Kevin James (broadcaster)

For other uses, see Kevin James.

Kevin James (born 1963), is a Los Angeles CA Mayoral Candidate and former Assistant U.S. Attorney for Southern California. Prior to the Mayoral campaign, James was an American radio host and political commentator, focused on local and national politics. The program aired on KRLA AM 870 in Los Angeles between 12 a.m. and 3 a.m. on weekdays. Since 2007, Kevin James has focused almost exclusively on local, non-partisan issues that affect residents in Los Angeles. He has been credited with giving neighborhood councils a voice. The program sought to engage the citizens in public policy discussions and interview local newsmakers with live calls from Angelenos. The radio commentary assignment culminated from James' work as an assistant federal prosecutor and an entertainment lawyer. During the peak of the AIDS crisis, from 1998 to 2000 James also was the co-chairman of AIDS Project Los Angeles. Currently he serves on their Ambassador's Council.

Early life

James earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Oklahoma where he was a President's Leadership Scholar and attended the University of Houston Law Center. He is a member of the California State Bar.

Career

Assistant U.S. Attorney

James worked for three years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, prosecuting federal crimes. During his tenure as assistant U.S. Attorney, James received the Director's Award for Superior Performance. He also worked for more than 20 years in private practice, representing entertainment industry clients.

Talk show host

The Kevin James Show

Local 870 on KRLA - Sunday 9:00 am - 10:00 am

After several years as a guest and substitute host for talk radio programs in Los Angeles, James worked as the morning drive host on KTOK AM 1000 in Oklahoma City in 2004.

In 2005, James became the host of Red Eye Radio, an overnight (1 a.m. to 5 a.m.) call-in program on KABC (AM) 790 in Los Angeles. He focused on both local and national issues.

Over Memorial Day Weekend 2007, James began hosting The Kevin James Show on KRLA AM 870 in Los Angeles.

James also appears as a guest commentator on television news programs. He was a regular on Court TV’s now-cancelled Catherine Crier Live and has appeared numerous times on Hardball with Chris Matthews.

Neighborhood Council Tour

In 2010 James announced a neighborhood council tour in which he would visit over 45 neighborhood councils all across Los Angeles, taking their issues of concern directly to the airwaves. He launched TeamKevinJames, a website for his listener audience to follow his neighborhood council tour schedule and other local activity, learn his issues of top concern and communicate with him regularly.

Since 2010 James has been supportive and involved with L.A. Cleansweep, a non-partisan grassroots citywide coalition of community groups and activists working for change at City Hall in Los Angeles.

May 2008 Hardball appearance

James achieved notoriety for a May 15, 2008 guest spot on the MSNBC television program Hardball with Chris Matthews, in which James supported an apparent comparison by President George W. Bush of Democratic primary presidential candidate Barack Obama to American Senator William Borah of Idaho, who was serving at the time of Hitler's invasion of Poland.

Earlier that day, President George W. Bush, addressing the Israeli Knesset, had said: "Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is -- the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.

Some people suggest if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of the enemies of peace, and America utterly rejects it."

On the show, James said, "Well, I don't know who he was talking about for sure, Chris, but if he wasn't talking about Barack Obama, he should have been talking about Barack Obama, I hope he was talking about Barack Obama." The other guest, Air America Radio president and Democratic politician Mark J. Green, denounced Bush's comparison.

In the interview, host Chris Matthews asked James what he thought English Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain did wrong in 1938-1939 in the lead-up to Hitler invading Poland. When James failed to give an answer more specific than "he was an appeaser," pointing out that it was president Bush who made the reference to history, not James himself, Matthews repeated the same questions, eventually stating that Chamberlain's appeasement came in the form of giving away Czechoslovakia, rather than merely talking to Hitler. After this back and forth went on for a few minutes, James stated that if you are going to negotiate with your enemies, you have to negotiate from strength.

James appeared on the January 12, 2009 episode of The Daily Show, the American late night satirical news show, as a direct result of his Hardball appearance.

2013 Mayoral Run

James is a candidate for the 2013 Los Angeles mayoral election. James's campaign focuses on fiscal accountability and transparency, including delegating power to the neighborhood councils and reducing business taxation. If elected, he would be the first openly gay mayor of Los Angeles.

External links

• Kevin James on KRLA
• Official web site