Orange County Register: Chuck DeVore: Talk show host

Chuck DeVore: Talk show host

July 26th, 2010, 6:16 pm · Post a Comment · posted by BRIAN JOSEPH, Sacramento Correspondent

Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, Reagan appointee in the Pentagon, author, sci-fi fan, state lawmaker and unabashed conservative Chuck DeVore hopes to add another title to his burgeoning resume: full-time radio talk show host.

For the last two Sundays, the Orange County assemblyman, who lost to Carly Fiorina in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate last month, has guest hosted evening programs on KFI where he’s interviewed the likes of former Arkansas governor (and former Presidential hopeful) Mike Huckabee; Adam Baldwin, star of NBC’s Chuck; comic book artist Bosch Fawstin and Israel’s Counsel General Jacob Dayan.

Talk about an eclectic lineup.

DeVore says his guest hosting gig is “an extended job interview” to see if he’s got the chops to host his own radio program, full time. DeVore is termed out of the Assembly in November and is looking for a way to stay in the public eye while also remaining involved in public policy. A radio program, he says, would be perfect.

“I was delighted to be called back for a second time,” said DeVore said of his second radio program yesterday, where producers specifically asked him to take calls and host one hour on air without any guests to see if he could handle it.

His first program, on July 18, was Comic-Con themed, reflecting the Assemblyman’s love for sci-fi. (Insider info: The living room of DeVore’s Sacramento apartment once was decorated with campaign signs and a poster of Yoda.) In addition to Baldwin and Fawstin he had on comic book writer James Hudnull and Tommy Tallarico,  a video game music composer and the producer of Video Games Live.

DeVore said he intentionally chose a non-political lineup for his first program to show the bigwigs at KFI that he can talk about other things besides public policy. The producers asked for more politics in his second show and he responded with Huckabee, the Israeli counsel general and an hour on the scandal in Bell and his own investigation into some Medi-Cal fraud. His wife, Diane, has joined him in the studio, for support and to keep him on schedule.

DeVore says he’s optimistic he’s showing enough to someday soon get his own show. For the meantime, he’s waiting for his next invitation to guest host.

“We’ll see where, if anywhere, it leads,” he said.

To listen to DeVore’s first show, on July 18, click here. To listen to his show from yesterday, click here.