Run for Governor? GOP Again Told, "No Thanks" (WA Gov. Race)

Seattle Times ^ | 12 August 2003 | Andrew Garber

[Publius]

For the third time this summer, state Republican Party officials have failed to convince a big-name candidate to run for governor.

Former Microsoft executive Bob Herbold said yesterday he will not run for office, after weeks of courting by the party. Two other GOP prospects — telecommunications executive John Stanton and King County Sheriff Dave Reichert — already have said they won't run.

So far, the only Republican who has declared for governor is Federico Cruz, director of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. Vance has openly dismissed Cruz as a marginal candidate.

The state party is now focused on wooing state Sen. Dino Rossi, R-Sammamish, chairman of the Senate budget-writing committee, into the race. And Rossi says he's in no hurry to decide.

"I'm going to take the kids fishing. We're going camping," he said. "That's a little more important. I don't have to make a decision today."

Rossi said he may decide by the end of September.

Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance has been pushing for the party to quickly get behind a candidate early in the campaign. But potential candidates have ignored his efforts to hold them to a deadline.

Vance, who is supposed to be on vacation, instead spent yesterday fielding phone calls and trying to make some calls of his own.

"Right now, I'm sitting in a house trying desperately to get hold of Dino Rossi," he said yesterday afternoon.

Rossi said he has lots of things to consider before deciding, including what impact running for governor would have on his family, and whether he has a good chance of winning

Rossi said Herbold called him yesterday about the decision not to run but didn't ask him to run instead. Although Rossi seems in no hurry to make a decision, he made noises like a candidate, saying, "Our state needs help. We need to turn our state around. We need to get people back to work."

He also noted he'd just gotten back from Washington, D.C., where he talked to people about a potential bid for the governor's office, including Bush campaign officials and Republican National Committee staffers.

Herbold, a retired executive vice president and chief operating officer of Microsoft, was eagerly sought by the Republican Party. Even President Bush and his top political aide, Karl Rove, had encouraged Herbold to run.

"He had tremendous credibility, having run Microsoft," Vance said.

He also has considerable personal wealth, a key factor in any election bid.

Herbold yesterday said that after weeks of thinking about a campaign, he decided not to run because he wasn't a good match for the political world.

Herbold recently talked to former governors of other states, as well as high-ranking Republican officials in Washington, D.C.

As he talked to people about a run for governor, Herbold said he was surprised to learn how difficult it is to change the political system or government.

"You worry about why it is that we can't move fast, why it is we can't be decisive and do significant things," Herbold said. "We're all nitpicking a bunch of things that in the great scheme of things aren't that important."

Vance said he wasn't surprised by Herbold's decision.

"I knew it was always 50-50," he said. "The most important quality is the desire to do it, and Bob didn't have it."

In addition to Rossi, King County Councilman Rob McKenna has been mentioned as a possible candidate. However, McKenna yesterday said he'd prefer to run for attorney general and leave the governor's race to Rossi.

McKenna said he'd consider a bid for governor if Rossi decides not to run. But he added that Vance, a former state representative, should also be considered as a potential candidate.

Reichert, who had earlier been courted by the party, repeated that he is not a candidate at the annual King County GOP picnic in Carnation on Saturday. He said he wanted to focus on the trial of Green River murder suspect Gary Ridgway, scheduled for July 2004, and on law-enforcement funding issues.

But prosecutors are said to be negotiating a plea with Ridgway's attorneys, which could remove the need for a trial. A decision could come within several weeks. Reichert declined to answer questions about a plea deal.

Reichert acknowledged that plenty of people were urging him to run. Many picnic-goers asked to be photographed with Reichert, who was dressed in his uniform. He said he also attends Democratic gatherings.

"I do have a lot of name recognition, and the gray hair sticks out like a sore thumb," he said.

Brett Bader, a Bellevue-based political consultant who works with GOP candidates, said he disagreed with the Republican Party's strategy of setting a July deadline for gubernatorial candidates. The desire for an uncontested primary has led the party to focus on selecting an immediate frontrunner instead of allowing multiple candidates to emerge.

"I'm critical of the state party because it looks like we have a list and are crossing off names. It looks like we keep asking people and they keep declining. But that's not the case," he said.

"The Democrats have a complete cast of characters, and we appear to be flailing around, looking for a candidate."

[B Knotts]

If only Dixie Lee Ray was still with us...

I bought her book "Trashing the Planet" years ago.

[RinaseaofDs]

I have a novel idea: run nobody at all.

I say we let the D's in this state kill the state off, and then we can serve as a cautionary tale for any state thinking of doing the same down the road.

The 7E7 isn't going to be built here anyway, and we've spent a billion dollars on light rail and haven't turned a shovel full of dirt. New funding was recently made available (from where I'm not sure) and the heavy equipment is out.

Awards for contracts are currently being held up on the grounds that the winning company doesn't hire enough minorities.

Ron Simms, King County Exec, after being instrumental in squandering that billion, and holding up progress on the spending the next billion constructively, wants to be governor.

Let's save the RNC time and money and just cede the election do the D's. GWB can write it off and save some cash, and he can essentially relegate WA to the ash heap in terms of base closing, Boeing contracts, the works.

Let the D's kill it off. We can start over when they are done.

[Snardius]

Let the D's kill it off. We can start over when they are done.

Oh, I see...in order to safe WA state we have to destroy it.

[RetiredArmy]

The leftist in our People's Republic of Washington state do not care about the harm happening to the state. Just tax more and all will be fine. Raise this tax, raise that tax, raise the tax on gas, smokes, booze, car purchases, property, schools, roads, bus, ferry, air port, boats, fishing, hunting, Boeing, small business owners, lumber companies, fishing companies, all business in the state, and tax in more for their social welfare give away schemes. They purchase votes, give away the state, and do not care as long as they are in power. That is all it is about, power. Being in control. In charge, so that they can raise all these taxes.

[copaliscrossing]

Funny you mentioned Dixie Lee Ray. A couple of days ago I was thinking how much better off we would be just having a (D) as conservative as she was.

[Eala]

Let the D's kill it off. We can start over when they are done.

Sort of like California, right?

[Eala]

The leftist in our People's Republic of Washington state do not care about the harm happening to the state. Just tax more and all will be fine.

And they're getting sneakier about it. Seattle's Latte Tax, for example. If it passes (as it will, after all "it's for the children" in lib territory) we'll see it all over. Along with its nice decoupling of taxed target and services funded.

[Billthedrill]

I see what you're implying, but no, I'm not running. I tried, Lord knows I tried. We focus-grouped the Porn Passes for the Elderly program, no dice. The state-funded ammunition subsidy was a bust. The body piercing surtax was out. Ditto the Forced Euthanasia For Anybody Who Ever Voted For Jim McDermott program. And don't even get me started about expanding the hunting season for things that crap all over the place like seagulls, large dogs, Canadian geese, and vacuum-headed NPR-listening Puget Sound liberals. It's a no-go.

For me to be drawn into this one I want POWER, buckaroo. We're talking National Guard bayonets next time the street puppets show their ugly papier-mache faces. Attack dogs on mimes. And we're gonna send the entire faculty of Evergreen College to Military School!

"Vote for BtD - When You Need A Gauleiter, Not A Governor!"

[RetiredArmy]

That is why we make our own at home. They have gotten so expensive you cannot afford to buy them in a shop. We bought our own latte making machine and by the supplies at a local supply store. We can make our on for less than half what they charge in a shop!! AND THEY ARE BETTER!! ;^)

[Publius]

Just tax more and all will be fine.

The problem is the bottomless desire for state services. As long as people want the state to wipe their butts, tuck them in and tell them a bedtime story, it will cost you money.

Get the people to be self-reliant, and taxes will go down.

[Publius]

Ditto the Forced Euthanasia For Anybody Who Ever Voted For Jim McDermott program.

I supported that in the focus group. By depopulating the 7th District, real estate prices would collapse in some very desireable neighborhoods, and I could have cleaned up.

The alternative would have been to send the entire population of the 7th District to military school. Why stop at Evergreen State?

[Libertina]

Another one bites the dust. Must be a reason no one wants to get involved with the WA R party...

[Publius]

I refer you to my post explaining the political landscape in Washington here.

[RinaseaofDs]

The center of political gravity in WA is King County. They keep reelecting the likes Sims, McDermott, and Murray year in and year out. It is nearly impossible to unseat McDermott and Sims.

When you say 'we' are you saying that the R's are to blame if they sit this one out?

I'm not saying they should stay out forever, I just think it ought to be clear who killed the Boeing goose when that time comes.

If we can't convince a proper candidate to run, isn't that an indication that no right thinking conservative believes that any logic will prevail on the looney-bin that is Olympia?

Example: Snohomish County (two in fact)

Opening Paine Field to commercial air traffic would draw both jobs and stability if Boeing left. Mukilteo won't have it, so nobody tries. It's too easy a solution to their tax problem to boot.

2nd example: Basing SBX in Everett. Everett lobbied for the Navy base, has a whole carrier task group moored there, but refuses to allow a radar platform roughly the height of an aircraft carrier to moor there. Both Everett and Mukilteo have city council votes against it.

Business need not apply to the state of WA. People here are insane, specifically, schizophrenic: they want your tax revenue, but you can stuff your legitimate business interests if it involves anything that makes any kind of environmental impact.

[Libertina]

Afternoon, Publus. I have read your post previously and agree with it. However, that really doesn't explain the reason we have NO candidates who will challenge the Ds for governor.And it is the same on the local level. I hate to see uncontested races. (Unless they're ours ;)

[CyberCowboy777]

ping

[CyberCowboy777]

Alright alright I'll run!

[Lancey Howard]

I was under the impression that Washington was pretty much down the liberal toilet forever, a la California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey because the major Democrat parasite nest of Seattle (and vicinity) dominates the vote in that state.

Do the decent, traditional American families of Washington stand a chance? Is there still hope?

[Eva]

I've mentioned before, I know a man who was a corporate planner for a fortune 500 company (one of the big oil companies) and a president of one of the divisions of that company. He ran the campaign for the winning Republican state senator from Whatcom Co. He's so bright and just what this state needs.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

I actually had a lobbyist friend of mine today tell that he's seen the RATS polling figures (legislative leadership members he knows talk...hell, all legislators love to talk). The RATS numbers tell them that their biggest danger is for a well-known female R to get in the field (Dunn? Well, she's out, but there you go), that may bring enough moderate female votes in the primary over to the R side to allow Sims to defeat Gregoire in the primary. That is the RATS nightmare scenario. Other than that happening, Rossi appears to be polling the best among R's, but not enough to be a danger.

Gregoire is hurt by the well-publicized mis-management (the failure to file that big case on time gave her lots of negative publicity), but not enough to put any R over the top in the general election, so unless the R's can put someone in the primary to pull female votes, she should pull it off against Sims. The RATS think the worst that can happen to them with Gregoire in the general election is a narrow 52-48 type victory, instead of the 60-40 wins they've been getting lately. However, Sims can be beat even by Rossi (if all the stars align properly), their polling shows. This would require some good economic news for Bush and probably the killing of Sadaam or Osama, creating a Bush tidal wave -- not out of the question -- which held down RAT turnout in the west.

Best bet for the R's is to find a woman with a name and get her into the primary to pull votes from Gregoire...and thus get Sims as the D candidate. Other than that, it'll probably be close but no cigar.