Kevin Lee James (born 1963) is an American

radio host A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a radi ...

and

political commentator A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...

, focused on local and national politics. He was a candidate in the 2013 Los Angeles mayoral election and a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for Southern California. His program aired on

KRLA KRLA (870 kHz) "AM 870 The Answer" is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a talk radio format. Licensed to Glendale, California, it serves Greater Los Angeles and Southern California. The station is owned by Salem Media Group, which also ...

AM 870 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

between 12 a.m. and 3 a.m. on weekdays. He was appointed by

Mayor of Los Angeles The mayor of the City of Los Angeles is the official head and chief executive officer of Los Angeles. The officeholder is elected for a four-year term and is term limit, limited to serving no more than two terms. (Under the Constitution of Califo ...

Eric Garcetti Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was first elected in the 2013 Los An ...

as President of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works, in 2013. James continues to serve in that role and as Director of the Los Angeles Mayor's Office of Film and Television since 2015.

Early life

James earned an

undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher e ...

from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

where he was a President's Leadership Scholar and attended the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

Law Center. He is a member of the

California State Bar The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

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

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 KTOK (1000 AM) is a commercial radio station in Oklahoma City and airs a talk radio format. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., and licensed as iHM Licenses, LLC. The studios and offices are in the 50 Penn Place Building on the northwest side of ...

AM 1000 in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

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) KABC (790 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, and serving the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a talk radio format. The studios are located in the Los Angeles su ...

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

AM 870 in Los Angeles. James also appears as a guest commentator on television news programs. He was a regular on

Court TV Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former cable television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cove ...

’s now-cancelled ''

Catherine Crier Live Catherine Jean Crier is an Americans, American journalist and author of ''A Deadly Game'' and ''The Case Against Lawyers''. She was the youngest elected state judge in Texas history at age thirty and served as a Texas State District Judge for th ...

'' and has appeared numerous times on ''

Hardball with Chris Matthews ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'' was an American television talk show that was hosted by Chris Matthews. The program premiered on the now-defunct America's Talking network in 1994 (as ''Politics with Chris Matthews'') before moving on CNBC, and ...

''. 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 LA Clean Sweep, a non-partisan grassroots citywide coalition of community groups and activists working for change at City Hall in Los Angeles.

Political career

2013 Los Angeles mayoral run

James was a candidate for the 2013 Los Angeles mayoral election. James's campaign focused on fiscal accountability and transparency, including delegating power to the neighborhood councils and reducing business taxation. To further support his campaign focus in regards to transparency, James reminded Angelenos of a recent controversy which took place at the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Conceived as a hallmark of civic pride, the Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a mem ...

. He would have been the first openly gay mayor of Los Angeles. He finished third in the mayoral race held on March 5, 2013, in which only the top two candidates advanced to a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

President of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works

In July 2013, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti appointed his one-time mayoral rival Kevin James to a key City Hall position, giving him a job as a commissioner on the Board of Public Works. James, who decried City Hall corruption and incompetence during his bid for Los Angeles mayor earlier in the year, said he would focus on street improvements and sidewalks in his new position. The commissioners meet three times a week at City Hall and serve collectively as the general managers of the Department of Public Works, which oversees city services such as lighting, beautification and street services. James was then chosen unanimously to preside over the powerful five-member board as president.

Director of the Los Angeles Mayor's Office of Film and Television

In March 2015, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti named Kevin James to the post of chief film liaison. James continues to serve in his role as President of the Board of Public Works, and is also now the City Hall point person on film and TV production. James is openly gay.

References

External links

Kevin James
on

Los Angeles Board of Public Works
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Kevin 1963 births Living people American talk radio hosts American political commentators University of Houston alumni University of Oklahoma alumni Gay politicians American LGBT politicians American LGBT broadcasters California Republicans 21st-century American politicians