Dean, Kucinich to make stops in Tacoma, WA
Originally published in the Tacoma News Tribune
Dean, Kucinich to make local stops
KENNETH P. VOGEL; The News Tribune
The Puget Sound area is in for a hefty dose of politics this weekend, with visits planned by two Democratic presidential candidates and several members of Congress from both parties.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, considered the Democratic front-runner for president in 2004, is set to speak at two fund-raising dinners in Seattle on Saturday night.
On Sunday, another Democrat seeking the party's presidential nomination, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), will be in Fife to speak at a rally hosted by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the America in Solidarity Committee.
Kucinich, whose polling numbers lag behind those of Democratic candidates such as Dean, retired Gen. Wesley Clark and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), also plans a fund-raiser Monday in Tacoma.
It'll be his second trip to the state as a presidential candidate and his first to Tacoma, which has hosted only two presidential campaign stops this year - one by Kerry and one by civil rights activist Al Sharpton of New York.
Kucinich, a mayor of Cleveland in the 1970s, has a reputation as a supporter of organized labor.
"He's got a union background, and he says all the right things," said Mike Jagielski, a crane operator at the Port of Tacoma active in the Longshoremen's Union.
Jagielski helped create America in Solidarity partly, he said, as a response to last year's labor dispute that culminated with the temporary closing of West Coast ports from Tacoma to California.
The group, which offers volunteer support to candidates who sign a pledge supporting working families, expects several Democratic leaders to attend the rally, including U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (Tacoma), state Reps. Steve Conway (Tacoma) and Dawn Morrell (Puyallup) and 2004 candidates for governor King County Executive Ron Sims and Phil Talmadge, a former state senator and state Supreme Court justice.
The party's players will turn out in greater force on Saturday in Seattle, where Dean is scheduled to deliver addresses for the state Democratic Party and the Human Rights Campaign.
The state party dinner, at which the annual Warren Magnuson Awards will be presented, is expected to draw former Govs. Booth Gardner, Mike Lowry and Al Rosellini, U.S. Sens. Patty Murray (Shoreline) and Maria Cantwell (Edmonds), U.S. Reps. Jim McDermott (Seattle), Jay Inslee (Bainbridge Island) and Brian Baird (Vancouver) and Sims, Talmadge and Attorney General Christine Gregoire, who's also running for governor.
Dean has more support in Washington than the other Democratic candidates, said Western Washington University political science professor Todd Donovan.
He said whoever is the Democratic nominee could beat President Bush in 2004, since Bush's approval ratings have dropped.
State Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance said voters see Bush as better equipped to deal with national security issues.
U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-Bellevue), who is leading Bush's campaign here, will lead her fellow members of the U.S. House Select Committee on Homeland Security on a Saturday tour of the ports of Tacoma and Seattle and other sites of security importance.
Kenneth P. Vogel: 360-754-6093
ken.vogel@mail.tribnet.com
If you go
America in Solidarity kickoff event, featuring Dennis Kucinich
6 p.m. Sunday
Tacoma Longshore Hall, 1306 Alexander Ave. in Fife
Free
Call 691-2294
Warren Magnuson Awards Ceremony, featuring Howard Dean
6:30 p.m. Saturday
Meany Hall on the University of Washington Campus in Seattle
$100 per person, including dinner
Call 206-583-0664 or go to www.wa-democrats.org
Human Rights Campaign Seattle's 4th Annual Gala Dinner, featuring Howard Dean
8:20 p.m. Saturday
Westin Hotel at 1900 Fifth Ave. in Seattle
$200 general admission, $250 premium seating
Call 1-800-494-8497 or go to www.boxofficetickets.com
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