Jim Patterson has a resume which includes a stint as mayor of the city of Fresno CA, and has mounted two campaigns for US Congress. Also sharing space on the resume is a background in radio. Patterson is now on the path to adding another radio paragraph.
According to the Fresno Bee, Patterson is forming a partnership with a pastor and a retired judge, a threesome that will acquire KGED-AM from RAK Communications. By September, they expect to have a Christian talk format running on the expanded-band 1680 kHz facility.
The pastor is Jim Franklin and the former judge is Annette LaRue.
Patterson was most recently cited in these pages in light of his candidacy for congress in the last election cycle. Incumbent George Radanovich (R-CA) opened to seat in California 19 when he retired for health reasons, and Patterson was one of the top contenders to fill it in one of those battles where the true election was the Republican primary in a very red district.
However, the race for the Republican nomination to represent the party in November attracted a number of candidates, and Jeff Denham won the race with only 36% of the vote. Patterson was second with 30%.
According to the Bee, Patterson has worked on air and has also been an owner of stations in Fresno, Santa Maria CA and Boise ID.
Discussing his return to Christian radio, Patterson said, “It means something to me professionally and personally. It also means something to the partners. The best way to look at this is that what the two Jims want to do is to put up a professional Christian talk radio station that will cover news, social issues, politics, finance and family life.”
RAK will continue to own and operate two AM stations in the market.
