Politics lures radio star out of studio, into fray

By Warren Cornwall
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES Dave Ross, center, at a recent gathering in Bellevue. Ross' father said his son wants to "do more than be a guy on the radio."

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Since he was 5 years old, Dave Ross has never been far from a microphone.

In his nerdy youth, he wired his parent's suburban New York home into a de facto radio station. He would put on shows in his bedroom, wrangling siblings as interview subjects.

Since then, he and his booming bass voice have risen through the radio ranks and traveled the world, broadcasting from places as varied as Baghdad, Iraq; Berlin; and Moscow, and hosting a popular current-events talk show in Seattle.

But in recent years, Ross began to express some dissatisfaction with his work, said his father, Richard Ross.

"He felt that he wanted to do more than be a guy on the radio," the elder Ross said. "He felt that he wasn't doing anything constructive; he felt that he wasn't contributing enough."

Last month, Ross walked away from the broadcast microphone and onto the campaign trail as a candidate for Congress. It's a move that appears driven by a convergence of his itch to have a direct hand in policy and the Democratic Party's fervent desire to win the 8th District.

Dave Ross 8th Congressional District Candidate Age: 52 Party: Democrat Residence: Mercer Island Family: wife Patricia, 53; daughters Emilie, 24, and Caitlin, 20 Education: B.A., English, Cornell University Work: Reporter, WSB-AM, Atlanta, 1973-77; reporter and talk-show host, KIRO-AM (710), Seattle, 1978-2004 Campaign theme: I want to go to Washington, D.C., with the common sense I cultivated on the radio talking about public policy with hundreds of people.

"Talk is cheap," Ross said in a recent interview, as he sat on the front porch of his Mercer Island home.

The Baghdad factor

Ross has long shown an appetite for political events but not an interest in being a politician, according to friends, family and co-workers.

In the past, he played the role of observer and commentator. When fellow students occupied a campus building at Cornell University in 1972, Ross went along as a reporter for a local radio station, rather than as a protester.

"I basically decided that my position would be to report on the stuff and not participate in it," he said.

That's been his trademark ever since. A scientist by predilection (he entered Cornell planning to be a physics major), Ross instead trained his eye on society. After a stint as a news reporter in Atlanta covering, among other things, Jimmy Carter's 1976 presidential campaign, Ross came to Seattle's KIRO-AM (710) in 1978.

In Seattle, Ross created a talk show revolving around interviews with newsmakers of the day, ranging from state lawmakers to policy experts to people in war zones or caught in hurricanes. It had some of the trappings of commercial radio shtick: He started his show declaring he was in the headquarters of "the Eastlake Avenue Crusaders for Common Sense." But he favored dissecting policy over the strident partisanship that frequents talk radio.

"It's that need to know and that need to get that story out so that people in the community know what's going on. That's what he was first and foremost in his career, was a radio news reporter," said Pam Sowers, who produced Ross' show from 1987 to 1992.

In a 1992 interview, Ross said, "I like the idea of being the center of the action, yet being safe inside the studio, too."

He also showed a penchant for traveling to witness historic events.

	JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES After his last show on KIRO on July 23, Ross humorously introduces himself to KIRO employees Terry Plitt, left, and daughter Courtney Plitt as a candidate for Congress.

As a reporter, he followed Pope John Paul II through Britain in 1982 and then reported from Hong Kong and Japan in 1983, China in 1984 and the Soviet Union in 1987. After starting his talk show in 1987, he reported from Berlin shortly after the wall came down, from Moscow right after the attempted coup in 1991, and from Baghdad in April.

That final trip helped persuade Ross to run when he was courted by state Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt soon after returning from the Middle East.

Ross said he was startled by the dire and chaotic situation in Baghdad. Since the visit, he has become increasingly critical of the Iraq war and occupation, recently saying it shows "what can go wrong when a nation's foreign policy is hijacked by a few ideologues who ignore the facts on the ground."

Loren Skaggs, a former producer of Ross' show and an adviser to the campaign, said, "I think it [the Baghdad trip] stiffened his resolve to do more to change things, and shortly after that he gets a call from the Democratic Party chair asking him if he would consider running."

That call also tapped into an ethic stemming from his Roman Catholic faith, to try to do good works, to help people in need, Ross said.

Independent streak

The transition from broadcaster to politician hasn't been altogether smooth.

As soon as Ross announced he would run, he was embroiled in controversy for deciding to continue his radio show while being a candidate for Congress. A Democratic primary opponent, Alex Alben, said it was unfair and possibly illegal, because Ross was getting hours of exposure on public airwaves.

Ross dismissed the criticism, saying other candidates have advantages they don't have to give up. He said he was trying to keep a promise he made to his employer, Entercom Communications, that he would remain until a replacement was found. He left the air July 23.

Ross casts himself as an independent unwilling to alter his positions to line up with the party or for political expedience. He and his campaign manager, Marco Lowe, have a running joke about Ross not sticking to the standard script of a candidate.

Skaggs predicted that if elected, Ross would likely become one of the maverick members of Congress, more likely to break from the party on a matter of conscience.

"I think it will be a strength, but I think it will also be a weakness. Because I think it will cost him clout and committee assignments," Skaggs said. "I think he is going to be more of a reporter in Congress, somebody who is going to be more of an investigator."

Asked why he was a Democrat, Ross told a Bellevue gathering of Democratic activists that he was drawn to the party's greater tolerance for different opinions.

That's being tested on several fronts. The head of the Washington chapter of the National Abortion Rights Action League has criticized Ross for his support of measures requiring parental consent for minors seeking an abortion. At several Democratic events, people have challenged his support for charter schools.

As a politician, Ross has sought to capitalize on his high profile as a radio personality. He repeatedly uses the phrase "common sense," a mantra of his talk show. He has likened much of his campaign to an extension of his radio work.

"I'm running because I want to use the common sense I think I've developed on the air to find some common ground for the common good," he said at the Bellevue Democratic gathering on the lawn behind a small office.

Give-and-take

Wearing a gray suit, pressed white shirt and tie, he tried his radio give-and-take in person, with mixed results.

Karin Meier, a computer consultant, challenged Ross' idea of using a national health-care system featuring government rebates to consumers who could use a credit card to pay their medical bills. It was, she told him, technically infeasible.

Ross asked if she had a better answer that would be straightforward for people. When she said no, he said, in a slightly exasperated tone, "I guess there's no way to improve the health-care system; we may as well leave it alone."

They parried back and forth for several minutes, each saying the other didn't appear to be listening. "This is something that you do on the radio, isn't it?" she said of his pointed questioning.

Barbara Galler, an Issaquah schoolteacher, had a more sanguine encounter. She challenged Ross on his support of charter schools, saying she was concerned it amounted to an experiment on kids.

Ross, looking at her intently, asked how she would answer parents who see a charter school as a chance to better educate their children. They discussed the pros and cons of the schools for several minutes.

"I respect the questions that he asked me back," Galler said afterward.

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

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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