Richard Curtis (politician)
- This article is about the politician from Washington state. For the screenwriter see: Richard Curtis (screenwriter)
Richard Curtis is an American politician from La Center, Washington. He served as a Republican member of the Washington State House of Representatives from 2005 to 2007. He represented the state's 18th legislative district (map).
Elected to the House of Representatives in November 2004, he took office in January 2005. Curtis, who is married and with two daughters, has voted in a predictably fiscally and socially conservative pattern. In 2006, he opposed a gay rights bill that banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In spring of 2007, he voted against domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian couples.[1]
On October 30, 2007 the Spokane Spokesman-Review reported that Curtis and a man named Cody Castagna - who previously had posed for gay pornography - met at an adult bookstore, and that they later had annal sex in a local hotel room.[2] Curtis was also alleged to have been seen previously and on that occasion clad in women's clothing, wearing them underneath his own.[2] After the encounter, Castagna - according to the statement from Curtis - attempted to blackmail $1,000 from Curtis so prevent revealing his "gay lifestyle" to his family, and Curtis brought extortion charges against Castagna.[2] Further investigation by the Spokane Police Department revealed the details of the incident. Contradictorily, Castagna has denied all accusations of the extortion (which is a Class B felony) and a statement by his lawyer further claimed, "This is an extremely low-level situation that's being blown out of proportion by somebody who is trying to save themselves."[3] and that, "this guy (Castagna) didn't do anything wrong - at that level, anyway,"[3] Curtis first denied having had sex with the man, contradicting his own statements to police.[4] He later resigned on October 31 2007.[1] Upon his resignation he issued a statement detailing,
Today I submitted my letter of resignation to Governor Gregoire effective immediately. While I believe we've done some good and helped a lot of people during the time I served in the Legislature, events that have recently come to light have hurt a lot of people. I sincerely apologize for any pain my actions may have caused. This has been damaging to my family, and I don't want to subject them to any additional pain that might result from carrying out this matter under the scrutiny that comes with holding public office. [5]
The Republican leadership in the State has now moved to attempt to control the damage of Curtis' resignation, issuing statements of their own.[5]
References
- ^ a b La Corte, Rachel (October 31st, 2007). "GOP State Rep Resigns Amid Sex Scandal". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c Morlin, Bill (October 31st, 2007). "Curtis allegedly had encounter at bookstore". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Mize, Jeffery (October 31st, 2007). "Curtis admitted tryst". The Columbian. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Strupp, Joe (October 31st, 2007). "State Legislator Gave Paper False Account Of Sex Incident". Editor and Publisher. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "Republicans move to limit damage from Rep. Curtis' sex scandal". The Olympian. October 31st, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
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