When voters head to the polls next September to choose finalists for a new 5th District congressional representative, among the candidates will be the top executives of Spokanes biggest law firm and one of its few publicly traded national companies.


To have two such prominent businessmenPaine Hamblen Coffin Brooke & Miller LLP Managing Partner Shaun Cross, and WestCoast Hospitality Corp. Chairman Don Barbierirunning for office here, and against one another, is rare, but could become more common, says Janet Gilpatrick, a political and strategic consultant here and a former high-ranking aide to U.S. Speaker of the House Tom Foley.


The economy is one of the decisive issues that make people vote the way they vote, and businesspeople are well-suited to discussing the economy, Gilpatrick says. Plus, she says, voters increasingly are favoring political outsiders.


The race even has piqued the interest of the Seattle media.


Mike Flynn, publisher of the Puget Sound Business Journal, wrote recently that Barbieri is an example of that rarest of breedsa top business leader whos willing to run for a high-visibility elected position. Flynn went on to say that the last time a business leader ran for major office in this state was when Booth Gardner left Lanoga Corp. in 1982 to run for Pierce County executive, on his way to the governors office.


He added that its a sad commentary if the best leaders dont find it worthwhile to run for public office.


For their part, Barbieri and Cross believe their business backgrounds will be an asset in their quests.


Cross says he believes that votersmany of whom are business owners or employeesare frustrated with career politicians, who run from political office to political office, without the experience of meeting a budget at a business or of ensuring an operations success.


Theres a growing disconnect between that class and the rest of the country, he asserts.


Barbieri says that meeting the needs of WestCoasts 5,000 employees is good preparation for meeting the needs of constituents.


Im running on the fact that my years of practical, on-the-ground experiencehiring and employing and understanding families needsmakes me the kind of representative that will serve the district well, he says.


Barbieri and Cross are just two of a handful of candidates whove announced that theyre campaigning for the Congressional seat being vacated by Rep. George Nethercutt. All of the candidates have a background of value for a congressional representative, says Rich Hadley, president of the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce.


So far, however, Cross and Barbieri are the only political neophytes.


Republican contenders whove announced their candidacies include state Rep. Cathy McMorris, who worked for a family-owned orchard for a dozen years; state Sen. Larry Sheahan, an attorney with a small firm; and Spokane County Sheriff Mark Sterk, who previously served in the state House of Representatives. Barbieri is the lone Democrat in the field, at this point.


Barbieris and Crosss decision to run for office will affect the companies they head, now and in the future.


Later this month, Cross will give up the position of managing partner at Paine Hamblen, although hell remain a partner there. If he wins the primary election next September, hed take a sabbatical to campaign full time, and if he wins the general election in November 2004, hed resign, he says.


David Broom, another Paine Hamblen partner, says the big Spokane-based firm, which employs 152, will miss Crosss talents as managing partner, but that the process of choosing his successor should be seamless.


Broom adds that any time a lawyer is elected to national office, that lawyers firm gains prestige, but for now Paine Hamblen is focused on naming another managing partner and continuing to serve its clients.


WestCoast Hospitality executives wouldnt comment on what Barbieris candidacy means to the company, citing U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulations.


Barbieri, however, says he would relinquish the chairmanship of the company if hes elected to Congress. He retired from the positions of president and CEO of the company last year.


Making the candidacies of Barbieri and Cross even more intriguing is that the men are contemporaries and friends.


Barbieri was chairman of the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce in 2001-2002, and Cross was to hold that position next year.


He withdrew from being in line to serve in that post, however, after deciding to run for office.


Hadley, the chamber president, says both Barbieri and Cross have been active leaders in the chamber. He believes that experience might have played a role in prompting the two to run for office.


Its pretty broadening to be in our leadership, he says.


Hadley notes, however, that each candidate for the 5th District seat would bring a unique set of talents to the job, and that the chamber likely can expect a good relationship and good access with any of them.


Cross says that his work at the chamber did, indeed, nudge him toward running for office. Other motivations were the political career of one of his contemporaries in Seattle, and his work on the Spokane Public Facilities District board in garnering voter approval for the convention-center expansion here.


The convention-center process has shown me that one person can make a difference, Cross says. I think I did contribute to the proposition being passed. Its pretty neat to think you could play a role in creating 2,000 new jobs, he says, referring to the projected total of construction and hospitality-industry jobs that are expected to be created as a result of the expansion.


Barbieri says hes had a yen to serve in public office since his college days, and that the inclination was strengthened by the years he spent building WestCoast Hospitality from a small real estate company to a publicly traded lodging and entertainment conglomerate.


I looked at my toolbox and I said, Its full of things that can address the needs of the 5th District, and I have a passion for addressing needs that can affect my kids and my grandkids, he says.


In conversations, Barbieri and Cross each cite many of the same issues as their priorities if they were to be elected to officeeconomic development, jobs, health care, and education.


Both also say they dont expect to contribute significant amounts of their own money to their campaigns, as some businesspeople in recent high-profile races have done.


Both Barbieri and Cross also make much of their outsider status, and say they believe it will help them when voters go to the polls.


Gilpatrick, the political consultant, says thats definitely the trend in U.S. politics.


There used to be an expectation that politicians worked their way up through the political ranks, she says, but I dont think thats true anymore.