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
Jim	P.	Robinson

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

Redmond City Council Position #7

3.   Are you the incumbent?                  Yes              

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

20 years

5.   How long have you resided in King County?

30 years

6.   Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan?         Nonpartisan         

7.   If partisan, please indicate party: 

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

Campaign Name:	Jim Robinson for Redmond City Council
Address:	16225 Redmond Way Ste. M PMB 398
City/State/Zip:	Redmond, WA. 98052
Campaign Phone:	425-941-8829
Campaign Fax:
Campaign E-mail:	jamesprobinson@earthlink.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 3 Terms	Elected	1992 to 2003	Councilmemberl

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

Office Title	Year of Run
State Representative 48^th District  - Withdrawal	2002

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.)

Why am I running for office?  As a young man I travelled extensively all over the world.  I have sold English Bone China door-to door in West Germany, been through the Palistinian Camps in Beirut, floated down the Zambize River in Southern Africa and walked through the slums of Rio de Janerio.  I realized early on that freedom and democracy are very precious and very fragile.   When I moved to Redmond I tried to get involved by applying to the different boards and commissions.  I believe, to this day that the difference between a community staying good or going bad is it involvement by it's citizens (church, little league, lunch buddies, senior activities - everything counts).   The mayor during this time period never appointed me to any of the city positions (after repeated tries) but members of the council did appoint me to two citizen committees - Sensitve Area Ordinance and the Redmond Governance Committee.  In 1991, I decided to run for city council.  What  pushed me over the edge to actually file was a racial slur by one of the older neighborhood kids.  He referred to my son as a "China Boy."  My son is half Japanese half Caucasian.  With that, I started doorbelling in May and stopped the last week in October.  I won with about 65%.  Since the 1991 election there has been little interest in council races.  I ran unopposed for two additional terms.  This year was different but not much.  Until the last day of filing I was unopposed.  Mayor Ives and her slate of candidates didn't make their moves until the end of the day on Friday.  Until filing week most of these candidates had been silent. 

So why I am running today?  First, this is my home, I am here for the long term and I want the best future possible for my son.  Second, although I have been in office the last 12 years, I do not feel my work is complete.   Third, I want to keep working on the downtown and city hall plans until a level of resolution or implementation has been voted on.  Finally, I want to do my part to make sure Redmond gets its share of the new transportation dollars and that Redmond doesn't squander these critical transportation resources.   This will be my last term.  

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

Courage

Courage to be involved, Courage to ask your friends and neighbors for campaign contributions, courage to lead and courage to follow.  All of this is easy to write but difficult to live.  We live in a world where few people are willing to stand for something but are quick to criticize without offering solutions.  Courage  - You Need it for City Council

Sense of Fairness

In our hearts we almost always know what is right and wrong.   For me this truth holds true today.  However, if there is one thing I have learned over the years, it is that there are two sides to every story.  As a member of a council you must do your home work and you must listen.  To be fair you must know the facts and data - it is as simple as that.

In summary,  I am very proud of my record.  However, I have made mistakes along the way.  These mistakes can be directly traced to my lack of courage and fairness.  

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. 

Accomplishment #1 - Staying married for 22 years.

Accomplishment #2 - In May of 2002 I participated in a 7 day survival course on the high desert plains of Southern Utah.  Specifically, the Boulder Outdoor School of Survival (BOSS, Boulder Utah) offers a seven-day survival experience program.  BOSS had been in business for 38 years and nobody has been voted off the island.  Some of my friends thought  my last brain cells had dissolved - other said go for it.  The average age of the participant is 36 - but men in their sixty’s make it through the course.  BOSS encourages all ages assuming you are in reasonable shape.  At that time (age 51), I was and still am in excellent shape.  I trained for almost a year.  We left Boulder Utah on a Sunday around noon - no tent, no sleeping bag, no stove, no sunglasses, no matches, no toilet paper no electronics no watches - just a blanket, a poncho, two water bottles and the clothes on our backs.  We hiked the first two days without food (there after it was 1,500 calories a day), spent one day on our own and didn't see any one outside of our group until the last day.  By the end, I dropped below 155 pounds for the first time in 20 years.  Up until this time in my life, roughing it was a motel room with no remote for the TV.  In fact if I hadn't gone to college I would still be at home sitting at the kitchen table refusing to eat vegetables.   

This entire week was one of the best weeks of my life.  I will never forget it - totally out of character and my comfort zone - I Survived.

In summary, I have had discipline, drive, and values to survive a survival course and 22 years of marriage - in one way or another this clearly applies to my success on council.

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.

Political

Member Redmond City Council 1992 to 2003

Member Economic Vitality Task Force (Joint Committee

            With Redmond Chamber) 2003

Special Council Committee on Permit Processing 2003

Chair Planning and Public Works Committee 2002 to 2003

Chair Finance and Public Administration Committee1994 to 1997

Chair Parks and Human Services Committee 1992 to 1993

Eastside Transportation Partnership (ETP) 1997 to 2001

Human Services Round Table 1994 to 1995

Citizens Advisory Committees

            Sensitive Areas Ordinance 1989

            Redmond Governance 1990

Precinct Committee Officer 1974 to 1993

Community

Boys Scouts of America Adult Leader 1997 to 2003

            (Son Keith made Eagle 2002)

Member Presbyterian Church 1993 to Present

Soccer Parent Overlake School 1996 & 1997.

Little League Coach 1993

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

As a member of the Redmond City Council your most important duty is to serve the citizens and set policy.  This is accomplished by ordinance, the budget process and just being available.  Ordinances are rules and regulations that set the standards for our community.  These standards range from building regulations to wetland protection to police and fire regulations.  Setting the budget every two years provides the resources required to implement policy and maintain city services.  Councilmember are also expect to participate on the regional level.  This means meeting with other elected offcials (city, county, state) to discuss and support common projects and interests.  Finally and the most important, a councilmember must serve as a bridge / advocate between the citizen and government.  This means working to resolve local issues that impact neighborhoods and businesses.  

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.

Master of International Management, American Graduate School of International Management, Phoenix Az.

Master of Business Administration Seattle University

BA Political Science Willamette University Salem Oregon

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