Backgrounds of Patty Murray & Dino Rossi

Patty Murray was born October 11, 1950 in Bothell, Washington. In 1972 Murray earned a B.A. degree in Physical Education from Washington State University. Before, becoming a politician Murray used to be a preschool teacher, and also taught a parenting class at Shoreline Community College from 1984 to 1987. Murray is a Democrat and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992, becoming the 1^st female in Washington in the Senate. She is the 4^th highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, and is the Majority conference Secretary. In 2001-03 she was chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign. Murray is a member of the U.S. Senate Committee of Appropriations and chair of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. She credits her successful campaigns for Shoreline School District Board of Directors (1985–1989), Washington State Senate (1989–1993), and United States Senate (1993 – present) due to a comment made to her by a state representative years ago telling her that she could not make a difference that she was just a “mom in tennis shoes” so that push her even more to succeed, and as you can see where she is now making a difference serving as our Senator. Murray is married and a mother of two with one grandchild and enjoys spending time with her family.

Dino Rossi was born in Washington to a schoolteacher father and a beautician mother. While he was busy earning his Business degree from Seattle University he was also busy as a janitor waxing the floors of the Space Needle. He was a member of the Senate 1997-2003 and a chairman of the

Senate Ways and Means Committee. In 2003 he was well-known for writing a bipartisan balanced budget that dealt with a massive budget deficit without raising taxes, while still protecting Washington’s most vulnerable citizens. In 2004, Dino ran for governor. He appealed to both parties, becoming the most successful Republican gubernatorial candidate in decades. After the election, he founded the non-partisan, non for profit Forward Washington Foundation, which is dedicated to improving Washington’s business climate. In 2008, Dino ran for governor again because he believed that Washington needed a change in leadership. Dino now serves as a Secretary for the Board of the Special Olympics for the State of Washington. He also is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the School of Business at Seattle University.