Richard Curtis (politician)

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This article is about the politician from Washington state. For the screenwriter see: Richard Curtis (screenwriter)

Richard Curtis (b. circa 1959) 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 in Clark and Cowlitz counties (map).

[edit] Election and voting record

A former La Center City Councilman, Curtis was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2004. He faced no primary opposition and won the general election with 56.5% of the vote. He took office in January 2005 and was re-elected in 2006, winning 59% to his opponent's 41%.^[1]

Curtis, who is married with two daughters, has built up a socially conservative voting record. 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.^[2]

[edit] Sex scandal and subsequent resignation

On October 30, 2007, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reported that Curtis and a twenty-six year old man named Cody Castagna - who previously had posed for gay pornography - met at an adult bookstore, and that they later had sex in a local hotel room.^[3] Curtis was also alleged to have been seen previously and on that occasion clad in women's clothing, wearing them underneath his own.^[3] According to the police statement from Curtis, Castagna attempted to extort $1,000 from Curtis after the encounter, in return for not revealing his "gay lifestyle" to his family.^[3] Based on this statement, Curtis brought formal extortion charges against Castagna.^[3] Further investigation by the Spokane Police Department revealed the details of the incident. Castagna has denied all accusations of the extortion, which is a Class B felony. A statement by his lawyer asserted that, "This is an extremely low-level situation that's being blown out of proportion by somebody who is trying to save themselves."^[4] The lawyer stated further that "this guy (Castagna) didn't do anything wrong - at that level, anyway."^[4] Curtis first denied having had sex with the man, contradicting his own statements to police.^[5]

Curtis resigned from the Washington State House of Representatives on October 31, 2007.^[2] Upon his resignation he issued a statement stating,

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.^[6]

According to analysis by The Olympian, the Republican leadership in the state has now moved to attempt to control the damage of Curtis' resignation, issuing statements of their own. State House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt said he was "disappointed" and that Curtis "can no longer effectively represent the constituents who elected him."^[6]