WENATCHEE, Wash. — More than seven months after election day but only hours after a state judge said he would not engage in "the ultimate act of judicial egotism and judicial activism" by overturning the results of the tortuously close governor's race, Dino Rossi finally threw in the towel Monday.
Rossi, a Republican, conceded to his Democratic opponent, Christine O. Gregoire, who was sworn in to office in January.
Declining his right to appeal Superior Court Judge John E. Bridges' sweeping ruling upholding the election, Rossi, who was vying to become the state's first Republican governor in 20 years, officially ended his unusual legal quest to unseat his foe.
Gregoire, a Democrat, said she was relieved and "happy for the state of Washington that we can finally move on here."
Rossi's brief concession speech had a bizarre time-warp air about it as he conducted the familiar November election-night ritual of the losing candidate -- thanking his wife, children and other supporters, and wishing his opponent good luck in office.
"It's important to the state of Washington that she is successful in implementing her campaign promises," Rossi said.
For good or for bad, Gregoire has started doing so, recently passing with the Democratic-controlled Legislature a $26-billion biennial state budget that raises state gas taxes by 9.5 cents a gallon, with the promise of major improvements to the state's clogged transportation system.
Democrats were jubilant in response to Judge Bridges' ruling here in the seat of rural Chelan County in central Washington.
"This is a victory for the voters," said Kevin Hamilton, a lawyer for the state Democratic Party. "This makes it clear that you can't just go hire an army of lawyers and spend millions of dollars if you don't like the results of a close election. That might be good for lawyers, but it would be really bad for the people."
Rossi defended the legal challenge, arguing he had been successful in "shining the light" on problems with ballot-counting procedures, especially in King County.
Bridges agreed that hundreds of ballots around the state were cast illegally by felons and improperly registered Washingtonians and that votes were even counted for dead people. (Several voters, both pro-Gregoire and pro-Rossi, have confessed to mailing in absentee ballots on behalf of spouses who had recently died.)
