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Rossi has taken a position on whether or not pharmacists should be required to dispense the [[Emergency contraception#Plan B|Plan B]] oral contraceptive by saying that pharmacists should not be required to dispense a drug that is against their conscience or religious beliefs.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004017470_postmanblog16m.html | title=Rossi backs druggists' choice on Plan B | author=David Postman | publisher=The Seattle Times | date=2007-11-16 | accessdate=2007-11-21}}</ref> Following a ruling by the State Supreme Court that an initiative that limited property tax increases to 1% a year was unconstitutional, Rossi urged Governor Gregoire to call a [[special session]] of the State's legislature to re-instate the restriction via legislation.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_wa_property_taxes.html | title=WA gov: Quickie 747 session won't be '3-ring circus' | publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer | author=David Ammons | date=2007-11-20 | accessdate=2007-11-21}}</ref>
Rossi has taken a position on whether or not pharmacists should be required to dispense the [[Emergency contraception#Plan B|Plan B]] oral contraceptive by saying that pharmacists should not be required to dispense a drug that is against their conscience or religious beliefs.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004017470_postmanblog16m.html | title=Rossi backs druggists' choice on Plan B | author=David Postman | publisher=The Seattle Times | date=2007-11-16 | accessdate=2007-11-21}}</ref> Following a ruling by the State Supreme Court that an initiative that limited property tax increases to 1% a year was unconstitutional, Rossi urged Governor Gregoire to call a [[special session]] of the State's legislature to re-instate the restriction via legislation.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_wa_property_taxes.html | title=WA gov: Quickie 747 session won't be '3-ring circus' | publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer | author=David Ammons | date=2007-11-20 | accessdate=2007-11-21}}</ref>

2007 polling on the race had Gregoire leading by between three and four percentage points.<ref name=2008_Announcement/>

In a Rasmussen poll, released March 5, 2008 <ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_governor_elections/election_2008_washington_governor | title=Election 2008: Washington Governor Washington Governor: Rossi 47% Gregoire 46%
| publisher=Rasmussen Polls | date=2008-03-05 | accessdate=2008-03-26}}</ref>, Rossi lead the incumbent by 47% to 46%, but a Rasmussen Report released April 2 <ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_governor_elections/washington/election_2008_washington_governor | title=Election 2008: Washington Governor Washington Governor: Gregoire 47% Rossi 46%
| publisher=Rasmussen Polls | date=2008-04-02 | accessdate=2008-04-06}}</ref> had the numbers switched to Gregoire having 47% and Rossi having 46%.

Rossi's campaign had raised [[United States dollar|US$]]573,300 in funds as of November 2, 2007, with over half of that amount coming from donations of $2,800, the maximum amount a single donor can give for both the primary and general election.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/340169_rossi19.html | title=Campaign donations started coming early for Rossi | date=2007-11-18 | author=Neil Modie | publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer | accessdate=2007-11-21}}</ref>


As of September 2008, the Rossi campaign was reported to have raised $9 million while the Gregoire campaign took in $10 million overall.<ref name=seatimes-connelly-fundraising>{{cite news |url=http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattlepolitics/archives/150091.asp |title=Gregoire tops $10 million |author=Joel Connelly |date=2008-09-30 |publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |accessdate=2008-10-08}}</ref>
As of September 2008, the Rossi campaign was reported to have raised $9 million while the Gregoire campaign took in $10 million overall.<ref name=seatimes-connelly-fundraising>{{cite news |url=http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattlepolitics/archives/150091.asp |title=Gregoire tops $10 million |author=Joel Connelly |date=2008-09-30 |publisher=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |accessdate=2008-10-08}}</ref>

Revision as of 12:45, 9 November 2008

Dino Rossi
Member of the Washington Senate
from the 5th district
In office
1997–2003
Preceded byKathleen Drew
Succeeded byCheryl Pflug
Chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee
In office
2003–2003
Personal details
Born (1959-10-15) October 15, 1959 (age 64)
Seattle, Washington
Nationality United States
Political partyRepublican
SpouseTerry
ChildrenTwo sons and two daughters
ResidenceSammamish, Washington
Alma materSeattle University
OccupationReal estate
Websitehttp://www.dinorossi.com

Dino Rossi (born October 15, 1959, in Seattle, Washington, U.S.) is a former Washington State Senator and Republican[1][2][3][4] nominee for Governor of Washington in the 2004 election, the closest gubernatorial election in Washington's history. Rossi led Democrat Christine Gregoire after two machine counts by 261 votes and 47 votes, respectively, before losing a final manual count by 129 votes. He wrote a book Dino Rossi: Lessons in Leadership, Business, Politics and Life.[5] He was again the Republican candidate for the 2008 gubernatorial election.[1][2][3][4]

Background

Rossi is the son of John Rossi, a teacher at Viewlands Elementary in North Seattle, and Eve Cogo (half Irish, half Tlingit), who had five children from a previous marriage.[6]

Rossi was raised in Mountlake Terrace and graduated from Woodway High School in Edmonds. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Seattle University in 1982. He became a commercial real estate agent, managing and owning real estate[7]. He is married, with four children, and lives in Sammamish, Washington.[8]

In 1983, Rossi joined Capretto & Clark, a Seattle real estate firm, as a salesman.[9] The firm filed for bankruptcy the following year and, in 1985, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published a story on the federal corruption investigation into Capretto & Clark's general manager, Melvin Heide.[9] While many in the sales force left the firm, Rossi stayed behind and eventually followed Heide to Metropolitan Real Estate and, a month later, to Imperial Real Estate in downtown Seattle.[10] Rossi said he had been unaware of the circumstances behind the collapse of Capretto & Clark, saying that he "didn't take the paper."[10] He resigned from Imperial Real Estate in 1992.[10][9]

In 1992, Rossi ran for a Washington State Senate seat in a district representing suburbs east of Seattle, Washington in the Cascade foothills. After winning a divisive Republican Party primary, he lost the general election.

In 1996, Rossi ran again for the State Senate and was elected. Rossi was a relatively low-profile Senator until his 2003 work in negotiating a $23 billion state budget. The plan received support among Republicans and five Democrats.[11] Most Democrats, however, remained opposed to the loss of state programs and the withdrawal of a voter-mandated pay raise for teachers caused by the budget reductions.[11]

In 2004, Dino Rossi resigned from the state Senate to run for governor and avoid a ban on fundraising for Legislators in office while the Legislature is in session.[12]

The 2004 gubernatorial election

Main article: Washington gubernatorial election, 2004

Dino Rossi faced no significant opposition in the Republican gubernatorial primary as all other Republican candidates dropped out shortly after he declared his candidacy. He won the primary with 85% of the vote.

In the November 2 election, over 2.8 million votes were cast for Governor. After the initial vote count, Rossi led Democrat Christine Gregoire by 261 votes.[13] Washington State law required a recount because of the small margin. After the second count, Rossi again led, but by a smaller margin of 42 votes. After a third count, done by hand, Gregoire took a 129 vote lead (expanded to a 133 vote lead after Justice Bridges' decision threw out 4 votes for Rossi). [1]

King County's election department was sued by the Rossi campaign for its handling of ballots, including untracked use of a "ballot-on-demand" printing machine.[14] Even before the election date, the U.S. Department of Justice threatened to sue Washington State for failing to mail military ballots overseas, generally assumed to be Republican votes.[15]

Republican leaders in Washington claimed there were enough disputed votes to change the outcome of the election and sued. On May 25, 2005 the judge hearing the lawsuit ruled that the Party did not provide enough evidence that the disputed votes were ineligible, or for whom they were cast, to enable the court to overturn the election.[16]

Rossi did not appeal to the state Supreme Court;[17] Gregoire was declared governor, by a margin of 133 votes.[2]

Post-election activities

After the election and the ensuing court battle, Rossi returned to his work in real estate and wrote a book, Dino Rossi: Lessons in Leadership, Business, Politics and Life.[18][19] Rossi and his campaign's spokesperson also established Forward Washington Foundation, 501(c)(4) organization that was established to continue the goals that Rossi established in his 2004 Governor's election campaign.[19] Despite encouragement from Republicans in Washington and D.C., Rossi declined to run for U.S. Senate against Sen. Maria Cantwell in 2006.[20] In 2007, the state Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Washington Public Disclosure Committee (PDC) saying that Forward Washington was "functionally indistinguishable" from a political campaign and as such, is avoiding the state's campaign finance laws.[21] Rossi responded by saying that he has not declared his candidacy for an office, therefore he is not required to disclose his donors.[22] Rossi resigned from the Forward Washington Foundation on September 11 2007.[19] Since that time, the Forward Washington Foundation has ceased to exist.[19] At the end of November, the PDC staff recommended the complaint against Rossi be dismissed due to insufficient evidence that Rossi was a candidate prior to October 12 or that Forward Washington Foundation acted as a PAC.[23]

The 2008 gubernatorial election

Main article: Washington gubernatorial election, 2008

On October 25, 2007, Dino Rossi officially announced his intention to seek the office of Governor of Washington in 2008. Rossi's campaign is centered on many of the same issues he ran under in the 2004 election, namely controlling the spending of the state's legislature, tax cuts, and improving the business environment within the state.[24]

In 2004, Rossi was listed on the ballot as a Republican. In 2008, his affiliation was listed as "Prefers G.O.P. Party" as he had filed with the Washington Secretary of State.[25] [1][2][3][4] Washington law allows candidates to identify their party affiliation or preference in any way they please, provided that it is not profane.[26][27]

Rossi has taken a position on whether or not pharmacists should be required to dispense the Plan B oral contraceptive by saying that pharmacists should not be required to dispense a drug that is against their conscience or religious beliefs.[28] Following a ruling by the State Supreme Court that an initiative that limited property tax increases to 1% a year was unconstitutional, Rossi urged Governor Gregoire to call a special session of the State's legislature to re-instate the restriction via legislation.[29]

As of September 2008, the Rossi campaign was reported to have raised $9 million while the Gregoire campaign took in $10 million overall.[30]

A poll in early October showed Rossi tied with Governor Gregoire in the race for Governor.[31]. A later poll by the Elway Group showed Rossi trailing Gov. Gregoire by 12 percent.[32][33][34]

Rossi was endorsed on October 18, 2008 by The Seattle Times.[35]

Dino Rossi was defeated by Governor Christine Gregoire in the 2008 election and formally conceded at noon on November 5, 2008.[36]

References

  1. ^ a b c David Postman (2008-06-11). "GOP: New brand, same old style". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  2. ^ a b c Curt Woodward (2008-08-21). "Wash. Republican gov candidate to skip convention". The Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  3. ^ a b c David Postman (2008-06-23). "FOX News on Republicans shying away from party brand". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  4. ^ a b c John Laird (2008-08-17). "Independents are loving 2008". The Columbian. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  5. ^ Rossi, Dino (2005] id=ISBN 0-9773262-0-9). Dino Rossi: Lessons in Leadership, Business, Politics and Life. Forward Books. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); Missing pipe in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  6. ^ Ralph Thomas. "Family's struggles early in life forged Rossi's political identity". Seattle Times. {{cite news}}: Text "2004-09-28" ignored (help); Unknown parameter |access date= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Campaign 2004: Rossi clarifies professional status". Seattle Post Intelligencer. 2004. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Election 2004 voters guide". Spokane Spokesman Review. 2004. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ a b c Susan Kelleher (2004-09-24). "As young salesman, Rossi stuck with his boss amid fraud scandal". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  10. ^ a b c Sandeep Kaushik (2004-09-30). "No Sale". The Stranger. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  11. ^ a b Shannon, Brad and Condon, Patrick (June 5). "Senate budget deal spreads the pain". The Olympian. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Election of New Leaders in the Senate Republican Caucus" (PDF). The Courthouse Journal. 2003-12-05. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  13. ^ Seattle Times staff (November 18 2004). "It's Rossi by 261; recount is next". The Seattle Times. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Seattle Times staff (April 26 2005). "More mistakes revealed in ballot counting". The Seattle Times. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Seattle Times staff (January 10 2005). "Feds threatened suit over military ballots". The Seattle Times. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Postman, David (June 6). "Rossi will not appeal election ruling". The Seattle Times. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "Rossi won't take fight any further: Future could hold challenge". The Associated Press. 2005-06-07. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  18. ^ David Ammons (2005-10-05). "In between campaigns, Rossi turns writer". KGW. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  19. ^ a b c d Ralph Thomas (2008-09-18). [seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008075525_rossirecap.html "Dino Rossi's four years of political exile"]. Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-10-08. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  20. ^ Rachel La Corte (2005-07-17). "Rossi tells GOP he won't take on Cantwell for Senate seat". The Wenatchee World. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  21. ^ David Postman (2007-07-11). "PDC to investigate Rossi's non-profit". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  22. ^ Ralph Thomas (2007-07-12). "Rossi group replaying themes of 2004 race". Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  23. ^ Ralph Thomas (2007-11-30). "Complaint against Rossi "insufficient"". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  24. ^ Joel Connelly (2007-10-28). "Gregoire's rematch with Rossi shapes up as a doozy". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  25. ^ "2008 General Candidates Who Have Filed". Washington State Secretary of State. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  26. ^ "RCW 29A.32.032 Party preference". Washington State Legislature. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  27. ^ "Judge: 'GOP' for short is fine on Wash. ballot". Seattle Times. 2008-09-26. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  28. ^ David Postman (2007-11-16). "Rossi backs druggists' choice on Plan B". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  29. ^ David Ammons (2007-11-20). "WA gov: Quickie 747 session won't be '3-ring circus'". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  30. ^ Joel Connelly (2008-09-30). "Gregoire tops $10 million". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  31. ^ Joel Connelly (2008-10-03). "Wash gov. poll: Chris and Dino tied". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
  32. ^ Chris Grygiel (2008-10-23). "Washington state pollapalooze". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  33. ^ Chris Gygiel (2008-10-23). "Poll:Gregoire leads Rossi 51-39". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  34. ^ Joel Connelly (2008-10-23). "Gregoire Up in Elway Poll". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  35. ^ "The Times recommends Dino Rossi for governor". The Seattle Times. 2008-10-18. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
  36. ^ Andrew Garber (2008-11-05). "Rossi concedes defeat to Gregoire". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
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