Talk-show host Ross reveals he's a candidate

By Warren Cornwall
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES KIRO Radio talk-show host Dave Ross unexpectedly announced his candidacy.

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Ross, whose bass voice and curiosity about public affairs have been a fixture on KIRO-AM (710) for 17 years, made the announcement during a radio event called "Battle of the Talk Show Hosts."

He will run as a Democrat for the 8th Congressional District seat left open by the retirement of U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn.

Though Ross has now entered the campaign trail, he said he plans to continue his talk show through July, when candidates officially file for office. His decision to stay on the air is sure to anger opponents who have already begun calling on the radio station to give them equal time on the air, or to pull the plug on Ross' show.

Ross' entry further shakes up a campaign that has already drawn six candidates.

He starts the race facing two opponents with strong name recognition, former RealNetworks executive and first-time candidate Alex Alben, and Heidi Behrens-Benedict, a Bellevue interior designer who lost three previous races against Dunn.

The Republican field is even more crowded, with King County Sheriff Dave Reichert, former federal prosecutor Diane Tebelius, state Sen. Luke Esser and Bellevue City Councilman Conrad Lee.

People who urged Ross to run think his reputation as a moderate with an independent streak will serve him well in the suburban district, where a Democratic poll showed his name recognition above 80 percent.

"It was an evolution," Ross said of his decision before he officially announced. "Fewer and fewer reasons to say no."

Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance, however, questioned whether Ross' radio reputation will transfer to the campaign trail.

"Dave Ross tries very hard on the radio to not be too Republican or too Democrat. So I really don't know where he stands on issues," he said.
 
Alben was widely seen as the Democratic front-runner with roughly $550,000 raised and endorsements from Gov. Gary Locke, and five Democrats from the state's congressional delegation: Reps. Brian Baird, Norm Dicks, Jay Inslee, Rick Larsen and Adam Smith.

Ross was recruited by state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt, who called him a "dynamite candidate."

Alben campaign manager Ben Vaught said Ross' radio work didn't measure up to Alben's work in the private sector.

"Alex is the only candidate in this race who has proven job-creation skills," Vaught said.

Behrens-Benedict, meanwhile, welcomed the prospect of Ross' entry.

"The more the merrier," she said. "I think that it is good for the country for people to be involved in the democratic process."

Both Vance and the Alben campaign yesterday requested KIRO give their candidates the same air time Ross has.

In a letter to the station, the Alben campaign sought equal time going back to May 5, when it was first publicly reported Ross might enter the race.

When told last night that Ross had announced his candidacy and planned to stay on the air, Vaught said, "He can't do that. It's just fundamentally unfair."

KIRO Station Manager Ken Berry said he would consider the letter, but at this point there were no plans to change the station's programming.

Ross sees no problem staying on the air.

"It's not going to be just a campaign show. It's going to be the Dave Ross show," he said. "There's been Republican Party radio on the air for a long, long time. ... "

A radio station would have to offer equal time once an on-air employee becomes a "qualified candidate," according to the Federal Communications Commission. To become a qualified candidate, Ross would need to file proper papers to become a candidate and be deemed qualified to run by election regulators.

This is the 52-year-old Mercer Island resident's first entry into electoral politics. As a critic of the current war who twice voted for Bill Clinton for president, he describes himself as a deficit hawk and a supporter of President Bush's effort to give federal funds to faith-based social programs.

He said a chief challenge as a candidate will be "staying Dave Ross. Maintaining a sense of independence."

Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com