2003 Candidate Questionnaire

 

SECTION I               

 

BASIC CANDIDATE INFORMATION

 

1.      Name as it will appear on the ballot

 

First Name

Middle Initial or Nick Name

Last Name

Phil

 

Noble

 

2.   Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):

 

City Council Member, City of Bellevue, Position 7

 

3.   Are you the incumbent?                  Yes               

 

4.   How long have you resided in this district/city?

 

40 years

 

5.   How long have you resided in King County?

 

40 years

 

6.   Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan?         Nonpartisan         

                                                                                                                       

7.   If partisan, please indicate party:       

 

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

 

Campaign Name:

Friends to Re-Elect Phil Noble

 

Address:

 

3720 140th N.E.

 

City/State/Zip:

 

Bellevue, WA  98005

 

Campaign Phone:

 

(425) 869-1734

 

 

Campaign Fax:

 

     

 

 

Campaign E-mail:

 

     

 

 

Campaign Website:

 

www.electnoble.com

 

 

POLITICAL BACKGROUND

 

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)

Bellevue City Council

 

Elective

 

2000-2003

 

     

 

Bellevue Transportation Commission

 

Appointive

 

1992-1999

 

Chair

 

Bellevue School Board

 

Elective

 

1983-1991

 

Board President

 

 

2.   If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:

 

Office Title

Year of Run

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 


 


SECTION III

 

In this section, we are seeking responses that reflect the four ratings criteria: involvement, effectiveness, character, and knowledge.  These are defined as follows:

 

  • Involvement: What has the candidate done previously in family, neighborhood, community, volunteer work, employment or public life to suggest readiness to accomplish challenging objectives? How do these activities demonstrate readiness for the challenges unique to the office sought?

 

  • Effectiveness: Has the candidate demonstrated promise of being productive in the office sought?  Has the candidate shown the ability to work with other people?

 

  • Character: Do the candidate's personal traits show the ability to take on the responsibilities of campaigning for and holding the public office she or he is seeking? Is the candidate a leader, participant or observer?  Is the candidate trustworthy, reliable and candid?

 

  • Knowledge: Has the candidate demonstrated the willingness and ability to learn and adapt?  Does the candidate understand the duties and challenges of the office sought?  Does the candidate have a firm grasp of the issues important to his or her constituency and their potential effects?

 

 

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.)

 

When I ran in 1999 I focused on four major issues:  transportation, strong neighborhoods, economic vitality, and efficient government services.  While I have been on the City Council the City has made significant progress in all of these areas:  we have just started many needed local transportation improvements; as a region we are finally starting to reach some consensus on freeway and transit projects; we have launched a neighborhood enhancement initiative; we have just completed a study and plan for the downtown commercial area; we are implementing programs to make city services more accessible and efficient.  However, more remains to be done.  I want to continue working on these programs and initiatives to be sure their purpose and vision are carried through.

 

In addition, my experience will be important to the City inasmuch as the Council is losing two knowledgeable and respected members and our City Manager is relatively new.  The City will be facing new challenges in areas such as human services, criminal justice, water supply, solid waste, regional governance, and many others.  I want to continue to be part of the solution to these and other City issues.

 


 

2.      Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.

 

I believe my most important personal characteristics are the ability to (1) listen, (2) organize and analyze information, and (3) speak cogently (including public speaking).

 

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. 

 

a.  Launching a neighborhood revitalization initiative:  of significant concern is the decline of some of our neighborhoods – growing older with aging infrastructure.  I raised this problem with City staff and helped formulate a strategy.  A pilot initiative was launched to bring neighborhood representatives together with City staff and council members to identify capital improvements and programs (such as yard cleanups) designed to upgrade the feel and livability of the area selected (West Lake Hills neighborhood).  A number of projects were identified and have been initiated and funded.

 

b.  Creating a new school:  while on the school board I helped design a new school approach and then advocated for its acceptance by the State.  It centered around seven years of limited core courses, interdisciplinary instruction, multi-grade classes, senior year project, community as a classroom, etc.  This led to the formation of the Bellevue International School.

 

c.  While serving on the 520 Translake committees I used data and analysis to bring competing interests together to consider a common range of solutions.


 

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.

 

Bellevue City Council (2000 – 2003) – council member

Eastside Transportation Partnership (2001-03) – vice chair

Eastside Human Services Forum (2002-03) – secretary

PSRC Transportation Policy Board (2001-03) – member

Regional Policy Committee (2003) – participant

Bellevue Economic Partnership (2001-03) – participant

Bellevue Transportation Commission (1991-99) member – chair 3 years

Bellevue Traffic Task Force (1999) - chair

Bellevue Quality School (1992) - chair

Bellevue School Board (1982 –91) – member – Board president 2 years

Bridle Trails Community Association (1991 to current) – participant

Bellevue Rotary Club (1995 to current ) - member

 

 

  1. Please describe the duties of the office you seek.  Which are the most important duties and why?

 

The primary duties are :  (1) setting policy direction for the city, (2) hiring a well qualified city manager to run the city, (3) listen and be responsive to the needs of residents and community members, (4) assure basic services (e.g., fire, safety, utilities, roadways, waste handling) are provided, (5) be a fiduciary of the community’s tax revenues and assets, (6) direct the preparation of and accept a budget, and (7) work with other jurisdictions and advocate for policies and programs for the benefit of Bellevue citizens.  The first 5 could be considered “most important” because they are fundamental to a legitimate, working city council and are the minimum residents expect.


EDUCATION BACKGROUND SUMMARY

FOR PUBLICATION IN CANDIDATE EVALUATION REPORT

 

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.

 

     

 

CIVIC INVOLVEMENT SUMMARY

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.

 

     

 

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.

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND GOOD LUCK IN YOUR CAMPAIGN!

 

THE MUNICIPAL LEAGUE OF KING COUNTY

 

Candidate Evaluation Coordinator:  Rebecca Cooper

 

810 Third Avenue, Suite 224                  Phone: 206-622-8333                Email: rebecca@munileague.org

Seattle, WA 98104-1614                        Fax: 425-671-0506                        Website: www.munileague.org