Thursday, March 28, 2024

Rossi wants to be Reichert's replacement as our Congressman

Posted

NCW Media Managing Editor Gary Bégin reached out to Republican candidate for the 8th Congressional District Dino Rossi and posed a few questions to him. What follows are his answers:
 

Wenatchee Business Journal: Why do you want to be the 8th District Congressman?

Dino Rossi: I’m running for Congress because D.C. is broken and doesn’t seem to remember how to work together to solve problems. I have a proven record of building coalitions and bridges with people from all walks of life. In the state legislature, I balanced budgets and prevented tax increases, all while protecting seniors and people with developmental disabilities or mental illnesses. I passed bipartisan laws cracking down on drunk drivers and laws sending child molesters to prison for life after their second strike.
Where others bring theories, I bring results and proof built by my work across party lines bringing people together. I am proud to be the only candidate in the race with a proven track record of accomplishing bipartisan solutions and solving problems, and I think Congress could use more of that. After all, don’t you think we have enough people in D.C. yelling at each other?

WBJ: Tell the readers why your legislative experience in Washington will help you as a legislator in D.C.?

Rossi: I am the only candidate in this race with experience working as a legislator to bring people together and pass meaningful bills into law. As a State Senator, I passed bills that made our communities safer from drunk drivers, hit-and-run drivers, and child predators. I intend to bring that same focus on our communities to Congress.

WBJ: What is your general stance on immigration?

Rossi: Our immigration system is broken.  We must pass legislation to accomplish the following goals:
1. Secure our borders. We need to know who is coming into and exiting our country, and be able to screen out threats.
2. Streamline the process for legal immigration. At the root of most of our current immigration problems is the fact that it's too easy to come here illegally and too inefficient and frustrating for those who want to arrive legally.
3. Provide certainty for those here under DACA. Deporting hundreds of thousands of people to a country that they may have never known and left when they were young is not logical.
4. Clarify that the U.S. should absolutely not be separating parents from their children. We should not return to the "catch and release" policy that was previously in effect.

WBJ: Tell the readers why they should vote for you?

Rossi: I am the only candidate in this race who has actually worked with both sides to solve problems for our citizens. When I served in the Washington State Senate, I brought people of all walks of like together to solve problems. I have a wide range of interests and expertise. In the Washington State Senate, I brought people together to close an enormous budget deficit without raising taxes, while still protecting the vulnerable. I also passed legislation to put child molesters in prison for life after their second strike and the first law to require ignition locks in the cars of chronic DUI offenders. I sponsored the bill to fully funded our State Park system and have the strong support of the Washington State Farm Bureau as well as local farm leaders.
I’m running for Congress because Washington, D.C. is broken, and I believe I have the skills to contribute solutions. None of my opponents have this experience, and everything they say they’ll do is unproven theory. Everything I’ve done is a proven record of solving problems in a cooperative way, while sticking to my principles.

WBJ: Are tariffs against other nations okay with you?

Rossi: I believe that free trade allows us to bring the success of a free market approach to areas that might otherwise be inflicted by poverty and despair. Free trade is important to Washington State and to the 8th Congressional District. I am strongly opposed to excessive tariffs and will work within my party and with those in good faith on the other side of the aisle to ensure that trade relationships with our allies are strengthened.
The last thing I want to see is Washington farmers and businesses get caught in the middle of a trade war. Tariff battles hurt all of us -- lost profits for employers, lost jobs for workers, and higher prices for consumers. I will work to remove trade barriers and push to keep healthy and fair trading relationships with our allies.

WBJ: What are your hobbies, passions, family, education, etc.

Rossi: I grew up in Snohomish County in a large family. As the son of a public schoolteacher and beautician, I want every family to live the American Dream like my family was able to. My grandparents worked their way across the country until they settled in Black Diamond, Washington where my grandfather worked as a coal miner. I worked my way through college with jobs in construction and as a janitor, scrubbing floors to be able to pay for college. Later, I became successful in commercial real estate, where I learned to work constructively with others to fix problems and help everyone succeed.
 

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