Posted on 01/27/2004 9:26:32 PM PST by ikka
Former computer industry executive Alex Alben has launched a bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn in the 8th congressional district. Dunn has held the seat for 12 years.
The 45-year-old Mercer Island resident said he'll emphasize jobs and economic growth in his campaign.
Alben said he has the right combination of business sense and progressive values that will resonate in the 8th, which ranges from Bellevue to Mount Rainier National Park, including Issaquah, Sammamish, Mercer Island and part of Redmond and Renton.
He's an intellectual property attorney who spent 10 years in the local high-tech industry, most recently as vice president of public policy at RealNetworks Inc. He also favors of environmental protection and women's rights.
``That mix really describes that district, and that's me,'' Alben said.
He's also a mountain climber, an apt metaphor given the competition he's going up against.
Dunn, 61, has handily won re-election in the largely Republican district, defeating Democrat Heidi Behrens-Benedict, a Bellevue interior designer, in each of the past three elections.
An influential senior member of her caucus, she has serving as a member of the Ways and Means Committee, vice chairwoman of the new Homeland Security Committee and a member of the caucus campaign team. She was the top choice of her party and the White House to challenge Sen. Patty Murray next year, but she declined. ``It just makes sense, when you look at where you can best use your skills, influence, time and clout,'' Dunn explained at the time.
Dunn also is a seasoned fund-raiser who is well-connected to the Bush Administration. As of June 30, she had approximately $1.1 million in the bank.
Alben thinks Dunn is vulnerable this time.
``She's a party loyalist. She voted with Tom DeLay 95 percent of the time in the last Congress,'' he said, referring to the GOP House majority leader.
By contrast, he said he's not a politician, and would do what's best for the district, regardless of what the party chairman thinks.
``I come at things from a business point of view and from being a dad with school age kids,'' he said. Dunn has two adult children.
Alben said he plans to spend $2 million on the campaign, but didn't directly answer when asked if he'll self-fund the effort, as his old RealNetworks colleague Maria Cantwell did in her winning Senate bid in 2000.
He said he wrote out a $100,000 check to kickstart the campaign.
Danielle Holland, Dunn's spokeswoman, declined to comment on Alben's race.
Alben is also staking out campaign territory in education, proposing to bring federal funds to Washington to support students seeking advanced degrees in certain sectors, fully funding Head Start programs, and expanding scholarship programs.
``I am dancing on my desk over Alex Alben,'' said Paul Berendt, the state Democratic Party chairman. ``He's a five-star candidate and he's just the type of person we really need to win in this district.''
Berendt said that this year would be the year of the nonpolitician, and that despite Dunn's strengths, voters will be looking for a fresh perspective.
``It's not going to be easy to defeat her, but I believe people are tired of politicians who are putting their own careers in front of the district,'' Berendt said, referring to rumors of Dunn seeking lobbying jobs.
``We just believe that the Republican Congress is out of touch with people,'' Berendt said. ``We need to get people to represent us who are in touch with the real world.''
For others, Dunn's hold on her seat is not in doubt.
``Anybody looking to run against Jennifer Dunn must have a political death wish,'' said Brett Bader, a Republican strategist with Madison Communications.
``She's an outstanding fund-raiser,'' Bader said, ``Her popularity is a combination of popularity at home and popularity back East among the powers that be.''
``The mountain is too tall to climb,'' he said.
Alben is a graduate of Stanford University and its law school. A New York native, he's been in Washington 11 years, and has worked as general counsel and vice president for business development at Paul Allen's StarWave and most recently as an executive at RealNetworks. His wife, Ellen, is a lawyer and they have two children.
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