1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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First Name |
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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32 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan
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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Student Body President, University of Washington
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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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King County is struggling. Transportation is gridlocked, the Elections Department is having trouble getting ballots out to citizens in a timely fashion, and a County-appointed Blue Ribbon Commission recently declared that the County budget is in "crisis." I believe it is time for a change on the King County Council.
My top priorities are solving the County’s budget crisis, reducing the size of the King County Council to nine members, preserving open space, maintaining human services, ensuring the region has an effective rapid transit system, and getting citizens involved again with King County government.
I differ in a fundamental way from my opponent. In a recent forum, she said “King County is a quiet government.” My response was that it’s too quiet. I believe my personality and work ethic are the qualities necessary to make King County relevant again to the voters of the Second District. I have knocked on over 17,000 doors as I take my campaign directly to the voters. Trust me, nobody out there knows much, if anything, about their County government. Interestingly, these same voters are very knowledgeable about city, state and federal issues. The County needs to do a better job of communicating with the public. I will make that happen by bringing back a volunteer citizen committee that was successful in the 1970's and 1980's in researching and suggesting legislation for the County Council. I also support having Council meetings rotate once a month so that they are held in each District at least once each year.
I believe that for democracy to work, elected officials must face serious challengers. For example, my opponent was first elected in 1983. Since that time, she faced token opposition in her reelection bids in 1987 and 1991, and ran completely unopposed in 1995 and 1999. In fact, it is rare for any County Councilmember to have serious opposition. A glance at this year's filings reveals that only two of the other six councilmembers up for reelection have an opponent. Voters need and deserve a choice at the ballot box. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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1. I have the ability to work with people of diverse backgrounds. For example, as an attorney at Preston Gates & Ellis, I represented corporate clients such as Microsoft. In contrast, my legal background also includes representing death row inmates and members of the Yaqui Indian Tribe in Arizona. I also directed an emergency service center in an inner-city, working extensively with the disadvantaged. To be effective, an elected official must have the ability and desire to work with all constituents. I have demonstrated that ability.
2. When I set goals, I accomplish them. For example, when I was nine years old, I watched the Washington State Chess Championship (a competition between the top 8 chess players in the State, generally all adults). At that point, I set a goal to someday win that tournament. Each year I made progress toward that goal. Nine years later, I was the Washington State Chess Champion at age 18.
As a young adult, I began climbing mountains. I set a goal to climb the highest point in all 50 states. Thus far, I have reached the highest point in 45 different states including Mt. Rainier and Gannett Peak in Wyoming. I look forward to completing the final five peaks on my list.
In my race for King County Council, I set a goal to doorbell every precinct in the district so I could personally communicate with the voters regarding County issues and listen to their concerns. As of August 11th, I have completed 85% of the precincts and will complete the entire district by the end of August. At that point, I will start doorbelling as many precincts as possible a second time.
My ability to set and achieve goals will be useful on the Council. The challenges facing our County will not be solved overnight. Rather, they require setting long-term goals and working each day to reach them.
3. I am open-minded. I listen and weigh each issue on its merits. I don't have a knee-jerk reaction to a proposal or preclude consideration based on who makes the proposal. I listen to all sides of the issue and then decide what is in the best interest of the public.
4. Perseverance and work ethic. I am not afraid to work hard to achieve my goals. For example, I took an extended leave of absence from my law firm and committed myself to unseating a 20-year incumbent. |
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.
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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Attorney, Preston Gates and Ellis (1997-2002, currently on leave). At Preston, I represented several local governments in King County on a wide range of issues including the proposed Brightwater sewage treatment plant, the Third Runway, and content regulation of the voters pamphlets. I also represented local governments in their successful constitutional challenges to Tim Eyman's initiatives. I was part of the legal team that represented the Public Facilities District when the Seattle Mariners sought $100 million in Safeco Field cost overruns from the taxpayers.
I engaged in an extensive pro bono practice while I was at Preston. My pro bono work includes providing representation for groups working to preserve open space in King County (Kruckeberg Botanic Garden Foundation and the Friends of Seward Park).
Executive Director, King County Democrats (1990-1992). I handled all facets of the King County Democrats office, including fundraising, budgeting, events, voter contact, and informing the public about the organization.
Student Body President, University of Washington (1988-89). I lobbied the State Legislature on behalf of the University students. My successful efforts to get students involved in this process with large rallies eventually led to being named "Newsmaker of the Week" by the Tacoma News Tribune. I also initiated a voter registration effort that registered thousands of new voters. As an executive, I was responsible for a large budget and numerous programs.
University of Washington Board of Regents, Ex-officio member (1988-89). I represented the student population on the Board of Regents and worked closely with the Regents on a wide range of University-related issues.
I have knocked on over 17,000 doors in the District (2003). I detail this experience above.
I teach chess to elementary students throughout King County as part of after-school enrichment programs. I am also the coach of the Lakeside High School chess team which won the State Championship last year (2002-2003).
Other relevant experience includes:
After law school, I postponed private practice to serve as a law clerk (staff attorney) for a federal trial court judge and a federal court of appeals judge (1995-1997).
I received a public interest law grant to represent death row inmates in Arizona and members of the Yaqui Indian Tribe (1993).
Legal advisor, NAACP Legal Defense Fund (1993-94).
Director, St. Andrew Emergency Services Office (1989-90).
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The duty of a King County Council member is to represent the entire County to improve the quality of life for our residents. In the 2nd King County Council district, the primary duties of the County are transportation (Metro Transit), the court system, elections, parks, human services and the wholesale provider of sewer services. Regionally, the County also plays an important role in health as part of the Seattle-King County Board of Health and transportation as part of the Regional Transportation Improvement District. In the unincorporated portions of the County, the County is also responsible for providing basic services such as police and zoning.
The single most important responsibility of any elected official is to be accessible to their constituents, listen to them, and provide opportunities for the residents of King County to participate in the decision-making process. I believe in this principle so strongly that I am walking every block in every neighborhood to speak with every Primary voter in the District. The response from the voters is encouraging. They hunger for personal representation from their elected officials and really appreciate when a candidate takes the time to come to their door. People live busy lives. They have families and jobs. They do not always have time to get personally involved in the political process, but are so appreciative when government comes to their door. As noted above, I also believe that County Council meetings should be moved from weekday afternoons to evenings, and held in different council districts to give citizens the opportunity to come and participate in the legislative process.
Finally, I believe it is the responsibility of the County Council to provide adequate services for the disadvantaged in our community. |
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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B.A., Political Science, University of Washington; J.D., New York University School of Law. |
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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Attorney, Preston Gates and Ellis. Represented local governments, including successful challenges to Tim Eyman initiatives. Pro bono service for groups working to preserve open space.
Law clerk (staff attorney) for a federal trial court judge and federal court of appeals judge.
Legal advisor, NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Yaqui Indian Tribe.
Executive Director, King County Democrats.
Director, St. Andrew Emergency Services Office.
Student Body President, University of Washington. |
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