Former boss: John Curley could have gone to meetings
October 14, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
By J.B. Wogan
At the Oct. 7 candidate forum, John Curley opened with an explanation for why he hasn’t been involved in Sammamish city government until now.
Curley said KING 5, his employer until April, did not let him get involved in government or politics. Curley was the host of the station’s “Evening Magazine” for 14 years.
“We were not allowed to attend any sort of political event. That is why I have not been involved,” he said.
He made similar remarks at another candidate forum Oct. 5: “You’re not allowed at any City Council meetings. You can’t do anything political.”
Two of his former bosses from KING 5 say that’s only half true.
“We don’t ask anybody not to vote or not to attend a meeting,” said Pat Costello, vice president and station manager at KING 5.
“He wouldn’t have been able to run for office. He wouldn’t have been able to be proactive in any election or take a position on any issue,” Costello said. The restriction is a company-wide policy that comes from KING 5’s parent company, Belo, in Dallas.
But Curley could have come into City Hall and he could have attended City Council meetings, Costello said.
Curley announced in late April that he would run for a seat on the City Council.
In an interview, Curley said that even attending a public meeting was dicey because people might assume he was for or against an issue because of who was seated near him.
“That might be an extreme interpretation,” said Rick Swanson, director of marketing and programming at KING 5. “But whenever you’re dealing with company policy, why would you dance around the margins?”
Jay Cascio, former vice president of programming and creative services at KING 5, hired Curley and worked as his boss for 13 years.
He said he discouraged employees from appearing biased in any way.
“He couldn’t offer up an opinion, or get involved with one side or the other,” Cascio said.
But Curley could have attended City Council meetings, Cascio added.
Curley said he understood Cascio’s direction to be that he couldn’t attend anything political and City Council meetings were political.
The issue of Curley’s civic involvement, or lack thereof, came up at an Oct. 5 forum when Curley’s opponent, Tom Vance, asked about it. Vance referenced Curley’s voting record, which shows that Curley didn’t vote in the 2005 or 2007 City Council elections.
King County voting records, which are less complete before 2004, show that Curley has voted in three of the last 12 elections. Two of the elections he missed were general elections, but most were primaries and special elections.
Curley said that while people haven’t seen him near City Hall, he reads the local news coverage every week and watched 30-minute snippets of City Council meetings on television.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
New: Oct. 14, 10:03 a.m.
At the Oct. 7 candidate forum, John Curley opened with an explanation for why he hasn’t been involved in Sammamish city government until now.
Curley said KING 5, his employer until April, did not let him get involved in government or politics. Curley was the host of the station’s “Evening Magazine” for 14 years.
“We were not allowed to attend any sort of political event. That is why I have not been involved,” he said.
He made similar remarks at another candidate forum Oct. 5: “You’re not allowed at any City Council meetings. You can’t do anything political.”
Two of his former bosses from KING 5 say that’s only half true.
“We don’t ask anybody not to vote or not to attend a meeting,” said Pat Costello, vice president and station manager at KING 5.
“He wouldn’t have been able to run for office. He wouldn’t have been able to be proactive in any election or take a position on any issue,” Costello said. The restriction is a company-wide policy that comes from KING 5’s parent company, Belo, in Dallas.
But Curley could have come into City Hall and he could have attended City Council meetings, Costello said.
Curley announced in late April that he would run for a seat on the City Council.
In an interview, Curley said that even attending a public meeting was dicey because people might assume he was for or against an issue because of who was seated near him.
“That might be an extreme interpretation,” said Rick Swanson, director of marketing and programming at KING 5. “But whenever you’re dealing with company policy, why would you dance around the margins?”
Jay Cascio, former vice president of programming and creative services at KING 5, hired Curley and worked as his boss for 13 years.
He said he discouraged employees from appearing biased in any way.
“He couldn’t offer up an opinion, or get involved with one side or the other,” Cascio said.
But Curley could have attended City Council meetings, Cascio added.
Curley said he understood Cascio’s direction to be that he couldn’t attend anything political and City Council meetings were political.
The issue of Curley’s civic involvement, or lack thereof, came up at an Oct. 5 forum when Curley’s opponent, Tom Vance, asked about it. Vance referenced Curley’s voting record, which shows that Curley didn’t vote in the 2005 or 2007 City Council elections.
King County voting records, which are less complete before 2004, show that Curley has voted in three of the last 12 elections. Two of the elections he missed were general elections, but most were primaries and special elections.
Curley said that while people haven’t seen him near City Hall, he reads the local news coverage every week and watched 30-minute snippets of City Council meetings on television.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.
Other Stories of Interest: Election 2009
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3 Responses to “Former boss: John Curley could have gone to meetings”
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I would like to see the Review focus on issues and how candidates intend to address these issue, not whether they attended meetings in the past. Previous participation in local politics should not be the primary qualification for participating in local politics.
The vast majority of people in Sammamish are not retired. They have families, day jobs, kids to drive to soccer; putting in time at meetings is difficult. When one of these people decides to get involved in local politics we should not penalize them because their busy professional and family life previously demanded all their energy.
Unintentionally, this article fuels the elitism that dominates this city and discourages many people from participating in local politics.
I’m not sure but I would guess that as a King 5 TV personality Mr. Curley has contributed a great deal of his time and energy to civic causes.
I attend City Council meetings regularly. Rarely have I seen Mr. Curley’s opponent, Mr. Vance, in attendance. Prior to Mr. Vance.s appointment to the Planning Commission I rarely saw him at meetings.
Lets not make prior participation the most important qualification. Some of the most useless, ignorant, and unqualified people get far by showing up all the time and telling the people in power they are doing a great job. This is the best way to get appointed to a Sammamish committee.
John Galvin
This is the most biased piece of journalism that I have ever read.
It is no secret now, that The Sammamish Review and John Curley’s opponent have something in common – the same political mindset.
It is this political mindset that I strongly oppose and I feel is a detriment to progress in the City of Sammamish.
The public depends on newspapers and other media sources during election season in order to cast an educated vote.
This is the 2nd time The Review has published such a story, which is a blatant attempt to smear Mr. Curley and a disservice to the readers of this paper.
Accurate journalism would have portrayed someone who gets actively involved in what he does. The fact is Mr. Curley could stand back and watch, however he is not a bystander, he is one that will get fully involved. J.B. – you printed quotes your paper wanted you to and deliberately left out others, shame on you for that !!
Please believe me, involvement in Sammamish politics is not a plus. It is very devided with lines drawn in the sand. I’ve met and talked with Mr. Curley, have you ? I find him to be sharp, intelligent, an extremely good listener, responsive, & above all he possesses a very postive attitude. Mr. Curley’s “non-participation” is a huge plus. These qualities plus the fact that he views issues with an open-minded common sense mentality is why he deserves the vote of the Sammamish voters. True,accurate, & responsible reporting would have pointed that out. The real story is John Curley’s opponent who is politically connected to the council and planning commission, a small tight knit group that controls city government. It is time for a change, in city politics and in the newspaper I read. Thank God for the Sammamish Reporter.
Doesn’t it bother people that Mr. Curley seems to have lied to the public? On two occasions he said that he was explicitly restricted from attending council meetings by his job – once to the Sammamish Review and once at a candidate forum. And according to his employer and boss of 13 years this isn’t true?? Thank you Sammamish Review for providing truthful information – it would be a disservice to voters of Sammamish to rely on anything else.