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Rossi sees desperation in lawsuit

Jim Camden
Staff writer
September 24, 2008

Hearing set for Friday in Rossi-GOP lawsuit A judge has set a hearing for Friday in the state Democratic Party’s lawsuit over the way Republican candidate for governor Dino Rossi listed his party preference on the November ballot. The Democrats sued Secretary of State Sam Reed on Tuesday, saying Rossi should be listed as a Republican on the ballot. They argue that he’s trying to obscure his affiliation by putting himself down as “prefers GOP party.” King County Superior Court Judge Richard Eadie set a hearing for Friday morning on the Democratic Party’s motion for a temporary restraining order that would prevent ballots from being printed until the court makes a decision. The secretary of state’s office says state law makes it clear that designation of a party preference is the candidate’s decision.

GOP candidate Dino Rossi today accused his opponent and other Democrats of being “desperate” with an effort to challenge the designation he would carry on the ballot.

In an interview on The Spokesman-Review’s On The Record on 790 KJRB, Rossi said a recently filed lawsuit is an attempt to divert attention from real issues like the economy, jobs and the state’s projected budget deficit. The suit demands that he be listed as Republican rather than GOP.

Audio: Rossi accuses Democrats of seeking distraction from the issues with lawsuit

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Also discussed in the interview:

• He’d close the gap between spending and revenue, currently estimated at $3.2 billion, with thousands of little cuts.

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The one cut he did commit to was the office of the governor.

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• He pledged not to raise taxes.

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He accused incumbent Gov. Chris Gregoire of trying to blur the line between embryonic stem cell research and all stem cell research in a current ad. The audio of the ad says embryonic stem cell research, but words on the screen say he opposes stem cell research. He says he supports research on adult stem cells which he contends has the most promise for advances.

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