**EXHIBIT      31.1 **

**CERTIFICATION      OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER**

**PURSUANT      TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002**

| I,                Carol K. Nelson, certify that: |
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| 1.                                               | I                have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Cascade Financial                Corporation; |
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| 2.                                               | Based                on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement                of a                material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make                the                statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements                were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this                report; |
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| 3.                                               | Based                on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information                included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all material                respects                the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of                the                registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this quarterly                report; |
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| 4.                                               | The                registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for                establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as                defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant                and                have: |
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|                                             | a) | designed                such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure                controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to                ensure                that material information relating to the registrant, including its                consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those                entities, particularly during the period in which this report is                being                prepared; |
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|                                             | b) | designed                such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal                control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision,                to                provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial                reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external                purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting                principles; |
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|                                             | c) | evaluated                the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures                and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness                of                the controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered                by this                report based on such evaluation; and |
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|                                             | d) | disclosed                in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over                financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent                fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an                quarterly report) that has materially affected, or is likely to affect,                the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting;                and |
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| 5.                                               | The                registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based                on our                most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the audit                committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons performing                the                equivalent function): |
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|                                             | a) | all                significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or                operation of internal controls which are reasonably likely to adversely                affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and                report                financial information; and |
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|                                             | b) | any                fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other                employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal                controls over financial reporting. |
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| Date:                May 8, 2006                 |   | /s/                Carol K. Nelson |
|                                             |   |   |   | Carol                K. Nelson, President and Chief Executive                Officer |

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