Rossi loses protection of WSP

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Patrol has quit protecting Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi and his family, although the patrol was concerned about his safety as recently as two weeks ago.

A decision to drop round-the-clock security was made last week but was not announced for security reasons, Capt. Fred Fakkema, spokesman for the patrol, told The Seattle Times on Wednesday.

Both Rossi and Gov. Christine Gregoire have received threats since the contentious Nov. 2 election.

Rossi had been guarded by the patrol’s Executive Protection Unit since he was declared governor-elect in November after winning the first ballot count. He also won a machine recount.

Troopers continued to protect him even after a hand recount gave a 129-vote victory to Democrat Gregoire, who was sworn in as governor last month. The patrol had no legal obligation to protect him once Gregoire was declared the winner.

A Republican legal challenge to the election is awaiting trial and ultimately will go to the state Supreme Court.

On Feb. 3, patrol spokesman Capt. Jeff DeVere said the patrol was still concerned for Rossi’s safety and the situation was being reviewed daily.

“We don’t have anything specific, but if you look at the overall level of contentiousness over the election, our goal is to ensure his safety,” DeVere said then.

Rossi was told Feb. 11 that his trooper protection would end at midnight Sunday. The patrol told him it would reassess its decision if he receives more threats, said Rossi spokeswoman Mary Lane.

Fakkema said the decision to drop security was made by outgoing State Patrol Chief Lowell Porter. He said Porter’s replacement, John Batiste, also was consulted. Batiste was appointed by Gregoire last week and started Monday.

Gregoire spokeswoman Kim Contris said the governor had no role in the patrol’s decision.

Fakkema said the cost of protecting Rossi since Dec. 30, the day Gregoire was declared governor-elect, was about $30,000 to $35,000.