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
Richard	G.	Cole

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

Redmond City Council #5

3. Are you the incumbent? Yes

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

24 years

5. How long have you resided in King County?

34 years

6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Nonpartisan

7. If partisan, please indicate party:

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

Campaign Name:

Cole for Council

Address:

P. O. Box 612

City/State/Zip:

Redmond, WA 98073-0612

Campaign Phone:

425.881.2129

Campaign Fax:

425.861.0163

Campaign E-mail:

rgcole@gte.net

Campaign Website:

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)

Redmond City Council

Elected

1988 - 2003

Council President - 6 years.

Redmond Planning Commission

Appointed

1984 - 1987

Chair

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

Office Title

Year of Run

Washington State Senate - 45^th District

1994

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.)

I want to make Redmond a better place to live, work and play.

I can offer the voters of Redmond a strong financial background that will guide the city to a sound financial footing. We need to prioritize our spending on those projects that will make Redmond a stronger community. This includes investments in the infrastructure including transportation and parks.

We must also protect the residential neighborhoods from zoning changes that would change the existing character of the area.

I can also offer considerable experience in representing Redmond with other government entities, including other cities, King County, Washington State and in Washington D.C. I have been working with elected officials from these groups for many years and have easy access about issues that affect Redmond.

It is important to me that Redmond residents have easy access to their government. I have always been very available to meet with people and help them work through challenges with governments at all levels. I continue to receive compliments from citizens that remember problems that I helped them with years ago.

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

Integrity, a strong ethical background and a respect for the law. Voters should be able to trust their elected officials to lead by example and always be above reproach in their dealings with all parties.

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.

I led the change in Redmond to switch from an annual budget to a bi-annual budget cycle. This allowed the staff to focus on longer term objectives as well as it freed up considerable time in the off years to concentrate on their work assignments. Since Redmond moved, other jurisdictions have followed.

I was the first Redmond elected official to lobby for a tagging wall and a skateboard park. By working with the police and youth representatives we were able to present a plan to the administration and council that was approved and built. The benefits to Redmond were immediate. Tagging (spray painting or grafitti) declined immediately and damage to the community from skateboards was minimized. Much of the costs for the initial project were donated from the local community. I could have not accomplished this without innovative police officers that wanted to work with the kids.

I have been honored to be elected as Council President for three consecutive terms. I believe I have been able to greatly improving council communications and operations during this time.

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.

Currently, I helped form and serve as a director and the treasurer of the Lake Washington School District Foundation. (six years)

I represent the City Council as a trustee of the Redmond Chamber of Commerce. (1 1/2 years)

As a Certified Public Accountant I have done pro bono work for non-profit organizations and have helped prepare taxes with the IRS through the VITA program. (throughout my career)

I served as the president of my homeowners association and represented the broader neighborhood in many land use and zoning issues. ( 1980 - 1983).

I serve as a director for my college alumni association (1998 - present)

I also participate in other charitable or non-profit organizations including the Cascade Land Conservancy and Hopelink.

I have represented Redmond on several committees through the Suburban Cities Association. Currently I serve on the Growth Management Planning Council and the Policy Board.

My four daughters were raised in Redmond and gone through the public schools. As a parent, I was involved in youth sports, PTSA's, scouts and other organizations.

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

A council member's job is to listen to the citizens, and staff and also seek out other sources of information in order to set the best policy direction for the city to implement. A broad background in a variety of issues will help you be more effective in this job.

The strongest skill I bring is my financial expertise. I've been a CPA for almost 30 years and have had a variety of experience from accounting to the management of large projects.

I also have some background in engineering which helps me better understand the technical issues that we face. I have some experience as a police officer, which gives me a good perspective on public safety. I've also managed people for almost 30 years. This has helped me to work efficiently with the staff.

The job also requires a considerable commitment of time throughout the year. I have made the time available to work on regional and other issues.

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.

Masters of Accounting - Utah State University - 1972-3

Masters of Business Administration - Utah State University - 1971-2

BS Degree in Political Science - Utah State University - 1963-4.

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