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
Bob		Wikstrom

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

Redmond City Council, Position #5

3. Are you the incumbent? No

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

5 years

5. How long have you resided in King County?

26 years

6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Nonpartisan

7. If partisan, please indicate party:

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

Campaign Name:

Committee To Elect Bob Wikstrom

Address:

10426 180^th Ct N.E.

City/State/Zip:

Redmond, WA 98052

Campaign Phone:

(425) 869-7360

Campaign Fax:

(425) 881-1580

Campaign E-mail:

bobwikstrom@aol.com

Campaign Website:

N/A

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)

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

Office Title

Year of Run

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'm running to bring a voice of the people to the Redmond City Council. I'm not a politician. I have no aspirations of going any further than to serve the citizens of Redmond. Spending over 28 years in the broadcast industry including management and ownership, I left to teach business at a post secondary institution and become a partner and COO of a record production and distribution business. I come to this campaign with my eyes and most importantly my ears wide open.

After comparing many communities in the area, my family and I chose Redmond to settle in five years ago because of the vibrancy, the friendliness, safety and healthy growth. I've been following city government since locating here and have always felt there was a very important element missing, the voice of the people. It was made all too clear this past March when the City Council forced Proposition #1 on the voters. A vast amount of time and revenue were spent on a recommendation to change Redmond's form of government that was overwhelmingly defeated at the polls. The fact that the majority of the City Council was so out of touch with their constituents is my motivation to run for this position.

Having been a manager in business for many years, I've learned to listen, a trait that appears to be lacking with the majority of the current Council. I've spent the past few weeks since deciding to run for this position listening to citizens and business people in Redmond. I'm finding some common concerns and in some cases frustrations with our city government. Whether the issue is transportation, growth or business (I happen to believe these are all closely related), many people I've talked with feel that their voice is not being heard at City Hall.

My pledge is to hold regular open forums, listen and bring the voice of the people to the Redmond City Council.

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

As manager of several broadcast properties, challenges were a daily occurance. Whether it was making quick decisions to determine programming that would attract a larger audience or brain-storming and executing sales promotions to increase station revenue, my involvement and effectiveness was constantly being measured. These management and leadership skills will be put to use bringing issues to the City Council and pressing for timely resolutions and decisions.

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.

Station Success: In 1986 the broadcast company I was working for purchased a radio station (K-Fox) in Seattle. The station was in bankruptcy when we took it over and I was appointed General Manager with the urgent assignment of turning a profit. Inasmuch as the station was already running on a shoe-string, the only way to improve the bottom line was to increase revenue. Since sales from advertisers is predicated on how many listeners they can reach with their message (ratings), the over-the-air product had to be improved as to attracted and keep more listeners tuned in. Utilizing my knowledge and history in the industry, we immediately revamped the music, targetting a broader demographic group, and changed several on-air personalities that would cause people to listen to the station for longer periods of time. Within six months sales had increased to a point where the station was showing a profit.

Volunteer Success: Three years ago I was asked to volunteer my time to help the local Derby Days Committee plan and present Redmond's annual event. My function was Chair of the Entertainment Committee. Up until that time, music and entertainment had been a minimal part of the event. I was given the challenge of changing that around. By working with bands, musicians, booking agents and promoters, I was able to produce an entertainment package that was (by survey results) the most memorable aspect of that years event. This was also accomplished with little to no increase in the Entertainment Budget.

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.

Volunteer: Chairperson, Entertainment for Redmond Derby Days (2001, 2002, 2003)

KKFX Advisory Board: Created and Chaired an Advisory Board made up of African American community leaders. Since our radio station targetted the Black Community of the Puget Sound Area with it's programming, a Board was created to meet once a month and offer input in the area of non-entertainment programming and activities the station should be involved.

Volunteer: Chairperson, Entertainment for Celebrate Redmond (2002) Arranged for sound, production and entertainers for the 4^th Of July Celebration at Marymoor Park.

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

There are numerous responsibilities of the City Council including: setting policy and guidelines for staff, monitoring and approving budgets, conducting public hearings, growth management, among others. However, as mentioned above, I believe the most important duty of the City Council is to listen to their constituents and act, when appropriate to make living and doing business in Redmond enjoyable.

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.

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