1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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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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12 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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2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
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State Representative, 36th District
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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 am running to help make the Seattle monorail board more accountable, to help make the project a success. This will help the Seattle area begin to deal with traffic, congestion and related environmental issues in a positive way. We need to show voters that government can keep its word, that government can function and address problems. We need to deal with mobility issues in a way that maintains the livability of our city. By taking these measures, we can help our environment and our economy.
I personally am running because I had involvement in monorail issues already. In particular, I have a record of effective leadership for an accountable monorail.
In 2000, I co-authored Initiative 53. This "unrepealed" the City Council's repeal of the earlier monorail initiative, but also fixed problems in the earlier initiative by eliminated a route duplication with Light Rail and providing that the final go ahead vote would not come until costs and taxes were disclosed. This was done by turning the ETC into a commission to prepare a monorail plan for voter approval. That approval came last fall. I-53 worked and today the board is underway in planning construction of a 14-mile long Green Line.
In 2001, with law partner Phil Talmadge I represented the ETC and devised the strategy to constitute the monorail board as a stand alone agency. This prevents monorail debt and taxes from competing with social services or other transportation project funding.
In 2002, when the monorail board proposed to create a permanent board that would be all-appointed, and never have elected members, I resigned as their lawyer and led the public advocacy effort to have elected members. I proposed a mixed board of appoitned and elected members. As a result, we now have the two elected members.
I will be a board member that works to assure the monorail meets its financial, design, neighborhood impacts and other challenges. The best way to succeed is for the board to be accountable. Measure to reduce public input or to confine decision making to appoitnive experts do not help. The board must not forget the monorail belongs to everyone -- whether for or against monorail, living east or west of I 5, whether paying MVET or not. As an elected member I will represent all Seattleites. I have been effective, off the board; I will continue to be effective on the board, to move the project forward in an accountable and fair manner. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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Having worked on many boards and on many campaigns, being alawyer versed in State constitutional law and legisltation, being a political consultant, I would say my greatest strength is the broad set of skills, knowledge and contacts I would bring to this position.
I am a generalist. I have litigated several billion-dollar-plus construction project claims. I can help supervise this project from a financial or construction point of view.
I also have renovated homes and read many books on urban design, and use of space. I will watchdog this project from an urban design and aesthetic poitn of view.
I been involved in many volutneer efforts in the communiutes along the Green Line. I will assure the affected communities are heard.
I written opinions pieces in all major newspapers in the region, I started a public policy institute and political committees. I written legislation and initiatives and represented community groups affected by transportation projects. I can be effective on this board even if I have to go outside the board to raise issues in public awareness.
Another relevant trait is character. I resigned my legal representation of this agency -- giving up a client -- in order to fight for having elected members on the board. Any board needs members who will not just "go along to get along" but will fight effectively for principles.
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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.
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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Current of former board member of Coalition for Healthy Communities (affordable housing), Rainier Institute (education, health) (founding member), King County Conservation Voters, Transportation Choices Coalition, Yes for Seattle Advisory Board, 36th District Democratic Organization, 46th District Democratic Organization. Member, Washington State Bar Association and Washington State Trial Lawyers Association.
1985-1997: civil litigation attorney, Baker & McKenzie. International commercial litigation including construction contract cases in the US-Iran Claims Tribunal. Experience in billion dollar construction projects such as Gach Saran oil refienry and Esfahan refinery in Iran.
1992-2003: attorney, private practice, Seattle. Commercial, governmental and other matters.
1992: led coommunity based get out the vote effort in 36th Legislative District in Ballard, Queen Anne, Magnolia, Phinney Ridge, Crown hill. Recruited and organized over 300 volutneers for election day activities. 1993-1994 : Political Vice Chair in 36th District Democrats, recruiting and training precinct committee officers. 1994: candidate for State represetative, 36th District. Got to know the community by knocking on 16,000 doors. 1994 Finance chair for Talmadge for Supreme Court. 1995-1996: law clerk to Justice Philip A. Talmadge. Focus on State constitutional law and government. 1996: board member King County Conservation Voters. Environmental Group. 1997-1998: tobacco litigation. 1999: begin writing on area transporation issues, with pieces published in the Times, P-I, and other papers. 2000: co-authored I-53, Seattle, second monorail iniatiative. 2001: represented monorail agency and devised strategy for stand-alone agency so that monorail funding would not compete with social services. 2001: helped found the Rainier Institute, a bipartisan think tank focusing on health, education and other state issues. 2002: joined board of Transportation Chocies Coalition. Campaigned for monorail measure. 2003: founded Citizens for King County Monorail, an effort to bring monorail planning to the rest of King County. This measure ahs been endorsed by Mayor Ives of Redmond, the Renton Chamber of Commerce, three district organiztions on the East side, and TCC. Over 200 volunteers are gathering signatures. 1997-2003: supervised remodelling and renovation design of three houses. 2003: joined board of Coalition for Healthy Communities, an effort to ensure that real estate developed by the Port provides affordable hosuing and other social benefits.
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The job of the two elected monorail baord members is to represent the people of Seattle and to ensure that board decisions are taken bearing in mind that the monorail belongs to all people in Seattle.
This requires several duties. First, it means being available to the community to explain is going on, and to garner input. I plan to be available to the community.
SEcond, it means being a watchodog or guardian over all the aspects of the project that are significant to Seattleites. Yes, it must be built on time and on budget -- that's what we voted for. But we also want livable neighborhoods and good urban design, integration with all other transit choices, and progressive labor standards. It also means working to garner all social benefits of the project that are possible, from local production creating more jobs, to environmentally sustainable techniques in construction, and otherwise.
Finally, an elected member of the monorail board should communicate to the community the baord's vision and how the project fits into a larger environmental and transportation agenda. |
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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Law degree, NYU School of Law, 1985 Master of Arts degree, Political Science, Columbia University, 1982 Bachelor of Arts degree, Government, Oberlin College 1979 Proyecto Linguistico Francisco Marroquin Spanish certificate, Guatemala, 1978
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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