1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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First Name |
Middle Initial or Nick Name |
Last Name |
2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
3. Are you the incumbent? Yes
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
5. How long have you resided in King County?
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My entire life |
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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Commission Vice President 2001
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Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board
Puget Sound Water Quality Authority & Council
Association of Washington Cities Board
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Appointed
Appointed
Elected by members
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1998 -2000
1996 - 1999
1992 -1998
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Project Prioritization Chair
Elected President 1996-97
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2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
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Office Title |
Year of Run |
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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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The Port of Seattle is the gateway to Puget Sound’s economic success. In a region that depends on trade for one in three jobs, we need hands at the helm of the Port with experience in creating jobs and the transportation infrastructure to support our economy.
The Port is one of the Puget Sound’s economic engine drivers. We are responsible for 83,000 direct jobs, a half million indirect jobs and wages exceeding $5 billion.
My top job, especially during this economic downturn, has been to ensure the Port’s economic vitality and we’ve succeeded. Over the last four years, we have made the necessary investments to remain a leading West Coast Port.
We’ve doubled the amount of cargo that the Port can handle We are rebuilding Fishermen’s Terminal to keep a viable commercial fishing industry We’ve promptly dealt with increased security issues at our airport and seaport We've brought thousands of new tourism jobs to our region through the expansion of the cruise ship industry
We've also become a better neighbor, bringing our full time environmental compliance staff up to 22 positions. We paid to soundproof 9,000 homes and followed through on the landmark agreement with the Highline School District to upgrade their schools and insulate them from airplane noise through a partnership of the District, the Port, the State and the FAA.
I believe I bring the right combination of regional government and international trade experience to ensure that the Port of Seattle leads the way to a brighter economic future for all of us.
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2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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I am earnest in my desire to see the Puget Sound region be a place where the fourth generation of the Edwards family can live and thrive. It is for this reason that I have spent the better part of my adult life tackling some of our region's toughest issues whether they be trade, transportation or water quality. As a Port Commissioner, I have been fortunate to work with a talented team of staff and other Commissioners to become known as a body that can get things done. An example of this can be seen in my approach to building the 3rd Runway at Sea-Tac. I believe the 3rd Runway is critical to our economic vitality, but I understand the concerns of local residents whose lives will be impacted. That's why I helped put together the Southwest King County Economic Development Initiative with the cities of Burien, DesMoines, Sea-Tac, and Tukwila to ensure some of the economic benefits of the airport expansion are shared by the communities that surround the airport. For the first time, we are working collaberatively, rather than just butting heads and I believe the results will be a win-win for all.
While experience isn't a personal characteristic, it is a great advantage I bring to my role on the Port. Having the background with the Puget Sound Regional Council and Strategic Freight Mobility Investment Board, I was acutely aware of some of the most severe transportation problems our region faced as well as the stake holders around the region. One example of how this experience has helped is in building the FAST corridor of which the Atlantic Street overpass is a major component. This project is vital to ensuring freight gets to market quickly and that it doesn't put an additional burden on our already over-taxed infrastructure. This is a project that needs to be built and I bring the know how as well as the trust of other regional leaders to this project to see it through to completion on behalf of the Port.
The third trait I bring is non-partisanship. Ships don't enter our seaport and airplanes don't fly into Sea-Tac because they are Democratic or Republican ports and airports. They come to the Port of Seattle because it is well run, offers a skilled workforce with quick access to markets. When the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred, we didn't have a partisan response; we had the right response that made us a national model for port security. We installed new x-ray machines before they were mandated or staffed by the TSA. In partnership with the Coast Guard and Customs, we also put in place new procedures to check for potentially hazardous cargo entering our seaport.
The fourth trait is independence. I have been willing to disagree with staff and other Commissioners when I believe it is in the best interest of those who I represent. An example was my vote (the sole one) against the expansion of the Port property tax. While in the future, we may need the revenues, I felt it was more important to save King County taxpayers' money during these difficult economic times.
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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 PUBLIC SERVICE 2000 - Port of Seattle Commission – elected 1999 (2002 President & Chair) 2002 - Washington Public Ports Association - Vice President 1993 - Puget Sound Regional Council ( President, 2000 - 2002) 2000 - Port of Seattle/Port of Tacoma Joint Inland Infrastructure Committee 2002 - Southwest King County Economic Development Initiative - Vice Chair 2002 - SR 509/ I-5 Freight and Congestion Relief Project 2000 - SR 520 Trans-Lake Washington Project 1999 - I-405 Congestion Relief Project – Design Team Executive Committee 1991 - Growth Management Planning Council - King County (Co-Chair Chair 1995 - 2000) PAST PUBLIC SERVICE 1989 -2000 Renton City Council - Re-elected 1993, 1997 (1993 & 1998 Council President) 1998 -2000 Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board 1998 - 1999 Trans-Lake Washington Study Committee 1996 - 1999 Puget Sound Water Quality Authority and Council 1992 - 1998 Association of Washington Cities Board (President, 1996 - 1997) 1995 - 1996 Duwamish Coalition (Job Creation subcommittee, Co-Chair) 1992 - 1994 GMPC Fiscal/Economic Development Task Force PROFESSIONAL 1978- Financial Advisor - Corporate Equity & Debt Investments - Closely Held Corporations - Investments/Valuations - Public Entity Financing - Structured Municipal Portfolios 1974 - 1978 Propulsion Staff Engineer - Boeing Aerospace Company
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The Port of Seattle's primary mission is to be a leader in providing services and facilities to accommodate the transportation of cargo and passengers by air, water and land; to provide a home for the fishing industry; and to foster regional economic vitality and a better quality life for King County citizens.
The Port Commission's specific role is to set the policy direction and priorities for Port activities. Ultimately, we are responsible for the entire organization, but specifically, we hire the Port's Chief Executive Officer who is charged with following our policy direction and meeting our priorities.
Like any multi-member organization, it is critical to be able to build coalitions in order to effect policy. For the Port, three votes are required to set or revoke policy, but we try to do better than that. Due to the long term public capital projects the Port is responsible for, we work very hard to get to consensus. To be an effective Commissioner, one must be able to work with others of varying backgrounds, have a good understanding of regional governance and how they interlink to work in the best interests of residents and businesses.
In addition, the Port has taken on an important economic vitality role in the community as the gateway to Puget Sound's trade based economy.
Finally, in light of recent events, the Port now has an increased responsibility in ensuring the safe travel of goods and passengers. |
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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Univ. of Washington, Graduate School of Engineering, 1973-1974 Univ. of Washington, B.S. Aeronautical Engineering, B.S. Physics, 1973 Bellevue High School, Graduate, 1969 |
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