Offering frequent news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Rossi rumored to be announcing candidacy for Governor this Thursday

According to a number of Dino Rossi supporters, the former state senator is planning to make an important announcement this Thursday:
Dino Rossi, who lost to Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire by 133 votes in the 2004 election, will make a long-expected announcement Thursday that he's running against her again next year.

Jill Strait, who identified herself as a Rossi campaign spokeswoman, wouldn't confirm on Monday that Rossi is about to make his all-but-obvious candidacy public but other Republican sources confirmed it.

Strait said the Sammamish Republican will announce something at the Village Theater in Issaquah at 10 a.m. and at the Doubletree Hotel in Spokane at 4:30 p.m. The theater is in the 5th Legislative District that Rossi once represented in the state Senate and was where he also kicked off his 2004 campaign.

Afton Swift, who ran Rossi's 2004 campaign, will manage his 2008 effort. His 2004 fund-raising consultant, Amy Barnes of Fundraising Partners Northwest, is also expected back.

Many of Rossi's top 2004 advisers, including J. Vander Stoep, a lawyer and political consultant who was former Sen. Slade Gorton's chief of staff, are at the core of his new campaign, too.
Well, this is the biggest non-surprise of the year, although I did think that Rossi would wait until after the November election to announce. But since he appears to be jumping into the water as a candidate...we have some questions for him concerning issues very important to this state, questions that the people of Washington are now voting on.

We know where Governor Christine Gregoire Gregoire stands.

Where does Dino Rossi stand?
  1. Dino, do you support or oppose the Roads & Transit package to attack congestion and build fifty miles of new light rail throughout the Sound?
  2. Dino, are in you in favor of Tim Eyman's unconstitutional Initiative 960, which aims to tie up our government and paralyze the Legislature?
  3. Dino, how do you feel about Simple Majority for our public schools (EHJR 4204)? Do you agree that it's time to remove this unfair supermajority requirement, or are you in lockstep with people like John Carlson and Ed Orcutt who have argued that a minority should decide the fate of levies that would fund education?
  4. Dino, what's your position on Referendum 67, a public vote forced by the insurance industry, which has spent millions of dollars trying to convince the public to repeal a consumer protection law passed by our Legislature? Do you side with the industry or do you side with consumers?
  5. Dino, how do you feel about renewal of our Medic One levy here in King County? Is Medic One a good program? Do you believe it could be a model for other municipalities throughout Washington State?
If you've got questions about any issue that you feel are appropriate for Dino Rossi, gubernatorial candidate-to-be, feel free to post them in the thread.

If any of our staff get an opportunity to ask Dino one or more of these questions in person, we will - and we encourage you to do the same if you meet him.

Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Particle Man Says:

I am 100% sure Dino would answer all of your questions in the same way he always has: "I make it a practice to not state how I will vote on issues before the voters. Let the voters decide"

You see Andrew, Rossi does not even know how or if he will vote on these issues, and he intends to get as far into this campaign as possible without limiting himself by picking sides on anything till he knows what will get him the most votes.
I know its hard to see things the way Rossi the candidate does. This is of course, because you and I have core values and beliefs which guide our actions and statements.

October 23, 2007 1:24 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home