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<< Previous   of   Next >> Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi (right) lauds the good weather at Monday night's Everett AquaSox game while talking with Katherine and Marshall Cymbaluk of Everett during a fundraising event at the baseball game.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, July 8, 2008 Governor's race gets costly; in Snohomish County, Rossi leads Gregoire in fundraising By Jerry Cornfield Herald Writers EVERETT -- Republican Dino Rossi on Monday made a pitch to donors near the stadium bullpen of the Everett AquaSox, the minor league ball club that he partly owns. While Rossi spent Monday night with 130 supporters at the ballpark, Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire will raise money today with environmental backers and next week with Michelle Obama, wife of presumed presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. These are among the latest in a season of fundraisers that's made the Gregoire-Rossi match-up in 2008 already the most expensive battle for governor in state history. In June, both candidates experienced no slowdown in their race for cash as Gregoire took in $752,875 -- including $200,000 from the statewide Democratic Party -- and Rossi raked in $721,800, according to figures provided by the respective campaigns. More details will be known when finance reports are filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission on July 29. In this campaign, Gregoire's fundraising total through the end of June was nearly $7.6 million and Rossi's sum had eclipsed $6 million. That's $1 million more than they garnered in their entire epic 2004 battle decided by 133 votes following three recounts and a court case. Rossi has been outpacing Gregoire among donors in Snohomish County where he also won more votes in their first match-up. Monday marked the first of two events he's planned in Everett this month. He held one in Everett in June. It proceeded without incident in the bullpen barbecue area of Everett Memorial Stadium, but not without some controversy beforehand. Rossi's campaign issued an apology when it became known it misused a private e-mail list maintained by the team to solicit fans to attend. "We were wrong. It is our fault for not double checking," campaign spokeswoman Jill Strait said last week. "We apologize to AquaSox fans who received this e-mail." Tom Hoban of Everett, Rossi's finance chairman in Snohomish County and also a part-owner of the team, obtained the list for the campaign through an employee of the club. The campaign then e-mailed the 5,500 names on it to invite them to pre-game event. Within hours of the first e-mail going out, AquaSox majority owners Peter A. and Peter E. Carfagna issued an apology too. "Although we did not authorize this communication nor were we aware of it in advance, we have justifiably received numerous complaints from you expressing your displeasure. We take full responsibility and again beg your pardon," they wrote. In addition to the candidates, special interests are collecting and spending large mounds of cash to influence voters in the race for governor. The Building Industry Association of Washington, a pro-Rossi group, and the Evergreen Progress Political Action Committee, a pro-Gregoire organization, have each taken in more than $1 million. And both have spent several hundred thousand dollars on radio and television commercials. Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.

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