RSS15th District candidate is out of state, but not out of race
Yakima Herald-Republic
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YAKIMA, Wash. -- John Gotts, who walked away from the state and his campaign for the 15th Legislative District, said Wednesday he's "99 percent" sure he'll come back and campaign in the general election.
Unofficial returns show Gotts holding onto second place ahead of Donicio Marichalar of Grandview in the three-way runoff for the seat, currently held by Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee, who pulled the most votes.
Gotts and Marichalar are Democrats.
"When I saw the results last night, I had to say I was surprised," Gotts said in a telephone interview.
The primary sends the top two winners to the general election.
Gotts, 42, formerly of White Salmon, announced he was quitting the race in June to pursue an entrepreneurial venture near Palo Alto, Calif. But it was too late for his name to be stricken from the ballot.
Even though the district has voted overwhelmingly Republican in recent memory, Gotts drew a certain logic from the votes he received without campaigning. As of late Wednesday, he was drawing 18.5 percent of the vote to 16 percent for Marichalar.
"If the people like me enough that they are voting for me over Donicio when I'm clearly not there, perhaps they want me to represent them," Gotts said.
Perhaps, though he would have to pull away thousands of votes from Taylor to win the seat in November. The 37-year-old rancher and agricultural consultant was holding more than 65 percent of the primary vote.
Gotts, who has been living in Santa Rosa, Calif., said he is running two Internet start-up companies and said he's already spoken with the controlling investors about working from Washington state. They're amenable to the idea.
One company, he said, is in the energy business and is backed by retired Idaho Sen. Larry Craig.
Gotts said he planned on returning to the area anyway in 2011 to run for the 4th Congressional District. He has said he would probably move to Toppenish.
In announcing his bid for a state House seat in the sprawling 15th District -- which straddles Yakima, Klickitat, Skamania and Clark counties -- Gotts promised to campaign on job growth.
Last year, he lost to incumbent Rep. Bruce Chandler, R-Granger.
* Leah Beth Ward can be reached at 509-577-7626 or lward@yakimaherald.com.
As the word has gotten out about Marichalar, I would expect a dog to get more votes!
Report ViolationHeadline if he were a Republican who had quit:
"Gotts could learn from Yakima racer about going distance"
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/07/07/palin-could-learn-from-yakima-racer-about-going-distance
I'm really pleased to have won the primary and will look forward to campaigning for a win in the November election for State Representative of the 15th Legislative District of Washington.
I've talked with David Taylor and we are both in agreement that regardless of the outcome of this race it's really all about serving the people of the District and bringing prosperity to the people in our community.
Living-wage jobs have all but vanished as compared with just thirty years ago and as a result we've seen the nuclear family disappear, gangs rise in numbers along with drop-out rates, a drop in school grades, a rise in drug use and more. There is no money in our city coffers for street and infrastructure repairs, senior care, veteran care, emergency services and the things that make our communities strong.
That is my focus and has been since I first ran for State Representative last year. I wish David Taylor the best and believe that whomever gets elected in November the people of the communities will be well-served by an individual who has their best interests in mind.
Thanks for your support,
John Gotts
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