
Seen
a Rogue on the loose?
Get in touch with our Roguemeister:
JOHN SCHRAG
jschrag@wweek.com
(503) 243-2122
FAX:
(503) 243-1115
Local talk jock Mary Starrett finds herself at Rogue
Central after refusing to complete her census form--then
attacking the U.S. Census Bureau on the air.
Starrett is the former host of AM Northwest who
now fills the airwaves for KPDQ-AM (a.k.a. "TrueTalk 800
AM, Today's Christian Radio"). As listeners know, the self-described
former "morning-show sweetheart" is prone to government
conspiracy theories and is no fan of the census. So, instead
of completing her form, she filled out only the number of
people living in her house and sent it back. (Starrett argues
that the Constitution only authorizes the government to
count people, not ask about the number of toilets they own.)
After receiving the incomplete form, local census workers
left notes for her at home, but Starrett--who winters in
the Southwest--didn't get them. So Gordon Leach, a local
enumerator who recognized her name, called her up at work.
What happened next is in dispute.
In a May 29 letter to the Census Bureau's regional office,
Starrett says Leach threatened to "make an example" of her
and implied that if she didn't fill out the form, she might
be the subject of an IRS audit. Then, according to Starrett,
he asked, "You don't have anybody in your house Janet Reno's
after, do you?"
Starrett was "appalled" by the comment and has demanded
an apology. But Leach's supervisor, Paul Gregory, says he
can't believe that Leach--a septuagenarian with a "wry sense
of humor"--would make any serious threats. In fact, Starrett
admits that Leach told her he was "only kidding" and enjoyed
her afternoon talk show.
Gregory concedes that Leach's tactics, however well-intentioned,
were open to misinterpretation. But he is not about to apologize
to someone who refused to cooperate with the census and
used her access to the airwaves to beat up his bureau. "In
my mind," he says, "she owes us an apology."
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