Diane Tebelius, 8th Congressional District candidate, "never stops"
She drove a grain truck when she was 9 and barely able to reach the pedals, braved snowdrifts that reached the roof of their farmhouse, and learned the three R's in a one-room school.
The experience helped mold a prosecutor and political activist who friends say is extraordinarily hard-working and tenacious.
Tebelius, a retired federal prosecutor and for many years one of the GOP's top organizers on the Eastside, is making her first run for Congress. As of June 30, she had raised $328,000 and knocked on 3,000 doors.
Her husband of 19 years, Rob McCallum, also her professional and political ally, said she often rises at 5 a.m. and urges him to join her water-skiing in the pre-dawn calm on Lake Sammamish.
"She is probably the hardest-working individual I have ever met," said former boss Brian Kipnis, an assistant U.S. attorney. "She is like having three people in the body of one person. I don't know when she slept."
Four years ago, Tebelius won a coveted seat on the GOP national committee. She pulled an upset victory over an incumbent by visiting state party members each weekend and winning them over.
"She is the ultimate Type A personality. She never stops," said state GOP Chairman Chris Vance.
Most difficult job: teacher
Tebelius said that while growing up, her parents emphasized the importance of education and encouraged her to read books. She also was an eager debater.
She graduated from Walla Walla College, a Seventh-day Adventist school, with a degree in history and her teaching credentials.
She then taught math at public schools in Southern California for five years.
"Teaching was the most difficult job I ever had and the most important job I ever had," she said — difficult because students bring with them all their problems and can be tough to deal with, and important because children are "our future," she said.
After teaching, Tebelius earned a law degree in California, then moved to Washington, D.C., to earn a master's degree in law and taxation.
She was hired as special counsel to the U.S. Senate budget committee in 1981, helping work on President Reagan's first budget bill and first tax bill before joining the Justice Department.
Tax enforcer
In 1986, she and McCallum moved to Bellevue and found themselves on opposite sides of the legal system.
He took a job defending taxpayers; Tebelius took a job as an assistant U.S. attorney, with responsibilities including recovering money from tax cheats.
For example, one of her cases involved a chiropractor who transferred his assets to fictitious trusts in a complicated scheme to avoid paying income tax, she said.
"It bothers me that people seek to take advantage of the government," she said. "Taxpayers expect the government to pursue those people. I'm big on fairness."
Others see that quality in her as well.
"She has an incredible amount of integrity," said federal prosecutor Jamie Mittet, a friend and former co-worker. "You could trust her with anything. She's as honest as they come."
Former U.S. Attorney Kate Pflaumer, a Clinton appointee who stepped down after President Bush was elected in 2001, saw Tebelius' work up close.
"She was a very good trial lawyer ... and queen of the bankruptcy docket," Pflaumer said. "She juggled an extremely intense caseload. Sometimes she was criticized for dropping a ball here and there and being intensely political."
Tebelius was one of three finalists considered by the White House to succeed Pflaumer, but Seattle lawyer John McKay got the job.
"Heavy on strategy"
Tebelius has worked her way up the ranks of the state Republican Party, helping out on campaigns including five successful re-election bids by Jennifer Dunn, the 8th District incumbent who is retiring from politics.
"She's very, very heavy on strategy," said Bob Strauss, a member of the state party's executive board. He said Tebelius is expert in orchestrating campaigns — how to launch them, whom to call to raise money and when to send mailings. She is a pragmatist rather than a philosophical ideologue, he added.
Some rural and Eastern Washington Republican insiders resent Tebelius and the whole "Bellevue crowd" they feel runs the party.
Two people Tebelius has sparred with — the national committeewoman Tebelius ousted four years ago, Gretchen Horton Kuch, of Spokane, and former state party chairman Don Benton, whom Tebelius also helped oust — describe her as an ambitious woman who sometimes forms allegiances for her own advantage.
Vance says Tebelius is good at smoothing internal conflicts and keeping members focused on races.
In 1996, Tebelius worked as the state vice chairwoman on the unsuccessful Dole-Kemp for President campaign. Her husband was campaign chairman.
"It was a lot of time, effort and heartbreak in the end," said McCallum, who is helping with his wife's latest campaign.
Tebelius said she has thought about running various times over the years — including consideration of a bid for attorney general this year — and considers it a natural step to move from organizing campaigns to running for office herself.
Tebelius was the second Republican candidate to file for Dunn's seat and has raised the most money of the four GOP contenders. King County Sheriff Dave Reichert is second with $266,000 raised by late June, $62,000 less than Tebelius.
For her part, retiring incumbent Dunn is staying out of the race until after the primary, saying she does not want to favor one Republican candidate over another. Dunn did say she expects Tebelius may get a slight boost in the polls by virtue of being the only woman in the GOP race. It's a tough race, though, Dunn said.
"It's a trial by fire," she said. "It's a great way to earn the congressional seat."
Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com
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