Dino Rossi

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Dino Rossi (born October 15, 1959 in Seattle, Washington, USA) is a former Washington State Senator and Republican nominee for Governor of Washington in the 2004 election, one of the closest elections in state history. Currently, he is working in real estate and promoting his book Dino Rossi: Lessons in Leadership, Business, Politics and Life^[1].

[edit] Background

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 broker, managing and owning real estate. He is married, with four children, and lives in Sammamish, Washington.^[2]

In 1992, Rossi ran for a Washington State Senate seat in a district representing suburbs east of Seattle in the Cascade foothills. After winning a divisive Republican 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 budget deal which closed a budget shortfall without raising taxes. The plan achieved support among both Republicans and some Democrats.^[3]

[edit] The 2004 gubernatorial election

Main article: Washington gubernatorial election, 2004

In 2004, Rossi resigned his Senate seat to run for governor. His resignation was due to state fundraising laws that do not allow fundraising while the legislature is in session. He faced no significant opposition in the Republican gubernatorial primary as all other GOP 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 ^[4].

A series of recounts and legal battles ensued. Rossi led by an even smaller margin after the first recount.

After a second recount, done by hand, Gregoire a very slim lead.

Along the way it was discovered that hundreds of disputed votes, including votes by suspected felons, deceased voters, and double voters, were included in the canvas. King County's election department (the greater Seattle area) came under fire for how it handled its ballots. Also, ballots in six counties were discovered after the initial count and included in the recounts, the most being from King County, a heavy supporter of Gregoire.

Washington Republican leaders 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 votes, or for whom they were cast, to enable the court to overturn the election.^[5]

Rossi did not appeal to the state Supreme Court; Gregoire was declared governor, by a margin of 129 votes, or 0.0045%. Rossi returned to his work in real estate and on his book.

[edit] Footnotes