and took a job as general manager of Micromanipulator Microscope Co. in Escondido, which makes microscopes.
"He was as hard-working a councilman as I can recall, putting in more time than anyone before him or since," Councilman Jim Rady said yesterday. "And I think that was to the detriment of other things, including his business."
Mr. Bittner once said he spent about 60 hours a week in his job of mayor, with much of that time being taken up by people who would drop by his shop or phone him to talk about various city matters. Born in Kitzmiller, Md., Mr. Bittner moved to San Diego 30 years ago, after serving in the Marine Corps in Korea and at Camp Pendleton. Mr. Bittner managed the Durst Sporting Goods Store in Pacific Beach from 1955 to 1965. He moved to Escondido and managed Krasne's Sporting Goods from 1966 to 1972, before opening his gun shop. He was a member of the Boy Scouts; the California Rifle and Pistol Association; American Legion Post No. 149 in Escondido; an honorary member of the Deputy Sheriff's Association, and an associate member of the California Stat e Sheriffs Association.
Mr. Bittner leaves his widow, Barbara; a son, Lloyd of Escondido; three daughters, Deborah of Fullerton, and Barbara and Rebecca Tully of Escondido; a granddaughter, and his mother, Vera of Escondido. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Monday in the Bethel Baptist Church.
Internment will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Arrangements are being handled by Pacific Beach Mortuary.
Obituary courtesy of Jerry Huffman 46859530
===========================================
The San Diego Union - October 19, 1985
Ron Bittner, pistol-packing ex-mayor of Escondido, dies
ESCONDIDO(Staff Writer) -- Ron Bittner, Escondido's former "gun-toting mayor," is dead.
Mr. Bittner, 54, a former gun shop owner who made headlines when he revealed that he carried a pistol to council meetings, died late Thursday night at Palomar Memorial Hospital here of internal bleeding, a hospital spokesman said.
A straight-talking man, Mr. Bittner was a grass-roots candidate who candidly spoke of his distaste for politicans, bureaucrats and government. A firm believer in private property rights and an opponent of government intervention, he rode a wave of anti-redevelopment sentiment onto the City Council in 1978. He served as mayor from 1980 to 1982.
He was a maverick whose election upset and alarmed the Escondido Chamber of Commerce and members of the Establishment. Even as late as last June, he caused City Hall headaches by leading an unsuccessful attempt to block a $52 million civic center complex. Even though his forays into the local political arena were sporadic since stepping down from the council in 1982 and losing a bid for the state Assembly, Mr. Bittner was a force to be reckoned with here. Barbara Jones, a long-time council watcher, said Mr. Bittner had told her recently he was planning to run for the council again next year. Mr. Bittner was a notably quotable figure, once calling himself "the old, gray mayor" in reference to his prematurely gray hair. His conservatism and patriotism made him an attractive target for editorial writers. But Mr. Bittner enjoyed talking to reporters and once confided that he had a yearning to be a journalist himself. But political opponents and city staff -- the bureaucrats he liked to keep o n their toes with his so-called "B-grams," short, pointed notes about anything that struck his fancy -- respected him for his forthrightness, dedication and hard work.
In fact, his devotion to the job of mayor caused him to ignore his gun-shop business on East Valley Parkway. Shortly after leaving the council, he closed the shop and took a job as general manager of Micromanipulator Microscope Co. in Escondido, which makes microscopes.
"He was as hard-working a councilman as I can recall, putting in more time than anyone before him or since," Councilman Jim Rady said yesterday. "And I think that was to the detriment of other things, including his business."
Mr. Bittner once said he spent about 60 hours a week in his job of mayor, with much of that time being taken up by people who would drop by his shop or phone him to talk about various city matters. Born in Kitzmiller, Md., Mr. Bittner moved to San Diego 30 years ago, after serving in the Marine Corps in Korea and at Camp Pendleton. Mr. Bittner managed the Durst Sporting Goods Store in Pacific Beach from 1955 to 1965. He moved to Escondido and managed Krasne's Sporting Goods from 1966 to 1972, before opening his gun shop. He was a member of the Boy Scouts; the California Rifle and Pistol Association; American Legion Post No. 149 in Escondido; an honorary member of the Deputy Sheriff's Association, and an associate member of the California Stat e Sheriffs Association.
Mr. Bittner leaves his widow, Barbara; a son, Lloyd of Escondido; three daughters, Deborah of Fullerton, and Barbara and Rebecca Tully of Escondido; a granddaughter, and his mother, Vera of Escondido. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Monday in the Bethel Baptist Church.
Internment will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Arrangements are being handled by Pacific Beach Mortuary.
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