Dino Rossi

Dino Rossi
Member of the Washington Senate from the 5th district
In office July 2012 – November 30, 2012
Preceded by	Cheryl Pflug
Succeeded by	Mark Mullet
In office 1997–2003
Preceded by	Kathleen Drew
Succeeded by	Cheryl Pflug
Personal details
Born	October 15, 1959 Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Terry
Children	2 daughters 2 sons
Alma mater	Seattle University

Dino Rossi (born October 15, 1959) is a former member of the Washington State Senate.^[1] He is an American commercial real estate executive,^[2] two-time Republican candidate for Governor of Washington, and former Republican candidate for United States Senate. His first run for the Governor's mansion in the 2004 election became the closest gubernatorial race in U.S. history; Rossi was certified as Governor-elect before losing a hand recount to Democrat Christine Gregoire.^[3] He ran for Governor of Washington again in 2008, losing to Gregoire 47% to 53%.

Rossi began his career in the commercial real estate industry and has continued to invest in and manage income properties. After the 2008 election, Rossi returned his full attention to real estate.^[4] During the spring of 2010 there was speculation that Rossi might enter the 2010 Senate race to challenge incumbent Patty Murray. Rossi entered the race on May 26, 2010.^[5] On August 17, 2010 Rossi defeated his Republican primary challengers, but lost to incumbent Senator Patty Murray (a Democrat) in the November 2 general election 47% to 52%.^[6]

Early life, education and career

Rossi was the youngest of seven children brought up by his mother Eve, a beautician, and his father John Rossi, an Italian-American Seattle Public Schools teacher at Viewlands Elementary in North Seattle.^[7] 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.

After college, Rossi began in the commercial real estate business.^[2] He became a commercial real estate salesman, managing and owning real estate.^[8] Rossi was formerly an owner of the Everett Aquasox minor league baseball team.^[9] He is co-founder of the Bellevue, Washington-based Eastside Commercial Bank.^[10]

Rossi is married, with four children, and lives in Sammamish, Washington.^[11]

Political career

State Senate tenure

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 served in the Washington State Senate from 1997 until December 2003, when he resigned to spend full-time running for governor.^[12] During his time as senator, he gained a reputation for being a political consensus builder with a proven ability to build bipartisan coalitions.^[13] When the Senate Republicans gained the majority in 2002, Rossi became chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee that writes the state’s two year operating budget. It was in this position that Rossi was widely credited for closing a $2.7 billion budget deficit without raising taxes.^[14] He passed this budget with bipartisan support,^[15] gaining praise from members of both parties, including the ranking Democrat on the budget committee. The budget chief for Democratic Governor Gary Locke said of Rossi in 2003, “The really good legislators move from one side to the other really effortlessly, and I think Dino did that.”^[13]

Rossi sponsored a number of bills as a state senator prior to his role as chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, including the Two Strikes bill that puts child molesters away for life after a second conviction.^[16] In 1998, he sponsored the Mary Johnsen Act,^[17] named for a Sammamish resident who was killed by a drunk driver. The bill required ignition interlock devices for certain convicted drunk drivers in the state of Washington. Rossi received the national finalist award from Mothers Against Drunk Driving for his work. He also sponsored the Dane Rempfer bill^[18] which boosted penalties for those who left the scene of a fatal accident, named after a 15-year-old boy from his district who was killed in a hit-and-run. It was his work on the 2003 budget that spurred others to recruit Rossi to run for governor.^[19]

2004 gubernatorial campaign

Rossi decided to run in November 2003,^[20] but was already facing an uphill battle in terms of money raised, low name identification with voters and trends established by the two prior GOP candidates for governor. The sitting Washington State Attorney General and Rossi’s eventual opponent in the general election, Christine Gregoire, had already raised $1.15 million by December, only weeks after Rossi officially kicked off his campaign.^[21] Furthermore, the previous two GOP candidates for governor had lost their campaign bids by 16% and 18.7% in 1996 and 2000.^[22]

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.^[23] 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).^[24]

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.^[25] 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.^[26]

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.^[27]

Rossi did not appeal to the state Supreme Court;^[28] Gregoire was declared governor, by a margin of 133 votes.^[24]

Between 2004 and 2008

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.^[29][30] Along with former Seattle Mariner baseball star Jay Buhner, he also purchased a minority share in the Seattle Mariners' single A minor league baseball team, the Everett Aquasox.^[31] Rossi also established Forward Washington Foundation, a 501(c)(4) non-profit lobbying entity dedicated to promoting changes to Washington's small business climate.^[32] In 2007, the state Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Washington Public Disclosure Committee (PDC) asserting that the Forward Washington Foundation was too similar to a campaign to be exempt from campaign finance laws.^[33] Prior to her party’s formal complaint, Gregoire stated to donors that he was “campaigning aggressively".^[34] The PDC dismissed in totality the allegations made by the Washington State Democrats, deeming each accusatory claim as “insufficient” and stating that the organization was indeed acting consistent with its mission statement, making it “a social welfare organization ... and not a political committee”.^[35]

2008 gubernatorial campaign

On October 25, 2007, Dino Rossi announced his intention to seek the office of Governor of Washington in 2008. Rossi's campaign was 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.^[36]

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.^{[37][38][39][40][41]} Washington law allows candidates to identify their party affiliation or preference in any way they please, provided that it is not profane.^[42][43]

Rossi has said pharmacists should not be required to dispense a drug that is against their conscience or religious beliefs when asked about the Plan B oral contraceptive.^[44] 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.^[45] As of September 2008, the Rossi campaign was reported to have raised $9 million while the Gregoire campaign took in $10 million overall.^[46] A poll in early October showed Rossi tied with Governor Gregoire in the race for Governor.^[47] A later poll by the Elway Group showed Rossi trailing Gov. Gregoire by 12 percent.^[48][49][50]

On October 7, a lawsuit was filed against the Building Industry Association of Washington, for allegedly coordinating fundraising activities with Rossi in violation of Washington's public finance laws. Rossi's campaign spokeswoman dismissed the suit as a desperate attempt by Gregoire's supporters to win an election through frivolous legal maneuvering, a claim that was denied by the lawyer that filed the suit.^[51] Rossi was endorsed on October 18, 2008 by The Seattle Times.^[52]

Dino Rossi was defeated by Governor Christine Gregoire in the 2008 election and formally conceded at noon on November 5, 2008.^[53] Her margin of victory was 53.2% to 46.8%.^[54]

Between 2008 and 2010

Following his defeat in the 2008 gubernatorial election, Rossi "unplugged from almost everything political" and became a principal at a commercial real estate firm called Coast Equity Partners in Everett, Washington. Rossi's role at the firm is to find investors for income producing properties in Washington and four other Western U.S. states.^[55]

2010 U.S. Senate campaign

In early 2010, Washington State Republicans began courting various conservatives to challenge incumbent Senator Patty Murray in a year that was seen by many as a vulnerable year for Democrats. On May 26, 2010, Dino Rossi officially announced his candidacy.^[5] In the Republican primary, Rossi defeated Tea Party favorite Clint Didier 33.98% - 11.99%. Rossi went on to lose the general Election on November 4, after two days' worth of ballot counting indicated that he would not have enough votes to defeat Sen. Murray.

2012 Appointment to the State Senate

On July 11, 2012, Rossi was appointed to fill the term of Senator Cheryl Pflug.^[56] Rossi left office in November 2012, when Mark Mullet was sworn in.^[57]

Electoral history

September 1992 State Senator District #5 Primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathleen Drew	8,598	36.21
	Republican	Dino J. Rossi	6,563	24.64
	Republican	Dick Welsh	3,215	13.54
	Republican	Bob Brady	2,788	11.74
	Republican	Gwenn Escher	2,581	10.87

November 1992 State Senator District #5 General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathleen Drew	26,042	52.10
	Republican	Dino J. Rossi	23,942	47.90

September 1996 State Senator District #5 Primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathleen Drew	10,331	40.16
	Republican	Dino J. Rossi	8,291	32.33
	Republican	Dave Irons	7,100	27.60

November 1996 State Senator District #5 General election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dino Rossi	28,286	53.20
	Democratic	Kathleen Drew	24,882	46.80

September 2000 State Senator District #5 Primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dino Rossi	20,318	77.93
	Democratic	Azziem Hassan Underwood	5,754	22.07

November 2000 State Senator District #5 General

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dino Rossi	40,460	69.58
	Democratic	Azziem Hassan Underwood	17,686	30.42

2004 Washington state gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Christine Gregoire	1,373,361	48.8730
	Republican	Dino Rossi	1,373,232	48.8717

2008 Washington state gubernatorial election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Christine Gregoire	1,598,738	53.24
	Republican	Dino Rossi	1,404,124	46.76

2010 Washington U.S. Senate blanket primary^[58]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patty Murray (Incumbent)	433,211	46.04
	Republican	Dino Rossi	319,708	33.98
	Republican	Clint Didier	112,774	11.99
	Republican	Paul Akers	23,889	2.54
	N/A	Others	49,292	5.46

^[59]

United States Senate election in Washington, 2010

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Patty Murray	1,314,930	52.36
	Republican	Dino Rossi	1,196,164	47.64
Total votes			2,511,094	100.00
Voter turnout			71.24%

References

1. Brian Rosenthal (2012-07-09). "Rossi named to serve 5 months in State Senate". Seattle Times.
2. Galloway, Angela (2004-10-27). "Rossi hopes his American Dream takes him further". Seattle Post Intelligencer. Retrieved October 28, 2004.
3. Jaime Holguin (2005-06-06). "Wash. Governor's 2004 Win Stands". CBS News. Associated Press. Retrieved 2005-06-06.
4. Jerry Cornfield (2009-05-03). "Rossi's in town, and all business". The Everett Herald. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
5. Josh Feit (2010-05-26). "Dino Rossi Announces Candidacy for U.S. Senate". Publicola.net. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
6. "2010 Election Results".
7. Ralph Thomas (2004-09-28). "Family's struggles early in life forged Rossi's political identity". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
8. Galloway, Angela (2004-09-28). "Campaign 2004: Rossi clarifies professional status". Seattle Post Intelligencer. Retrieved July 18, 2008.
9. "It Turns Out Rossi Has a History of Piling Up Earmarks Too". Publicola News. 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
10. "Rossi linked to troubled commercial bank". Politico. 2010. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
11. "Election 2004 voters guide". Spokane Spokesman Review. 2004. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
12. Paul Queary (December 6, 2003). "Rossi quits Senate for governor's race". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Associated Press. Retrieved December 6, 2003.
13. Ralph Thomas (May 12, 2003). "Budget writer thrives in legislative hothouse". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 12, 2003.
14. James Harwood (March 31, 2004). "Presidential Politics Overshadow Rise of State Level Stars". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 31, 2004.
15. David Ammons (April 3, 2003). "Senate GOP pushes budget through without new taxes". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Associated Press. Retrieved April 3, 2003.
16. "Senate Bill 5509". 1997 Legislative Session. Check date values in: |date= (help);
17. James Vesley (December 29, 1997). "Take A Deep Breath Now, And Try To Start Your Car". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 29, 1997. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
18. Jim Brunner (March 31, 2000). "Crime laws bear names of young victims". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 31, 2000. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
19. Ralph Thomas (November 4, 2003). "GOP finds candidate for governor: Dino Rossi". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 4, 2003.
20. KOMO Staff & News Services (November 3, 2003). "State Senator Dino Rossi To Run For Governor". KOMO News. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
21. Brad Shannon (December 16, 2003). "Gregoire leads money race". The Olympian. Retrieved December 16, 2003.
22. "Washington State General Election Results, 1996, 2000". Office of Washington State Secretary of State.
23. Seattle Times staff (November 18, 2004). "It's Rossi by 261; recount is next". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on March 23, 2006. Retrieved June 23, 2006.
24. Thomas, Ralph (2008-07-27). "Governor's Race | Dino Rossi's four years of political exile | Seattle Times Newspaper". Seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
25. Seattle Times staff (April 26, 2005). "More mistakes revealed in ballot counting". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
26. Seattle Times staff (January 10, 2005). "Feds threatened suit over military ballots". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 8, 2007.
27. Postman, David (June 6, 2005). "Rossi will not appeal election ruling". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 23, 2006.
28. "Rossi won't take fight any further: Future could hold challenge". Associated Press. 2005-06-07. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
29. David Ammons (2005-10-05). "In between campaigns, Rossi turns writer". KGW. Archived from the original on February 23, 2006. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
30. Ralph Thomas (2008-09-18). "Dino Rossi's four years of political exile". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
31. Greg Bell (2007-04-09). "Buhner, Rossi buy into Aquasox". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
32. Steven Gardner (2007-05-10). "Rossi Stumps in Kitsap – for Budget Responsibility". The Kitsap Sun. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
33. David Ammons (2007-06-26). "Democrats Submit Complaint Over Rossi's Foundation". Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
34. Joel Connelly (2006-07-26). "Dino Rossi Circles over Gregoire's head". The Seattle P-I. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
35. "Draft letter to Dwight Pelz, Chair of the Washington State Democrats" (PDF). Washington State Public Disclosure Commission. 2007-11-28. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
36. Joel Connelly (2007-10-28). "Gregoire's rematch with Rossi shapes up as a doozy". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
37. "2008 General Candidates Who Have Filed". Washington State Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2008-09-18. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
38. David Postman (2008-06-11). "GOP: New brand, same old style". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
39. Curt Woodward (2008-08-21). "Wash. Republican gov candidate to skip convention". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
40. David Postman (2008-06-23). "FOX News on Republicans shying away from party brand". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
41. John Laird (2008-08-17). "Independents are loving 2008". The Columbian. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
42. "RCW 29A.32.032 Party preference.". Washington State Legislature. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
43. "Judge: 'GOP' for short is fine on Wash. ballot". Seattle Times. 2008-09-26. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
44. David Postman (2007-11-16). "Rossi backs druggists' choice on Plan B". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
45. David Ammons (2007-11-20). "WA gov: Quickie 747 session won't be '3-ring circus'". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on November 21, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
46. Joel Connelly (2008-09-30). "Gregoire tops $10 million". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
47. Joel Connelly (2008-10-03). "Wash gov. poll: Chris and Dino tied". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
48. Chris Grygiel (2008-10-23). "Washington state pollapalooze". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
49. Chris Gygiel (2008-10-23). "Poll:Gregoire leads Rossi 51-39". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
50. Joel Connelly (2008-10-23). "Gregoire Up in Elway Poll". The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
51. McGann, Chris (2008-10-07). "Lawsuit targets Rossi's relationship with builders". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
52. "The Times recommends Dino Rossi for governor". The Seattle Times. 2008-10-18. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
53. Andrew Garber (2008-11-05). "Rossi concedes defeat to Gregoire". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
54. Oldham, Kit (2009-01-21). "historylink.org". historylink.org. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
55. "Dino Rossi, 2-time gubernatorial candidate, has a new job". The Seattle Times. May 3, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
56. Dino Rossi appointed to be state senator again
57. Kagarise, Warren. "Issaquah Democrat Mark Mullet joins state Senate". issaquahpress.com. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
58. Elections, August 17, 2010 Primary, U.S. Senator (Partisan office, 6-year term), Washington Secretary of State
59. http://vote.wa.gov/Elections/WEI/Results.aspx?RaceTypeCode=O&JurisdictionTypeID=1&ElectionID=37&ViewMode=Results

External links

• Washington State Senate Republican Caucus website
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org