RSSIn, out, in -- now 15th District Democrat is out again
Yakima Herald-Republic
E-mail
Print
Comments
More 'Local'
- Sunnyside shooting suspects sought
- Man shot in shoulder
- Yakima woman swerves to miss deer, receives minor injuries
- YVCC, CWU students protest proposed tuition hikes, budget cuts
- State Senate moves to toughen Washington cell phone driving law
- Lane restrictions at Nob Hill Blvd. on Saturday
- Shutdown of Ahtanum View Corrections Center begun
YAKIMA, Wash. -- Democratic state House candidate John Gotts has conceded his race against state Rep. David Taylor, R-Moxee, with a post on his personal blog.
Gotts, who had pulled out of the 15th District state House race prior to the primary only to return when he finished second, now says a combination of factors persuaded him to leave the race again. In part, it was a matter of realistically assessing his chances as a relative unknown in a heavily Republican district.
"It would be nearly impossible to achieve victory in November against state Rep. David Taylor, and so for the second time in this race, I am removing myself from the election," he wrote last week at johngotts.blogspot.com.
An Internet entrepreneur most recently based in White Salmon, Gotts had said before the primary that he was moving to California to work on an Internet startup. When he finished second in the Aug. 18 primary -- ahead of fellow Democrat Donicio Marichalar of Grandview -- he decided to return to Washington for the November general election. Now Gotts plans to stick with the California venture.
Jumping in and out of things is something of a pattern for Gotts, who made news in 2006 with a $3 million deal to buy the wiki.com domain name. The much ballyhooed deal later fell apart, as did plans Gotts had for upscale developments in Bingen, a small town adjacent to White Salmon.
In 2008 Gotts declared himself a candidate for the U.S. House, looking to unseat Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco. Three days later he dropped out of that race to challenge state Rep. Bruce Chandler, R-Granger, instead. He lost the race against Chandler, taking only 40 percent of the vote.
He was widely considered a heavy underdog in this year's race against Taylor, too. Taylor, who spoke with Gotts last Thursday about the concession, said the departure of Gotts from the race won't affect his own plans.
"We took our one breath on Friday," he said. "We're still out campaigning. We're not going to slow down."
The bulk of Gotts' concession blog post is spent praising Taylor, who was appointed to the seat earlier this year when Dan Newhouse resigned after Gov. Chris Gregoire appointed him to run the state Department of Agriculture. Taylor is running in November to retain his seat and serve the remainder of Newhouse's two-year term.
"I've talked to Representative Taylor, and I believe that for all of the reasons you voted for me, you should now cast your vote for the representative in November," Gotts wrote. "He and I see eyeball-to-eyeball on bringing you jobs, stronger infrastructure, senior care, veterans care, libraries, schools, emergency services and the things that effect (sic) you every day. He and I both want you all to be the ultimate winners and that's what we're both focused on now."
Gotts did not return a call Tuesday seeking comment for this story.
* Pat Muir can be reached at 509-577-7693 or pmuir@yakimaherald.com.
Interesting. His indecisiveness and lack of commitment indicate he finally made the right decision this time. Those traits would have done no one any good if by some freak of fate, he won.
Report ViolationI'm thinkin he might have moved to the wrong state......
It's a nice place to visit, but....
Well...I wish him the best and hope someday he figures out what he wants.
Posting Guidelines - Updated Aug. 21 2009
Readers are encouraged to use these forums to discuss issues affecting the
Yakima Valley. Debate the ideas presented in stories and other comments, but
refrain from personal attacks and offensive remarks aimed at others; e.g.,
you may call an idea idiotic, but don't say the person is an idiot. The
Herald-Republic reserves the right to remove any comment for any reason.
Examples include material that is obscene, encourages illegal activity or
stereotypes based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and
other factors. Continued violation of these guidelines can lead to
suspension or revocation of your ability to post comments. If you believe a
comment is inappropriate, you can bring it to our attention by clicking the
"report violation" link by each comment. Guidelines revised Aug. 21, 2009.
Registered User?
