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Unshackle businesses, GOP governor candidate urges Friday, November 21, 2003 Washington State - Dino Rossi, the freshest face in the campaign for governor, brought his job-creation message to Clark County on Thursday, saying it's time for the state to help businesses "through the maze rather than play 'gotcha.' '' Speaking to about 50 supporters at The Academy in downtown Vancouver and in a follow-up interview, the Republican state senator from Sammamish, said, "We have got to quit bludgeoning our businesses until they finally say, as Boeing said, 'Hey, we're outta here.''' Washington is one of the most regulated states in the nation, Rossi added, citing various state agencies that monitor, fine and assess businesses. After 23 consecutive years of Democratic governors, the state "is on the wrong track because of the lack of leadership in Olympia," said Rossi, 44, who's in his second four-year term and was the Senate's top budget writer this year. Rossi cited his family's history in Washington state, his grandfather having been a coal miner in Black Diamond and his father a Seattle schoolteacher. Rossi is the seventh of seven children and said he made it through college on scholarships and a variety of jobs. Now, he said, he and his wife worry about the future for the state's children, including their own, ages 13, 10, 7 and 3. It is for the children, he said, that he ultimately decided to give up a safe seat in the Legislature and run for governor. "What if our children have to leave the state to find jobs and good schools?" Rossi asked. "The anti-jobs policies created over time (by Democratic leaders) have created a negative business climate in the state." He noted the no-new-taxes state budget that he was instrumental in writing this year and asked, "What would the Democrats now running for governor have done last year in the Legislature? Would they have worked for reform? As candidates they have already shown us they'll stay on the same path that has gotten us in this economic mess." But it wasn't just a matter of holding down spending and resisting new tax requests, Rossi said. He was key in adding money to the governor's proposed budget for the developmentally disabled and mentally ill, he said. "We need to be there to help them," he said. "You can be fiscally conservative and still have a social conscience." Noting that the three Democratic contenders appeared at a state Labor Council convention in August, Rossi suggested they would not be able to resist the wage demands of public- employee unions, even in tough economic times for the state. "They were making promises that will keep us from turning this economy around and putting people back to work," he said. Rossi said he will announce early next month whether he will resign his Senate seat to run full time for governor, or retain his seat through 2004 as he campaigns for governor. Rossi has a Republican opponent, Federico Cruz, director of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. The three Democratic contenders are state Attorney General Christine Gregoire, former state Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge and King County Executive Ron Sims. Democratic Gov. Gary Locke will wrap up his second four-year term next year. He declined this year to seek a third term. Rossi announced his candidacy on Nov. 10 and is visiting 17 towns in four weeks. He was in Chehalis earlier Thursday. Gregg Herrington covers state and local issues. He may be reached at 360-759-8025, or via e-mail at gregg.herrington@columbian.com. |