State Sen. Dino Rossi will run for governor

By Seattle Times news services

	State Sen. Dino Rossi
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Rossi, 44, a Sammamish Republican, had been deliberating for months over a possible bid. He emerged as the GOP's top choice after several other high-profile prospects bowed out.

Rossi said people are not happy with the direction Democrats have taken the state during the past two decades and he believes voters are ready to give Republicans a shot at running state government. He is convinced he can win.

"If I'm in this race, I'm not in it for second place," said Rossi. "I've got a proven track record of being able to work across party line and I've done it under fire."

Rossi has already started collecting campaign donations. He said he's off to a fast start, but wouldn't reveal how much money he has raised thus far.

"I am absolutely thrilled. I expect Dino Rossi to be the next governor," said state Republican Chairman Chris Vance, who had recruited him to run. "Dino Rossi is a fiscal conservative with a social conscience."

But state Democratic Chairman Paul Berendt immediately fired off a broadside.

"Dino Rossi is an anti-choice Realtor who has never had an administrative job in his life," he said in an interview. "I don't think that's the kind of leader Washington voters are looking for.

"The Republicans are scraping the bottom of the barrel. ... He's too conservative for our state."

Rossi, a real estate investment broker, sprang to prominence this year after Republicans took control of the state Senate. As chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, he worked with Democratic Gov. Gary Locke to develop a no-new-taxes budget that was largely adopted by the Legislature.

The only other candidate in the Republican primary is Dr. Federico Cruz, director of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. The party has not considered him a big-name candidate and kept looking for a standard-bearer after he got into the race.

The party was previously turned down by some of its biggest names, including talk radio host John Carlson, the 2000 nominee; U.S. Reps. Jennifer Dunn and George Nethercutt; King County Sheriff Dave Reichert; and business tycoons John Stanton and Bob Herbold.

Three Democrats are running to succeed Locke: former Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge, King County Executive Ron Sims, and Attorney General Christine Gregoire, who is widely considered the favorite.

Rossi said he will make his formal announcement later this month, but was filing papers with the Public Disclosure Commission today.

"This is my first step toward running for governor," he said.

Rossi had been weighing three factors before jumping in: Whether it would work for his family, whether he could raise $4 million or more to run the campaign, and lastly, whether he could win. All ended up being positive answers, he said.

"Actually, in the end, my wife, Terry, as usual, said something that jelled the decision. She asked, 'What kind of state do we want our kids to take?' Our kids are 13, 9, 7 and 3, and we know that our state is going in the wrong direction and that I'm in a position to actually do something about it.

"My grandfather was a coal miner in Black Diamond, my father was a Seattle public school teacher and I'm born and raised here, and the thought of my children having to leave because they can't find employment is unacceptable."

Rossi said he's been all across the state testing the waters for his campaign — and found strong encouragement from people who want a change. The last Republican to win the top office was John Spellman in 1980.

An internal poll showed that 66 percent of the voters think the state is on the wrong track.

"Democrats have had 20 years and we're broke and out of work. It's time to turn the economy around and put people back to work."

He said he can boost the economy by making Washington a more competitive state for business and to attract investment from out-of-state.

Rossi said he's a "fiscal conservative with a social conscience," and that the budget he produced earlier this year showed his stripes.

"The goal this last year was to not raise taxes and still to protect the poor and the vulnerable. We met that goal."

Rossi, whose mother raised her five older children in Seattle public housing, received a business degree from Seattle University in 1982. He was first elected to the state Senate in 1996 and re-elected in 2000.

He quickly rose through the ranks of the Senate, becoming budget chairman this year. He has been mentioned for majority leader if Jim West wins Spokane's mayoral race on Tuesday.

"I'm very excited about this," Rossi said. "It will be a whole new adventure. I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company