Redondo resident, LeeAnn Farrell hosted a fund raiser in her beautiful "castle" house last night. The weather was cloudy and cool, so our hopes of having it on her lovely west-facing veranda were dashed.

There were about 20 donors in attendance last night. I was honored to introduce Dino and I did so by telling the crowd how and why I support Dino. My support for Dino started last October when I attended his announcement in Issaquah that he was in the race again. I was awaiting an acceptance or rejection letter from law school and decided that while awaiting word, I would commit myself to his campaign. At the time I didn't know how this would materialize.

In December one of the campaign staffers, Renee Maher, who ran for state senate against Tracey Eide in 2006, contacted me. She liked my weekly op-ed columns in the Federal Way Mirror and wondered if I would want to be part of Dino's campaign. Wow!! An answered prayer. Before long I was appointed to co-chair the Veterans Coalition, with the goal of pushing back Gregoire's gains among veterans in the state. But, as I told the crowd, I will happily wear whatever hat I need to for this effort. Last night I was assisting the fundraising team.

Why am I so motivated to work as a full time volunteer? What happened to Dino in 2004 was an injustice, for sure, but even more than that, is how offended I am by what Governor Gregoire has done to our state. Increasing spending by 33%, releasing felons, resisting much harsher penalties for child sex offenders (in spite of the many Republican initiatives to pass Jessica's Law) are just some of the reasons. I reminded the crowd that she has given us plenty of ammo to run with and we don't need the 2008 campaign to be just a "sour grapes" campaign. Gregoire has shown her incompetence and lack of leadership all too well.

I ended with reminding them that we all know "we're the choir--no need to preach to us about the good news of Dino Rossi," and that this wasn't just a pep rally. This was a fund raiser and we, the choir, need to pony up against Gregoire's minions and Seattle liberals.

Dino, of course, did not disappoint. His 30 minute speech was warm, personal and inspiring. Kevin McLeod, owner and operator of KM, Resorts of America told me later that his business has experienced increased taxes under Gregoire and  that he's tired of state government treating small businesses like, to use Dino's words, "a nuisance."

"Hey, when we do well in business, we bring jobs. We help the state make money. You'd think that would be obvious!" he said with exasperation.

Not long, my friend.....not long until the tyranny is over! Just make sure not to sit on the sidelines. We don't need cheerleaders, we need money, volunteers and more voters!!

After Dino's speech, John McKenna, LeeAnn's son, gave the crowd the final pitch. "Get out your wallets, people. We need this guy in office. We've all put up with the government harassment long enough-- ." John McKenna is a developer and went on to describe the obstacles he faces on a routine basis when it comes to building and developing land.




                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         










LeeAnn Farrell (pictured above) raised over $17,000 for Dino! Go here to donate to Dino's campaign!