Dino Rossi seeks House seat in Washington
Notes from #NativeVote18 #IndigenousNewsWireBy Mark Trahant
Trahant Reports
TrahantReports.Com Dino Rossi has an interesting political legacy. He was for several weeks the Gov.-elect for Washington state. Then after much counting (and recounting) Democrat Christine Gregoire took the lead by 129 votes and was she sworn in as governor on January 12, 2005. Since then Rossi has run for governor again, the U.S. Senate, and was recently appointed to a state Senate seat to fill out the remaining term of a member who had died. Rossi is Tlingit. One of his first jobs was working for Bernie Whitebear at Seattle’s United Indians of All Tribes. It’s interesting how some candidates make their tribal affiliation prominent and weigh in on issues that impact Indian Country. That would not be Rossi. But he doesn’t shy away (as many politicians do) from the conversation. It’s just not his focus. He has a fascinating background. From his transition team biography: “Dino’s mother, Eve, came from Alaska. She was half Irish, half Tlingit Alaskan Native. She’d married in Alaska and had five children, but the marriage became difficult. To get away from the situation, Eve took her kids to Seattle. For a time the family lived in public housing in Holly Park while Eve waitressed during the day and went to beauty school at night.” His mother met and married John Rossi and the family eventually moved to Mountlake Terrace. Back to the bio: “The Rossi kids were raised on a school-teacher’s salary. They didn’t have a lot of money, but their house was full of love.” If you read his story, you’d think it was a classic liberal narrative. Public housing. Government works. But no. Rossi favors the bootstrap side of the story, a working family that raised itself up. He has always run as a conservative candidate. That said, in his Senate role he was willing to reach across party lines and come up with a deal. I remember a Seattle P-I Editorial Board with then Sen. Rossi where he talked about the shortage of funds for higher education. But then, he suggested, book as much spending as possible on the capital side of the ledger. That’s where serious dollars could be found, he suggested. Creative. Or as his bio puts it: “In the state Senate, Dino became a leader on budget issues. He eventually became Chairman of the Senate Ways & Means Committee – which writes the state budget – in 2003, when the State faced the largest dollar deficit in history. Dino was able to work across party lines and balance the budget without raising taxes and while still protecting the most vulnerable. Dino also focused on other issues: he spearheaded legislation to punish drunk drivers and child abusers; he worked to fund the Issaquah salmon hatchery; he secured funding for Hispanic/Latino health clinics, and he championed funding for the developmentally disabled community.” Washington’s 8th District poses a lot of the same challenges that Rossi faced when he ran for governor; the demographics of the district (like the state) are more more diverse and liberal than a few years ago. But he enters this race with one advantage: He will be the only Republican while there will be a half-dozen Democrats. Washington has a top-two primary, but the winning Democrat will have to build name ID and consolidate support, something Rossi will already have with Republicans. The seat is now held by Rep. Dave Reichert, a Republican.
#NativeVote18 Notes
There are now seven #NativeVote18 candidates for Congress. Three Republicans, Rossi as well as Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole and Rep. Markwayne Mullin. And four Democrats, Carol Surveyor in Utah, Debra Haaland in New Mexico, J.D. Colbert in Texas, and Tahlequah Mayor Jason Nichols (who’s challenging Mullin). So far. I have updated my #NativeVote18 interactive map and database, including early financial reports. (Speaking of that: I have started working on this cycle’s legislative database … if you know of candidates, please let me know.)Haaland endorsed by Navajo Nation Vice President
New Mexico candidate Debra Haaland picked up an endorsement by Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez. He wrote: “Let’s honor the voice and rightful place at the table by electing the first American Indian woman to Congress. Deb is a champion for all citizens of New Mexico and will represent us with dignity on Capitol Hill.” The “first” remains a powerful argument. Here we are in 2017 and Congress has never seated a Native American woman ever. As a Haaland fundraising page puts it: “Congress has never heard a voice like mine.” She is a Democrat.
Surveyor writes about her mother’s murder
On her Facebook page, Utah candidate Carol Surveyor tells a powerful, personal story about violence against women. “One has only to live on a reservation or speak to members of the communities to know that rates of missing and murdered women and girls are high. Nearly every Native family has a story of a female relative who is missing, murdered, or whose murder has gone unsolved,” she writes. “So when my mother was murdered on November 30, 2015 four days after Thanksgiving I couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t stop thinking about what were the last words I said to her, did I tell her I loved her, did she know. A week later on a Monday December 7, 2015 18 days before Christmas we buried my mother. I saw her white coffin lowered into the ground. As my mother’s bags that she use to carry with her when she came to visit were also lowered into the ground with her I felt my heart break.” She writes: “My mother, My mother’s teachings of resilence is what got me this far.” Read the whole post. This is exactly why it’s so important for there to be representation for all in Congress — including Native American women. We know there is a problem. We need more data and we need solutions. And that cannot be done without more voices where decisions are made. Surveyor is campaigning as a Democrat. ICYMI: My first audio election special is on iTunes or Soundcloud. Mark Trahant is the Charles R. Johnson Endowed Professor of Journalism at the University of North Dakota. He is an independent journalist and a member of The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. Find him on Twitter @TrahantReportsJoin the Conversation
