Rossi says he’s banking on Clark County voters in tight contest

Steven Lane/The Columbian Republican Dino Rossi talks to supporters Saturday morning in Vancouver during his final Clark County rally prior to Tuesday’s gubernatorial election.

Dino Rossi and his supporters said Saturday they are counting on Clark County to make a difference as they head toward Tuesday’s rematch with Gov. Chris Gregoire.

During his final campaign stop in Vancouver, the former state senator implored his backers to call voters “who need a little nudge” as he battles with the Democrat who narrowly defeated him four years ago.

“Rarely in life do you get a second chance at things that are truly important,” Rossi told about 100 people gathered inside an office building near Westfield Vancouver mall. “Folks, for this race, Washington state gets a second chance.”

Rossi said 35,000 registered voters in Clark County did not cast ballots in 2004, “and they’ve all been kicking themselves since.”

Republicans are still smarting from that election. Rossi finished atop in the initial tabulation, as well as in a machine recount, only to lose by 129 votes after Democrats paid for a hand recount. A judge later took four votes away from Rossi’s tally, giving Gregoire the final 133-vote margin, out of more than 2.8 million votes.

Rossi carried 31 of the state’s 39 counties, including Clark County. Gregoire prevailed in Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, King, Pacific, San Juan, Thurston and Whatcom counties, but it was her 154,500-vote cushion in King County that propelled her to the governor’s office.

Doug Sutherland, a Republican running for re-election as state lands commissioner, stressed that Clark County is pivotal in Tuesday’s election.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you are the counterbalance,” he said. “You are the ones who are critical in making sure this state isn’t run by downtown Seattle.”

A Washington Poll released Saturday indicated that Rossi had gained ground in the campaign’s final days. Gregoire had 50 percent compared with Rossi’s 48 percent, a gap well within the poll’s margin of error.

Rossi, dressed casually in a navy sports jacket and tan slacks, criticized Gregoire for losing the Seattle SuperSonics to Oklahoma City, releasing 3,100 violent offenders, including three who killed police officers, and pushing the state from a budget surplus to a $3.2 billion deficit.

Gregoire, he said, is blaming President Bush and others for the state’s financial problems.

“A bunch of rubbish,” he said. “She just needs to look in the mirror.”

Gregoire, Rossi predicted, will raise taxes in response to the deficit, instead of reining in spending.

“If any of you in this room feel guilty about not sending enough of your money to Olympia, let me absolve you of your guilt right now,” he said. “It’s a spending problem, folks.”

Debra Carnes, communications director for the Gregoire campaign, disputed much of what Rossi had to say.

“Mr. Rossi continues to spew mistruths when it comes to Gov. Gregoire’s record,” Carnes said in a telephone interview later Saturday. “The state doesn’t have a deficit today. In fact, we have money in the bank, one of the few states that do because of her leadership.”

Gregoire already has taken steps to cut a projected deficit in half, Carnes said.

Washington’s crime rate is at a 14-year low, she said, adding that the three police officers were killed when Rossi was a state senator, not when Gregoire was governor. As for the Sonics, Gregoire wanted to keep the NBA team in Seattle but simply didn’t have the votes in the Legislature, she said.

During the Vancouver rally, Rossi didn’t say how he would resolve the state’s financial woes. In the past, he has advocated freezing discretionary spending and state hiring, along with squeezing the state budget, line-by-line, for savings.

On Saturday, Rossi mentioned high workers’ compensation costs and business and occupation taxes, saying “every one of those is killing off our state.”

“I want Washington state to be the worst place in America to be a criminal and the best place to start a business,” he said.

Rossi’s wife, Terry, also spoke during Saturday’s 30-minute event. She described her husband as a fiscal conservative who understands the difference between needs and wants.

Terry Rossi recounted discussions during 21 years of marriage regarding the purchase of dishes and furniture.

“I said, ‘It must be a need because I want it really bad,’” she said. “Well, I’ve tried that off and on for 21 years, and it’s never worked. And that’s exactly the type of person you need as governor.”

Jeffrey Mize: 360-735-4542 or jeff.mize@columbian.com.