02/03/2007

By DAVID AMMONS  / Associated Press

As a sports columnist, Luke Esser tagged himself "Luke the Truth." Today, his assignment is to be "Luke the Miracle Worker."

He's the new state Republican Party chairman.

The party got drubbed in the last election — including Esser's own surprising loss of his state Senate seat in traditionally Republican Bellevue — and starts the 2008 campaign cycle in a deep, deep hole.

Last weekend, GOP grass-roots leaders from the 39 counties dumped Chairwoman Diane Tebelius as the final victim of the election cycle and cast their lot with Esser. Party elders hope his genial personality, persuasive communication skills and Olympia connections will help lead them out of the wilderness.

The reshaping of the state party could also make it more likely that Dino Rossi runs again for governor, although he's still publicly noncommittal.

Campaign pros and GOP legislative leaders say Esser and the fresh new look at the state party are a shot in the arm for a party that hasn't had much good news in a long time. He can help "de-link" state candidates from the national scene that was so damaging last year, said Senate Republican Leader Mike Hewitt.

Attorney General Rob McKenna, Esser's boss for the past dozen years, said his protege has just the right skills to help the party bootstrap itself back into strong contention.

"I see no reason why we can't bounce back," Esser said.

Even Democrats profess to like Esser. House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, said he's seen as a smart and worthy adversary, but added, "We don't plan to yield an inch." The Democrats re-elected Dwight Pelz unanimously last weekend.

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NEW SHERIFF ...

The GOP race was thought to be close, but Esser defeated Tebelius, a longtime party activist and former federal prosecutor, by a landslide 71-43. Both insist that the party election wasn't about assessing blame for the 2004 debacle, but about who would be the stronger and more effective leader for a comeback.

Esser said he told the closed-door gathering that the monster setback was an aberration, but that the first step back is to acknowledge that Washington Republicans were damaged more than in other states.

"We are in a very bad way," Esser says. "We are barely at a third of the House and Senate and we have to acknowledge that and realize that we have a lot of work to do."

Esser knows all too well the sting of loss. The anti-GOP tide swept him out of his Senate seat last fall, even though he was the year's best-financed GOP legislative candidate and had served eight years from the traditionally Republican stronghold.

In picking Esser, the party has turned to a jovial, 6-foot-3, mainstream pol who cut his eyeteeth on electing others, including Sen. Slade Gorton and McKenna to the King County Council and attorney general. He served in top policy posts before and during his eight years in Olympia. He leaves an $85,000 a year salary as McKenna's public outreach director. The party job pays as much as $95,000, but he has to raise the money.

With a law degree, journalism background and a grounding in politics and government, combined with an optimistic and diplomatic demeanor, the 45-year-old bachelor is equipped to take on the daunting task that awaits, his colleagues say.

"Luke is a very skilled politician who understands broad strategy and the nuts-and-bolts of campaigning," McKenna said.

GOP strategist Dave Mortenson said Esser's skills remind him of another Bellevue Republican who shined as chair for a decade before going to Congress, Jennifer Dunn.

"He understands the Legislature, he's done well with the media, he's strong with the financial donors and with the grass roots," Mortenson said.

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OLY CONNECTION

On his first work day as chairman, Esser headed straight to the Capitol to make nice with his old colleagues in the House and Senate Republican caucuses. Some of the old lions had felt the party wasn't properly connected to Olympia, and Esser pledged to work on an aggressive and unified message and to make rebuilding the caucuses Job 1, Hewitt said.

"Luke will be very strong on message," Hewitt says. "The next cycle will be very good for us."

Esser will assign the new party communications director, yet unnamed, to Olympia for the duration of the legislative session. He hopes to amplify the caucuses' increasingly astringent commentaries on one-party control by the Democrats.

Esser said in an interview that the hard-edged contrast can be drawn without getting nasty "or said in a sour, unhappy way."

The Democrats' Pelz, reached at the Democratic National Committee gathering in Washington, D.C., called Esser an old friend from county government days, but said he's not worried about a big GOP rebound.

"He's knowledgeable about sports and his political priorities are all wrong," he said with a laugh. "He is a curious choice, someone who just got bounced from his district after being on the wrong side on the issues he's now espouses for his candidates, like transportation and health care and education."

Pelz and Kessler said Democrats still have gains to be made. Others, including Democratic consultant Terry Thompson, said Democrats have been the "out" party before and that Esser has history on his side when he predicts some rebound gains.

What's doable? Esser said he expects modest gains across the board, but is careful not to over-promise.

"I describe my goal as `substantial progress,'" he said. "The ultimate goal is to become the majority party, but the first step is to restore two-party balance so that one party does not have unbridled control of all levers of power in Olympia. People want checks and balances."

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THE ROSSI UPDATE ...

Dino Rossi, who had worried about the party's ability to raise money, micro-target voters and generate excitement among the grass roots, said this week that he expects Esser, his old Senate colleague, to skillfully handle those essentials and to quickly raise the party's visibility.

Rossi lost the 2004 governor's race to Democrat Chris Gregoire by 133 votes after three counts and a half-year court battle. He declined to comment on speculation that if Tebelius had been re-elected, he would forgo a rematch for governor next year, fearing his own party wasn't up to the task of supporting him.

"Let's just say that I'm pleased that Luke is chairman," Rossi says. "He will restore the connection with people who financial support our candidates. The grass roots of our party are definitely ready to come back in '08. It is clear that sitting around and whining and moping isn't doing any good."

For now, Rossi said he's taking his family to Disneyland, working on his Forward Washington foundation, doing a PowerPoint speech on "Olympia's fiscal irresponsibility" and still describing his own candidacy as 50-50.

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BITS & PIECES ...

_VRRROOM? Or not. Lt. Gov. Brad Owen and Rep. Geoff Simpson, D-Covington, are pushing for a new NASCAR speedway in Kitsap County. Reaction has been underwhelming so far, as lawmakers and the governor continue to await full details on both this project and a new arena for the SuperSonics.

_PELOSI CONNECTION. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's new chief administrative officer, Daniel Beard, is a Washington state product, with master's degree and doctorate from the U-Dub. He has worked in public policy and management for Congress, the White House and the private and nonprofit sectors.

_THE NAME GAME. Eastern Washington's 5th District congresswoman, Cathy McMorris, is now using her married name, Cathy McMorris Rodgers. She's pregnant with her first child.

_NEW TITLE. Ann Daley, state government's all-purpose player, has a few role. She's new director of the Higher Education Coordinating Board, leaving her post as head of the Washington Learns commission that studied education from early learning through K-12 and college. She is former state budget director, assistant state treasurer, UW regent, and was HEC Board director from 1989 to 1993.

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David Ammons is the AP's state political writer and has covered the statehouse since 1971. He may be reached at P.O. Box 607, Olympia, WA 98507, or at dammons@ap.org on the Internet.