1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
|
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?
|
23 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
|
Campaign Name: |
||
|
Address: |
|
|
|
City/State/Zip: |
|
|
|
Campaign Phone: |
|
|
|
Campaign Fax: |
|
|
|
Campaign E-mail: |
|
|
|
Campaign Website: |
|
|
1. Beginning with the most recent position, please list public offices which you have held. Include positions on appointive Boards or Commissions.
2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
|
Office Title |
Year of Run |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.)
|
Throughout my professional life, I have sought out tough assignments and excelled in dealing with them. I have made a real difference in City Hall, and want to finish what I have started. As an NBC correspondent, and ten-year host of KING-TV’s Compton Report I tackled the toughest challenges the community faces, and continued that on City Council.
I led the Councils’ investigation of the WTO uprising, and the result was fair, comprehensive and accurate. As a result, Seattle rethought Public Safety procedures and we have new protocols in place that now ban the use of fire hoses on demonstrators and more closely scrutinize crowd control tactics. I am proud that my Council efforts have provided 150 Seattle Police with stun guns, and begun the installation of video cameras in police cars.
I brought a major re-examination of the city’s emergency preparedness vulnerabilities. My efforts have led to a fire facilities levy to create emergency supply caches, a new emergency operations center, fireboats, and the rebuilding of antiquated fire facilities.
In addition, I've brought accountability and organization to our largest city agencies. My leadership on the selection process for a new police and fire chief brought top new managers to those agencies. I stepped in - with Councilmember Margaret Pageler - to end to extensive cost overruns of the City's utilitiy billing system while demanding quality assurance analyses.
I was unwilling to compromise the investigation of $1.7 billion in cost overruns at Seattle City Light and got an independent audit completed on the agency. The audit put us back on the course of revamping management and governance at the utiliy, and putting City Light on the road to financial stability.
I've also served tirelessly on the Labor-Management Leadership Committee, building bridges of understanding between the city and its employees. We have begun interest-based bargaining with police, a major breakthrough.
I am running for re-election because I believe in making economic development the Council’s number one priority for the next four years. My leadership on South Lake Union developments aims the city toward attracting 10,000 new jobs. I participated intimately in the process for selling City owned land in South Lake Union, creating a vision for a new biotech and medical quarter of Seattle, revisiting Mercer St traffic, and putting long overdue utility upgrades in place.
For me, this job is about accountability, and getting the taxpayer’s money’s worth. There is no substitute for demanding cost-benefit analysis of all the City’s programs. This strategy must be used on budgets, environmental initiatives, and human service delivery. . . to ask, “Are they doing what they claim to do?”
If there is a hope I have for the next City Council,
it’s that we begin speaking more with one voice of economic hope and vitality
for all
|
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
|
My roots are deep in the
Seattle was first my home in 1967, and although I went
off to Europe and the Middle East as an NBC correspondent, my dream was to
return here. In 1984 I achieved that hope, buying a home in Madrona where I live now. Being away from home has
given me a deep appreciation of
My journalism career here gave me a deep grounding in
community affairs, and I consider it an education second to none in how to be
fair and thorough in my work. Schools and universities, civic
organizations and political forums have consistently called on me as an
expert moderator for debates. The Greater
My work on the City Council has given me a new appreciation for public life, and a renewed sense of possibilities. You can really accomplish things in City Hall! |
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.
|
One week after I was sworn in
as
When
The
"The
|
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.
|
Most of my professional life as journalist was involved in reporting on public affairs, and I believe that gave me a rich education on issues facing the community. I believe I have made a substantial difference for Seattle and the region since joining the Seattle City Council in 1999.
I believe the record of subjects I have investigated as a journalist, as well as the issues I have dealt with on the City Council speak of my deep civic involvement.
In 1984, I produced the documentary "Pollution in Paradise," a call to action on the Puget Sound Cleanup. That was followed by "The Forever Decision," a survey of nuclear waste disposal issues. My documentary on foster care, "Lost in the System," alerted the public to problems faced by kids in state custody. "Critical Decisions" compared health care financing in Canada and the United States, and won the coveted Columbia Dupont award.
I am particularly proud of my advocacy on Children's issues both as journalist and public official. I have served on the board of Reinvesting in Youth, and the Child and Adolescent Development Institute, both of which are innovating in our approach to kids at risk.
As chair of the Council's Public Safety Committee, I have visited every police role call in the city, and been to most Seattle Fire Stations, something no recent councilmember has done. The work to create an office of Police Accountability, and a Review Board, have been extremely demanding work, but we can now claim great progress on police-community understanding.
During my 14-year employment at KING-TV, I also hosted, in cooperation with the League of Women Voters, annual candidate debates that were broadcast live, and featured candidates from the City Council to US Senate and Governor.
Additionally, I served a five-year term on the Board of Trustees at Reed College in Portland. I have been an active supporter and fundraiser for Seattle Folklife, and feel my efforts helped save that annual festival from cancellation.
|
|
The principal challenge to a Seattle Councilmember is going to be delivering core city services on a declining revenue base, which will demand tough and uncomfortable choices. Revenue estimates continue to worsen, and that means the dialogue about cuts will be particularly painful this fall.
We must protect police and fire service, but remember that libraries, human services, transportation and parks are also central to the city's mission. Any decision about service cuts must be done in conversation with those affected. If we are to inflict pain on taxpayers, they should be allowed to tell us where.
It is also vital to restore confidence in the City Council as a responsible, transparent legislative body. It's time to quibble less and work more, and to find ways to collaborate with the Mayor in the City's interest. |
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.
|
Reed College, Portland, Oregon. BA, History 1964
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, MA (Honors) 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.
|
|
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