Sources: Zarelli out - Rivers in.

Sources were telling me that State Senator Joe Zarelli (Republican -18) will not be filing for re-election.
State Representative Ann Rivers (R-LaCenter) will run for the open seat.

Zarelli has been an occasional... but only occasional... subject in this blog.

Zarelli became my state senator when I moved into the 18th District some 9 years ago, but I knew of him for much longer.

Our disagreements notwithstanding, he has always had my respect and admiration... if not down right wonder... for his struggle to become a legislator.

He barely lost to then Representative Betty Sue Morris (D-Hazel Dell)  in the 18th back in 1994.  That was the year, you may recall, when State Senator Linda Smith confounded the experts and used both a write-in and the GOP wave to eliminate leftist Congresswoman Jolene "The winds of hate have swept the land" Unsoeld from office.

As a result, Zarelli fought hard and was the near-unanimous choice of the 18th District PCO's to be appointed to Smith's now vacant seat.

Instead, the Commissioners, all democrats at the time, picked the weakest candidate and appointed Hal Palmer from Longview for the job.

Joe ran against Palmer and defeated him easily in the primary that year, going on to win convincingly in the general... only to have to run AGAIN, for the THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR, to keep the seat for the next regular 4 year term.

That kind of pressure and hard work astounded me then.

It still does today.

Joe went on to rise through the ranks to the Chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, where, even after the GOP lost the Majority, his presence was still felt as the Ranking Member.

Most recently, because of the efforts of Zarelli and Senator Don Benton and many others, the democrat controlled legislature was forced to adopt a budget substantially authored by Senator Zarelli.

While occasional controversy has marked his career (Much like it seems to have marked my own) I believe that Senator Joe Zarelli has served us nobly and well... and I believed he will be missed.

State Representative Ann Rivers has been a GOP phenom.  Already showing accomplishment in her seat in the minority that puts her predecessor to shame for her lack of production, Rivers has been tagged as a rising Republican star, successfully able to navigate waters to pass legislation that stump many less capable of reading the currents, flows and eddies that result from a minority position in the House.

Her conservative credentials are a shining example of what representation is SUPPOSED to be.  Now firmly positioned in the legislative transportation realm, Rivers has been a stalwart voice in opposition to the CRC debacle, tolls and light rail in the face of wide-ranging incompetence and quite apparent corruption.

I look forward to the campaign which should result in her victory.