Simon Casady; Journalist and Influential State Democrat

Simon Casady, a crusading journalist who became an influential figure in Democratic politics in California--once taking on Pete Wilson in the race for mayor of San Diego--died Sunday at age 86.

Casady, who played a role in Barry Goldwater’s entry into politics and who broke with Lyndon Johnson over the Vietnam War, supported civil rights and better working conditions for farm laborers. His opposition to the Vietnam War forced his ouster as head of the liberal California Democratic Council by then-Gov. Edmund G. (Pat) Brown Sr., who nonetheless remained a lifelong friend.

Casady’s only try at elected office was a loss to Pete Wilson in the 1979 San Diego mayor’s race.

“He was the kind of person we don’t see much in politics anymore,” said former Rep. Lionel Van Deerlin, who represented San Diego from 1962 to 1980. “There was nothing small or petty about him. He was not bitter and partisan. He was a wonderful man.”

The son of an Episcopal bishop, Casady attended the University of Iowa before turning to journalism. He was a reporter at the Oklahoma City Times and then at the Associated Press before running three newspapers in the South Rio Grande Valley in Texas.

In Texas, he reported on a young congressman named Lyndon Johnson, including a disputed election that sent Johnson to the U.S. Senate. His friendship with Johnson would not keep him from breaking with the President over Vietnam while other Democrats still supported LBJ’s war policies.

From 1950 to 1953 he was publisher of the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette, where he played a role in the entry of Barry Goldwater into politics. The two became friends despite their political differences. In the 1979 San Diego mayoral race, Goldwater endorsed Casady over Wilson, a fellow Republican.

Casady and his late wife, Virginia Boon Casady, bought the El Cajon Valley News in eastern San Diego County in 1954. In 1964 they sold the paper, which is now called the (El Cajon) Daily Californian.

Even after retiring, he continued to champion causes such as environmentalism and support for the Sandinista rebels.

Casady is survived by sons Derek, Kent, Cort and Lance.