1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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Middle Initial or Nick Name |
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2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
3. Are you the incumbent? No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
5. How long have you
resided in
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50 Years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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1. Beginning with the most recent position, please list public offices which you have held. Include positions on appointive Boards or Commissions.
Public Office |
Elective or Appointive? |
Dates Held |
Leadership Role (if any) |
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Board Member, O'Dea High School
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2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
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In this section, we are seeking responses that reflect the four ratings criteria: involvement, effectiveness, character, and knowledge. These are defined as follows:
1. In a page or less, why are you running for this office? (Note: the interview committee will be given a copy of this statement before your interview; at the beginning of your interview you will have the opportunity to expand on this statement in any way you wish.)
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I believe that Bellevue is one of the premier regional cities in the Pacific Northwest. It is a great city to raise a family, it is committed to strong neighborhoods, and it has the opportunity to create a vibrant downtown.
I’m running for the city council because I want to continue that vision for the city. I have a demonstrated record as a community builder and I want to bring that positive attitude to the Bellevue City Council. In addition, my 15-years of service in the public sector and my private sector experience provide an excellent background for a city council member.
My civic involvement spans the last three decades. I served on the committee that passed the Open Space Bond Issue in 1989. I’ve worked with the American Red Cross. Currently, I have a leadership role on the board of my community association and act as the Good Neighbor Chair. I am a member of the Bellevue Planning Commission and proud of the work we’ve done promoting strong neighborhoods, a vital downtown, and streamlining the process for construction and remodeling of Bellevue schools. I am on the Board of Directors of O’Dea High School in Seattle and serve as a lector at Sacred Heart Church in Bellevue. I serve on two regional boards promoting economic development. And I have been heavily involved in the regional transportation issue.
Professionally, I was a reporter, manager and editor at KIRO radio in Seattle when the station was twice recognized as best in the country. I’ve been the Chief of Staff of the King County Council and serve in the same capacity for the Snohomish County Council.
My background is about building community. When a decision is made, I see it as time to move to implementation, not obstruction.
I have a passion for a number of issues important to Bellevue:
· Our neighborhoods must be strong and feel a sense that the city cares. · Public safety is one of the most important jobs for any local government. · Bellevue must protect and enhance its parks and open space and always be a “city within a park.” · Protecting the fiscal integrity of the city while protecting the taxpayers is a critical element for a city council member. · We need to make transportation investments at the regional level that reduce congestion and make certain our neighborhoods are safe from cut-through traffic. · We must always remember and assist those who cannot help themselves, or those who have had a temporary setback. The best way to do that is through strong private non-profits and working with our faith-based communities.
I am excited about the opportunity to serve the citizens of Bellevue on the City Council and to bring my positive perspective to city hall. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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I have an ability to listen to people express opinions, study issues, and then distill that information into a solution that works. This ability has served me well throughout my professional career. It is a characteristic I would bring to the Bellevue City Council in working with citizens and my fellow council members and staff of the city. I believe I am a person of principle who is open to listening to different perspectives.
I learned this skill in my years working in radio news. You had to listen carefully, sift information, then present it in a very short format. Communication is a two-way street. Once you have listened, you have to make a decision. Explaining that decision to people, in a way that lets them know they were heard, is extremely important.
In my professional career at King and Snohomish counties, I have worked with elected officials and fellow staff members who express strong opinions. As Chief of Staff at both the King and Snohomish County Councils, I've learned you have to balance strongly-stated opinions and personalities with the facts in order to make a well-informed decision.
As I indicated above, I'm a constructionist, not an obstructionist. I've learned that when a decision is made, it is time to put the debate aside and move forward to implement the decision. The region in general is paralyzed by people who continue to fight and obstruct after a well-informed decision is reached.
Finally, I will bring the perspective of a father with young children to the council. My daughters are ages 13 and four. When I ask people at their doorstep about important issues, many say education. While the job of teaching students is best left to the school district, city leaders can set the tone for the importance of education. I enjoy serving as a member of the O'Dea High School Board of Directors because the school played an important part in my life. And as a member of Bellevue's Planning Commission, we streamlined the process so Bellevue schools could push forward with their voter-approved construction and remodelling program.
I believe these characteristics will serve the city well.
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3. Please describe in sufficient detail, one to three accomplishments or contributions of which you are most proud. These examples should illustrate effective skills and capabilities you think apply to the office you are seeking. These accomplishments may have occurred at any time in your personal, professional, or public life.
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Creation of King County CTV: I served as the lead staff to create King County's government access channel. This job included the drafting and passage of legislation to create the station and its governing structure, working with citizens to develop the operational policy for the station, the actual construction of the station, development of its programming, and hiring of all the staff. The entire project took about a year to complete and has resulted in a high-quality government access channel that has won numerous awards nationally and reigionally for its coverage. It was a great opportunity to bring together my professional skills in policy and in broadcasting and put them together for the public good.
Twice winning the Edward R. Murrow award as the top Radio News station in the United States: During my tenure at KIRO Newsradio (1977-87) the station won this award twice from the Radio Television News Directors Association. I was part of the team of reporters and editors honored with that award and my on-air work was included in both submissions. I consider this an important accomplishment because it was the result of a team that worked very hard together on a daily basis to achieve excellence. That is what a city council must do.
My work for The Regional Partnership and participation as an alternate voting member of the Central Puget Sound Economic Development District is extremely important to me. Quality of life begins with a job. Sometimes, it takes the harsh reality of a major economc downturn to remind us of that fact. I'm committed to keeping economic development a key element of our strategy in good times as well as bad. |
4. Please list or describe your current and past activities in the community in which you have acquired skills that relate to the office you seek. Include your role in the activity and the year(s) in which you were involved. Involvement consists of many areas such as family, neighborhood, community, employment, or public life.
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Member: Bellevue Planning Commission, appointed 2002 Active in the Vuecrest Community Association since 1991 as a member of the board, Vice President, Chair of the Good Neighbor Committee and Secretary. Member, Puget Sound Economic Development District. I serve as the alternate to Councilmember Dave Gossett on this board that is based on federal law and works closely with the Puget Sound Regional Council Member, Board of Directors, O' Dea High School. I was appointed in 1999 and am in my second term on the board. I've also been active in the school's $5 million capital campaign and its annual auctions. I'm a 1971 graduate of O'Dea. Member, Coordinating Committee for The Regional Partnership. This congress of business, government and labor is an advocate for economic development in the region including regional transportation investments, the importantce of Boeing, and education. The organization was formed this year and played a key role in stressing the importance of legislative action in this past session of the Legislature in the effort to have Boeing build the 7E7 in this state. Staff to the Regional Transportation Investment District: I took the lead role in drafting the operating procedures for this new agency that is developing a regional transportation plan for major highways in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties. I worked with the legal counsel and colleagues in the three counties to draft the agency's operating rules and then was the lead person in putting together the first meeting of the agency, the first time the councils of King, Pierce, and Snhomish Counties had met together. I performed the role as part of my duties as Chief of Staff to the Snohomish County Council. Active in numerous political camapaigns over the past decade and a half. One of which I'm most proud was the successful 1989 open space bond issue in King County that secured the purchase of thousands of acres of property as permanent open space, including areas along the Mercer Slough. Over the past 15 years I've served as a Precinct Committee Officer and board member in the 45th legislative district (GOP) and as the President of the Eastside Republican Club in 1994 and 95. I've been a delegate to numerous conventions including two state GOP conventions.
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As a council member, the most important duty is to listen to your constituents. The most rewarding part of running for the council has been the one-on-one contact at the front door of literally hundreds of Bellevue residents. I find Bellevue residents are generally very pleased with the direction of the city, but they want to make certain they have the ability to be heard. I will listen to the citizens and explain my actions.
A council member must set the tone for an open and accessible government by being personally open and accessible to the citizens. It is critical for individual city councilmembers to work with neighborhoods on a personal basis to understand their issues. And when a project in a neighborhood is completed, the city, and even an individual city council member, should come back and ask neighbors, "is it working?"
In a Council-Manager form of government, the Council acts in much the same way as the board of a publicly held corporation. It must set the vision and goals for the organization and empower the city manager to carry out that vision and goals. It should stay out of the day-to-day running of the government. However, it must constantly work with the city manager to make certain the council's vision is carried out.
As a major regional city, Bellevue city council members must play a critical role in the regional bodies that shape the future of this area. I have worked on major regional issues such as law and justice, transportation, planning, and water quality in the four county Puget Sound region and at the state level.
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EDUCATION BACKGROUND SUMMARY
The Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Report is distributed to voters in print and/or on our website. It includes a summary of the candidate’s education. Please summarize your education in 120 characters (letters, punctuation, and space all combined). The League will delete material that exceeds the space limit by beginning with the last entry. Suggested order is (degree) (subject) (school) (year, if desired).
Note: If this question is left blank the League will not include education information in your candidate profile.
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1991 - Completed the Rocky Mountain Program for Public Sector Managers offered by the University of Colorado - Denver 1975 - BA Communications - Washington State University, emphasis on Political Science 1971 - Graduate, O'Dea High School, Seattle, WA |
FOR PUBLICATION IN CANDIDATE EVALUATION REPORT
The Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Report also includes a summary of each candidate’s civic involvement. Please summarize your civic involvement in the space below. We will make every attempt to include the information in the Candidate Evaluation Report as submitted. Due to space restrictions in the Report, your response is limited to 500 characters (letters, punctuation, and spaces all combined). It is important that you list your involvement beginning with the most important and ending with the least important. If you exceed the length of response permitted, or if the League should find it necessary to shorten responses for publication purposes, deletions will be made beginning with the last item listed.
Note: This information will appear verbatim on the League’s Candidate Evaluation Report. If this question is left blank, the Municipal League will not include information on your civic involvement in the Report.
Check here if you would like the Municipal League to copy the first 500 characters from Question 4 to paste into this section.
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Finished!
If at all possible, send your response to the Municipal League electronically as an attachment, or insert it into an e-mail message (rebecca@munileague.org). Mail and fax numbers are listed below. If the League has not contacted you to schedule an interview, please call the League office at your earliest convenience.
Don’t forget to send the following to the Municipal League: a resume, a photo, campaign literature, and, if you are an incumbent, constituent newsletters and other materials. Please use the check-off list on the cover sheet of this packet to indicate which items you have sent.
Candidate Evaluation Coordinator: Rebecca Cooper
Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: 425-671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org