The double-digit list of Republicans wanting to take on U.S. Sen. Patty Murray is being winnowed down now that Dino Rossi has entered the race.

Art Coday announced today he has dropped out to endorse fellow Republican Rossi.

The medical doctor, who handles mostly Medicaid and Medicare patients, built his campaign with criticism of the federal health care bill and calls for more limited government, endearing himself to some conservatives. He spoke at tea party rallies and sounded like one of several potential threats to Rossi from the right.

But he said today “the stakes are too high” to miss the opportunity to defeat Murray. He immediately announced his candidacy for a different job, an open state House seat in the 32nd District, where Democratic Rep. Maralyn Chase has stepped aside to run for Senate.

The Spokesman-Review reported Wednesday that another candidate, Orting plumber Ed Torres, was throwing his support to Rossi.

Here’s Coday’s full release:

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Calling it the “day we’ve all been waiting for,” managers of the planned LeMay car museum have announced the schedule for groundbreaking ceremonies for the Tacoma Dome facility.

First will come a ceremony at the Tacoma Dome between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 10. Then the museum will host an open house and party between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. at 3701 20th St. E in Fife.

The news that triggered the scheduling was the final authorization of a key funding piece for the museum – New Market Tax Credits. The Tacoma City Council approved the …

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Dino Rossi told me in an interview Thursday evening that Congressional votes to allow gays to serve openly in the military are premature.

“’Don’t ask, don’t tell’ seems to have been working,” the Republican U.S. Senate candidate said, “but there’s a review in place right now, and I  think this shouldn’t be made up on political promises by candidates, it should be made looking, talking to the men and women in the field who are actually defending America.”

The House and a Senate committee both voted Thursday to end “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” The military is studying the issue.

Before …

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This just in from 2nd/29th District Republicans. In case you haven’t noticed, election season is open

2nd District Representative Debate:                                   

The 2nd & 29th Districts Republican Club is hosting a debate featuring incumbent 2nd District State Representative Tom Campbell and challenger J.T. Wilcox.  The meeting, which is open to the public, begins at 7:00 PM sharp, June 2nd, in the Weeks-Dryers Fellowship Hall,  220 134th St. So. Parkland. For information contact John Seidl 253-847-3732   sew-n4u@comcast.net

Almost immediately after Dino Rossi‘s entrance into the U.S. Senate race, the Cook Political Report declared Sen. Patty Murray‘s seat is now in play.

The national newsletter published by political analyst Charlie Cook rates the race as a “toss up,” a change from its previous status as “solid Democrat.”

That makes 11 competitive races for Senate seats now held by Democrats, the report says. Republicans need 10 seats to gain control of the Senate, if they hold another eight GOP seats that, in the Cook Political Report’s view, are in play this year.

A Pierce County Human Resources investigation of employee whistleblower complaints about the management of Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer Dale Washam points to more problems in the office.

Investigator Kent Nakamura sided with six Assessor-Treasurer employees who filed complaints of improper conduct against Washam last year, accusing him of abuse of authority, including retaliating against employees who complain, wasting resources and using his position to promote religion.

Here are key findings from the report.

While Washam wouldn’t submit to questioning by the investigator, he filed a written response to the report. He maintains that the employee “personnel” complaints are not properly subject to the whistleblower complaint provisions of the county code. Below is an excerpt:

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A Pierce County parks employee is running for an upcoming vacancy on the County Council.
Erich Sachss, who’s worked for the Parks and Recreation Department for three years and is pursuing his MBA, says he is running to help save parks and improve the county’s recycling efforts.

Sachs is running as a Democrat for the District 5 seat, which is now held by Barbara Gelman, D-Tacoma, who can’t run again because of term limits. The District includes Midland, Parkland and parts of Spanaway, along with parts of South End, East Side and South Tacoma.

Also announced for the seat are former Tacoma City Councilman Rick Talbert and mid-county activist Audrey Chase.

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The Stranger’s blog has a report on Dino Rossi’s speech Tuesday evening at a seminar on real estate investing:

“This is the time to purchase,” Rossi said, wearing a gold tie and crisp white shirt. “Especially income property.”

Democrats have been hitting Rossi, a former real estate agent now running for U.S. Senate, for supposedly telling people how to profit off of foreclosed homes. But there wasn’t much substance to the speech, according to the report:

Rossi’s speech was mostly motivational pablum (“There’s a lot of naysayers in the world… Don’t listen to the naysayers!”) mixed with biographical

…

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