John Eric Carlson (born June 3, 1959) is an American politician and talk radio host on KVI-AM by Lotus Communications Corp from the state of Washington.
[6] After a brief stint in the Reagan Administration in 1981–82, Carlson served as Communications Director for Washington State Republican Chairman Jennifer Dunn.
[3] In 1993, Carlson co-authored and led the drive for a new anti-crime initiative he called "Three Strikes You're Out", which began putting individuals convicted of 3 separate "most serious offenses" in prison for life.
Two years later, Carlson and his partner on "Three Strikes", David Lacourse, passed another initiative called "Hard Time for Armed Crime", which increased sentences for felons caught using or possessing weapons.
[8] In 1998, State Representative Scott Smith and conservative activist Tim Eyman launched Initiative 200, which attempted to prohibit affirmative action preferences.
[10] In 2005, Carlson and KVI morning host Kirby Wilbur encouraged listeners to support initiative 912 to roll back a nine-cent a gallon increase in the state fuel tax.
[12] Chris Wickham (a Thurston County, Washington, Superior Court Judge) ruled that the comments and activities by Carlson and Wilbur on behalf of the initiative were in-kind contributions that must be reported to the Public Disclosure Commission.