The abrupt exit of Rich “Da Coach” Gilgallon – and the cancellation of “Hot Talk” on KNEWS 94.3 and 104.7 — has left a measurable void in efforts to disseminate the conservative message, according to a Coachella Valley Republican leader.
Joy Miedecke
“Rich was great at spreading the conservative message,” Joy Miedecke, president of the East Valley Republican Women Federated (EVRWF) told Uken Report. “We will miss him terribly and we will miss his show.”
Gilgallon has accepted a position in Tennessee and is no longer at KNEWS.
His departure came in the wake of at least two complaints filed with the Federal Communications Commission accusing Gilgallon of spreading vicious and slanderous lies. Complaints also surfaced that Gilgallon promoted and favored Kimberlin Brown Pelzer, whom EVRWF officially endorsed, to the exclusion of other conservative candidates including Dan Ball, Doug Hassett and Stephan Wolkowicz.
Miedecke said she cannot speak for any Republican candidates – or KNEWS – but she said contrary to what Ball claims, he has never been shut out at EVRWF headquarters. She said he has been allowed in and to speak.
Miedecke said the organization hired the “HotTalk” hosts for a Gas Tax Repeal campaign that kicked off at an Arco station in Indio in January. Brown Pelzer was there as well as Ball.
The EVRWF has had a longstanding relationship with the former KNEWS duo of Gilgallon and Paul Cashin, Miedecke said. The hosts were hired for eight weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election. They were not paid as individuals. Payments went to Alpha Media, the parent company of KNEWS.
Ball has alleged that the conservative talk show hosts were getting paid to promote only Brown Pelzer.
“Vicious lies,” Miedecke said in a telephone interview. “It’s not hurting me. He’s only hurting himself. I feel bad for him. I want to be the person that takes the high road so Republicans can win. All the girls in the club are working so hard to make that happen.”
The group has endorsed Jan Harnik, a member of the Palm Desert City Council, for the Riverside County Fourth District Supervisor seat.
As a cautionary note, Miedecke said, “You should not be listening to some of the local rhetoric about the EVRWF and the Republican Party. None of it is true.”
The women’s organization has also tapped AM 590 The ANSWER out of Riverside on occasion, Miedecke said.
EVRWF is one of the largest federated women’s groups in the state. Part of its mission is to promote conservative candidates, but especially women.
