A reader alerted me to a Facebook group "Dino Rossi for Governor '08", which is advertising a "Dino Rossi's Campaign Announcement" event for this Thursday, October 25 in Spokane.
I confirmed that this is real. Rossi has decided to run and will make formal announcements on Thursday in both the Seattle area and in Spokane.
God speed Dino!
(and yes, Dino Rossi is one of the best, the brightest, the decent and the talented who are the exceptions to Gresham's Law of Politics).
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at October 22, 2007 08:16 AM | Email ThisGood luck, Dino. It's been a long time since 1984 (last time the GOP held the Gov's office).
Posted by: Anthony on October 22, 2007 08:13 AMCould 2008 be the year for Washington to "Go Italian" !?
Posted by: John Bailo on October 22, 2007 08:17 AMGo Dino Go...
Posted by: Col. Hogan on October 22, 2007 08:37 AMThe only reason he got as far as he did is because Gregoire ran a crappy campaign in '04. However, she has learned her lesson. This will almost certainly be a repeat, not of '04, but of the McGavick-Cantwell race in 2006.
Posted by: BillL on October 22, 2007 08:43 AMIf all you can do is respond with name calling and untrue allegations (I don't get a dime of state money, and I have voted for Republicans occasionally), then it only reinforces my original assertions.
And, another thing about Rossi, he has to conceal his views on many issues (reproductive rights being a prime example) to avoid alienating many of the suburban King Co. voters he most needs to win. The only way a Republican can get elected statewide in Washington is if that candidate is pro-environment and liberal on social issues as with Schwarzenneger in CA or Pataki in NY. Rossi does not share these values and, this time, the Democrats will smoke him out on those issues.
I hope Dino not only win the election again, but is sworn in as governor. I bet he will enjoy the extra room at the mansion to.
You call those "values?" You shouldn't be allowed to vote, being the anti-liberty statist you have revealed yourself to be.
Posted by: John Galt on October 22, 2007 12:32 PMGo get em D!
BCA
We're gonna do it all one more time.
Not one rule abused by the leftists has been changed. Does that mean, that since the R's controlled the one office that could have made changes, that they also value the ability to f*** with the process?
I'm guessing that it won't be as close as it was in 2004, and the Governor won't be moving any time soon.
Posted by: Independent Voter on October 22, 2007 01:36 PMAs amusing as that would be, it would violate RCW 42.17.530 and WAC 390-18-040.
Posted by: ScottM on October 22, 2007 02:04 PMGregoire in a walk in 2008.
Cheers. :-)
Posted by: Timothy on October 22, 2007 02:26 PMI'm confused. On Dec 13, 2004 Dino filed a form with the PDC to start collecting money for his run for Governor in 2008.
And he's been collecting donations ever since.
In fact, he has $326,000 in the bank already.
What on earth do you mean he's announcing his campaign now? He's been campaigning non-stop (and raising money) since Dec 2004....that's nearly THREE years ago.
see: http://hera.pdc.wa.gov/wx/viewdoc_new.asp?strAppName=PDC&nZoomPercent=100&nDocId=761931&nQRSeq=1&nCurrentIndex=1&nPageNum=1&UseIrc=no
Posted by: Bill Anderson on October 22, 2007 02:28 PMBut Dino is the man for the job.
Posted by: Hindu on October 22, 2007 02:57 PMA person can create an exploratory committee to see if they should run for that particular office. But they must file with the PDC to so.
I just got finished writing my maximum legal contribution on this race. It's a little premature, I know, but I will send it out the day the formal announcement goes out.
Every few election cycles I take a three month sabbatical to work on a campaign. This might be the one I take some time off for.
Posted by: Johnny on October 22, 2007 03:32 PMOn Rossi's C1, filed in December of 2004 (nearly THREE years ago), he doesn't say it is an exploratory committee.
In fact, he answers the question "What office are you running for?" with the answer "Governor".
There is nothing exploratory.
He's been running for nearly three years -- and has nearly a third of a million dollars in the bank in the name of his run for governor.
Anything about a "campaign" announcement is pretty much untrue. Just another example of a candidate lying...in this case, provably beyond a doubt.
Posted by: Bill Anderson on October 22, 2007 03:37 PMHindu, the Queen has promised a lot but hasn't delivered.
Posted by: swatter on October 22, 2007 03:50 PMToo bad they all do....but when one does it so blantantly, it's just asking for attention.
Dems do it as much as Repubs. Rossi would have accomplished much less as governor (given he'd be working with an opposition state house/senate). Kinda makes your point useless.
Posted by: Bill Anderson on October 22, 2007 03:53 PMTell us what makes you think ST would have enough taxing authority to sell any more long-term bonds if the measure in November is not approved. Apparently ST wants to do that. If you refer to terms in Sound Move in your response, that would be both appropriate and helpful.
Thanks in advance.
Posted by: Pinwheel on October 22, 2007 05:27 PMSeriously, of course I have an agenda. Everyone who cares about politics has an agenda. But, all you can do is Google me and call me names. You still haven't responded to the substance of my arguments. Rossi has a shallow resume compared to Gregoire, and he's too conservative on social and environmental issues to be elected if Gregoire takes him on directly and exposes his true beliefs on these issues.
Posted by: Bill L on October 22, 2007 07:16 PMI don't know whether RTA voters will approve Prop 1, but the polling makes it pretty clear that ST could come back with some sort of significant Phase 2 plan that will be approved by the voters long before the existing bonds are paid off.
Posted by: BillL on October 22, 2007 07:26 PMI'm sure that just warms the cockles of the hearts of most of what appears to be the wingnut habitants of this swamp who like to fantasize about a stolen election. In reality, he lost a close one. You're just unhappy and smokin' your socks because your guy lost.
Much closer than the election that W stole from Gore. And Gore was more gracious than Rossi.
First time a threat, second time a joke.
P.S. You don't know me, just happened upon this fetid corner. Happy to widen the debate.
Posted by: MEqx on October 22, 2007 08:55 PMIn 2004, the Libertarians ran Ruth Bennett, an out of the closet lesbian. She advertised only in Seattle, in a gay publication. She almost certainly "took" more votes from Gregoire than from Rossi. If she hadn't been in the race, it would not have been nearly so close. Bennett got tens of thousands of votes statewide, and tended to do well in the same counties where Gregoire did well.
Anyway, I wonder if Dino's campaign is looking in to helping Greens get on the ballott, or negotiating with the Libertarians about what issues to run on...
In close races, everything counts.
Multi-party elections have complex strategic considerations.
Posted by: Bruce Guthrie on October 22, 2007 09:28 PMAll CG needs to do is to run some of Guzzoes ramblings and Dino Done Died.
Posted by: SeattleJew on October 22, 2007 11:12 PMBut, fourth, and most importantly, although I don't agree with Gregoire on every issue or decision (AWV is the prime example), by and large she's been an excellent governor on environmental issues (climate change, clean energy, GMA, Puget Sound, Columbia River, etc., etc.). I'm sure you disagree with the Governor and me on most of these issues, but I can tell you the Governor's positions on environmental issues are much closer to the majority of Washingtonians' than either yours or Rossi's. And, that gets back to my original point that Rossi's values on environmental and social issues are out of line with the bulk of Washington voters.
BTW, while some Kittitas Valley residents opposed the wind project, many more supported it. Furthermore, it was not just environmentalists who supported the Kittitas Valley wind project, it was also supported by the Association of Washington Business.
Posted by: Bill L on October 22, 2007 11:12 PM25. And in addition to being one of the bestest, brightest, the decentest, and talentedest, he has a nice haircut.
Posted by WVH at October 22, 2007 11:51 AM
Frankly, I don't care whether he has hair or is bald. I am more concerned with what is between his ears. I am interested in his stands on education, small business, and how he plans to attract a diversity of businesses to this state. The best way to cure poverty is a good education and a job. So, my brain-dead admirer, at least get the priority of issues correct.
I never said he committed a violation (though you accuse me of doing so).
I said, like many other republican and democratic politicians, he lied about this. And I then I proved the lie.
Sorry to disappoint your conspiracy theories...just calling out liars when I see them.
Posted by: Bill Anderson on October 23, 2007 07:15 AM
" Republicans who make a good case for themselves can do well. That statement should be taken to heart by every GOP candidate, campaign manager, speechwriter, press secretary and consultant running for any office next year. And the way to make a good case for themselves is to run as unabashed conservatives. "
" Bobby Jindal has proven that voters will give a conservative a chance to govern if they believe he or she will follow through on the promises that are made to them. "
If Bobby Jindal can topple the corruption stranglehold Democrats have had on Louisiana for well over 100 years, surely an honorable guy like Dino could topple the ineffective, illegitimate queen and take on the Washington crooks.
Go Dino!
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on October 23, 2007 09:04 AM"That issue [how much bonding capacity ST might have remaining under the 1996 law voters approved] has been settled by the state supreme court. ST can service its bonds with both the original license tab authority and its ongoing sales tax authority until they are paid off. I believe that its sales tax authority continues beyond the time the existing debt obligation is retired. So, that would be a source for servicing new long-term debt."
That is wrong, on about six levels.
For starters, no Supreme Court opinion even addresses how much bonding capacity ST has. The bonding cap for ST that the voters approved in 1996 is $1,052 million, for all of Phase I. LaBorde just ignores that fact in his vacuous post. Instead he points to imaginary case law that he thinks Sound Transit plans on relying on.
No wonder Sound Transit appointed that guy to the "Citizens' Oversight Committee." What a joke - he is professing ignorance of what Sound Move says, and making up case law to fit what he wants (massive new ST bond sales).
You think something the Supreme Court ruled supports what you've written there, LaBorde? Give us cites. Let's see you try to back up your specious assertions.
The second sentence quoted above from LaBorde would be correct if the bonds are paid off completely and immediately should the measure in November not be approved. Otherwise it is wrong.
The third and fourth sentences show LaBorde does not understand what the controlling ordinance says (or he's just being deceptive). Should the measure in November not be approved, ST would be required to roll back the sales tax rate immediately to a very low rate. Sound Move requires that. That low permanent rate would be insufficient for ST to use as security for new debt.
LaBorde just revealed himself as a tool that Sound Transit is using on the "Citizen's Oversight Committee." He has just shown his willingness to sell out citizens based on unsupported, fanciful misrepresentations about the law.
If Dino is willing to take on government corruption and expose what I can prove, he would win in a landslide. Sadly, I doubt he will do it, but it won't be because he won't have the proof in his hands. I'll make sure he gets it.
Posted by: Don on October 23, 2007 11:20 AMAre our roads better? No.
Are our schools better? Not that I as a parent have been able to see.
How about those "children" dems are always hiding behind? Any improvement there? Our Seattle schools are bankrupt, and DSHS is a statewide embarassment. Illegal aliens that should have been deported after prior arrests are raping and killing kids in Tacoma. I guess it's fair to say no progress there either?
How much is all that lack of progress costing? Lets see, my property taxes went up at exactly 3 times the rate of my income.
Now, here in the private sector, this would not be something a manager would be proud of. Only in the swamp of Olympia politics would anyone claim that Christine has been good for this state.
Posted by: johnny on October 23, 2007 11:29 AMYou're just unhappy and smokin' your socks because your guy lost.
Posted by MEqx at October 22, 2007 08:55 PM
Now check me if I'm wrong, Sparky, but if you voted for him wouldn't he also be 'your' guy?
You're not fooling anybody here. If you voted at all, it certainly wasn't for Dino Rossi.
Posted by: jimg on October 23, 2007 03:52 PMSome of my other comments were perhaps gratuitously provocative. However, there are comparisons and arguments that can be made for those who feel they were cheated, with both Dino's and Gore's losses.
Posted by: MEqx on October 23, 2007 06:18 PMEven Ron "THE NEVE MET A TAX HE DIDN'T LIKE" Simms is against Prop 1's Whopping never-ending tax theft
Posted by: GS on October 23, 2007 08:06 PMOf course "Bill LaBonde" will not try backing up what he claimed there about some imaginary Supreme Court ruling.
I've got it - what he posted @ 53 is not serious. He was making that up because he thinks it would be funny if we took him seriously.
But if Bill LaBonde was serious about what he posted there, he should try to prove it.
He keeps getting appointed to Sound Transit's "Citizens Oversight Committee." They must consider him a useful too.
If he actually believes what he posted above, it would be impossible for him to act on that committee in citizens' best interests.
Let's assume LaBonde was being genuine, and he believes what he posted @ 53. He should explain here the basis for his belief (and the basis of what others on the COP may believe) with respect to this alleged additional bonding authority ST has remaining under current law.
And if there really is some Supreme Court authority he believes removed the bonding capacity (and revenue spending capacity) limits from Sound Move, he should cite to those parts of the case law.
My reading is that ST is completely maxed out already on its bond sale capacity. But I'd like to hear any argument from Bill LaBonde to the contrary.
Let's see if Bill LaBonde knows his stuff about Sound Transit. He should, as a "Citizens Oversight Panel" member.
Tell us what you've done to uphold citizens' rights, LaBonde.
Posted by: OctoPie on October 23, 2007 09:12 PMas my local politician once said after I distilled the essence of his argument, "it's the right thing to do"--
of course it is--spend more of MY money; oh--i better throw in something "for the children"
Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on October 23, 2007 11:06 PM