Candidate Ross back on the air; foes miffed

By Warren Cornwall
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

Dave Ross

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Talk-show host Dave Ross, fresh on the congressional-campaign trail, yesterday returned to the airwaves and defended his decision to remain on his midmorning radio talk show at KIRO (710 AM).

Ross' decision to keep his job has drawn criticism from opponents who charge that his campaign will benefit from hours of radio exposure that other candidates can't afford.

Ross said he will run his talk show as he always has, unless other candidates take aim at him.

"I don't plan to spend any time talking about this campaign unless they bait me. If they bait me I will defend myself," Ross said on his three-hour morning show, roughly 12 hours after announcing he would run as a Democrat in the suburban 8th District.

Several opponents questioned whether Ross' arrangement is legal or fair.

One of his Democratic opponents, Alex Alben, has already asked Ross' station for equal airtime, citing Federal Communications Commission regulations governing media exposure for candidates. Heidi Behrens-Benedict, the other Democratic candidate, also objected.

State Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance said party attorneys are exploring whether the show amounts to an illegal campaign contribution from the station's parent company to Ross, and whether it violates FCC rules.

"The opportunity to talk to voters every day about political issues is a very valuable platform," Alben said. "For a candidate like me to have three hours a day every day to talk about issues would cost me possibly $100,000 a day."

Several media personalities in the Seattle area have left their jobs in the past when they became candidates. Conservative radio talk-show host John Carlson left his spot when he launched his failed 2000 bid for governor. Former Seattle Times columnist Jean Godden quit last year when she entered the race for Seattle City Council. And three-term Seattle Mayor Charles Royer left his television-news commentator job before running for the first time in 1977.

Ross, however, said if his station needs to give equal time to candidates, then stations airing conservative talk-show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh owe Democrats free airtime for years of broadcasts.
 
Other candidates also have advantages, Ross said. King County Sheriff Dave Reichert, a Republican, continues to get media attention as the sheriff, and Alben, a former RealNetworks executive, has personal wealth that has enabled him to put $200,000 into his campaign, Ross said.

"Woe is me," he said mockingly, in response to the advantages his opponents have. "Life has dealt me an unfair hand. What will I do now?"

KIRO Station Manager Ken Berry said Ross will have to leave his job at the end of July if he files with the Secretary of State's Office to be put on the ballot, in order to avoid triggering federal regulations requiring the station to let other candidates have the same airtime.

"Dave clearly understands that at this point he cannot electioneer on the radio," Berry said. "After talking with him, I am absolutely convinced that he is a man of integrity and plans to abide by those limits."

Vance, however, said even if Ross avoids talking directly about the race, his show will still touch on matters important to a federal campaign.

"He wants to have his cake and eat it too," Vance said. "He's a candidate for public office; he can no longer be a talk-show host. I think you're already seeing buyer's remorse."

Federal regulations require that broadcast companies offer equal time to all candidates if an on-air personality has entered the race and the person qualifies to be on the ballot. In Washington, people get on the ballot after filing with the Secretary of State's Office in July.

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