1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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Middle Initial or Nick Name |
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2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
3. Are you the incumbent? No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
5. How long have you
resided in
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12 years |
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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2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
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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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I’m running for the City Council to ensure that the opportunities that allowed my immigrant parents to make a better life for my family continue to be made available to people on all levels of the economic spectrum in Seattle. The declining condition of the economy, city budget pressures, unemployment, and a lack of affordable housing all are threatening to further divide Seattle into a city of haves and have nots. I have spent my professional career working in the private sector, in government, as well as in the non-profit community, to build coalitions to tackle tough problems, and I would like the opportunity to bring talents and experiences to bear on these challenges.
As one of the leaders of the statewide campaign against Initiative 200, the affirmative action rollback measure, I helped fight to protect opportunity in Washington, and that's exactly what I'll continue to fight for on the City Council. Seattle has lost over 40,000 jobs over the past two years, and we need a City Council that will focus on laying out an economic plan for the next 10 years in Seattle. In particular, I believe that we must emphasize the need to preserve Seattle's economic diversity. A recent Miliken Institute study points out that the most successful cities in the United States over the past several years have significantly diverse economies with healthy high-tech markets, thriving retail centers, and manufacturing and industrial jobs.
Due to the need to protect Seattle's economic diversity, I'm especially concerned about the thousands of manufacturing and industrial jobs that we are losing in this city due to zoning changes, permitting difficulties, and a lack of government responsiveness. Manufacturing, maritime and industrial jobs still exist in the Duwamish and in Ballard/Interbay, and we cannot afford to lose them. The primary alternatives for people currently holding these endangered jobs are low-wage service sector jobs and this is an unacceptable trade-off.
As a former land use attorney with Preston Gates Ellis, I understand how complex the city's land use code is, and the impact this complexity has on business and housing. I believe that taking a careful look at Seattle's land use code can help attract new jobs, retain our manufacturing and industrial base, and eliminate the disincentives that exist to develop affordable housing. I believe my experience on these issues will allow me to lead the discussion on land-use reform.
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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 believe that I have an ability to relate well to a wide variety of people, and that this skill is particularly important in a city that contains as many diverse communities as Seattle. As the son of immigrants, I grew up with an understanding for the needs of minority communities, where English might not be the primary language and where the feeling of being an outsider to the majority culture is implicit. At the same time, however, I ended up going from public primary schools to Yale University and the University of Washington for college and law school. I believe that my "outsider" background combined with my educational and professional credentials give me a unique perspective to the needs of this city, and allow me to bring a particular set of talents to bear on significant issues. I believe that Seattle is currently a rather segregated city-- many people on the North end of town have never been south of Safeco Field, and many South end residents rarely travel north of downtown. I think Seattle's elected officials need to have the ability to communicate with a broad range of Seattle's communities, and I have demonstrated that ability working on a variety of projects ranging from the fight against Initiative 200 in 1998, numerous volunteer activities within the Asian and Korean communities over the past decade, as well as the campaign to protect the Cascades in 2002.
On a related note, I also have a strong commitment to listening and to understanding all sides of an argument before making a decision. While some might dismiss this deliberative decisionmaking style as being overly procedural, I think it is critical to try to really listen for possible points of agreement in any policy discussion. The best solutions to protacted policy debates often come only after all sides have really had a chance to listen to the other interests, and I remain committed to trying to find win-win solutions at the end of the day. Grandstanding on a particular position in a difficult dispute may be the easier, more politically expedient route, but doing the quiet, thorough legislative work is generally the most successful way to bring about meaningful solutions to complex problems.
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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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Campaign Director, Cascades Conservation Partnership, 2002-2003. Led conservation campaign that raised $57million and ultimately protected over 30,000 acres of forestland in the Central Cascades.
Senior Advisor, Office of the Speaker, Washington State House of Representatives, 1998-2000. Provided political and legal advice to Speaker Frank Chopp on issues ranging from environmental protection to higher education to economic development.
Land Use Attorney, Preston Gates Ellis, 1996-1998. Provided legal counsel to variety of public and private clients on permitting and land use issues.
Executive Committee, No on Initiative 200 Campaign, 1997-1998. Organized and helped lead statewide opposition campaign against affirmative action rollback ballot initiative.
State Board Member, Washington Conservation Voters, 2002-2003 Member, Climate Solutions Advisory Board Mentor, Asian Community Leadership Foundation Board Member, Korean Community Counseling Center Member, Human Rights Coalition
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I believe the primary duty of a City Councilmember is to represent the citizens of Seattle in city government and to be responsive to their needs. It's not enough just having an "open door" policy-- the impetus must be on the elected official to go out and to seek input into citizens' concern over the direction of city government.
The second duty is to be an effective decision maker. This duty entails listening to all sides and working to build bridges between competing points of view. In the event that a decision amenable to all parties cannot be found after significant delibration, Councilmembers must obviously have the ability to make timely decisions based on their principles and the public good.
Finally, and perhaps the most important duty, is an ability and desire to learn. The day to day job of a Councilmember requires making decsions on complex issues, from land use code and zoning to budgeting and utility oversite. These issues take dedication and time to learn, and Councilmembers must have the intellectual firepower as well as the work ethic to put in the long hours necessary to learn about all of these signficant issues. |
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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BA, Political Science, Yale University, 1989; JD, University of Washington, 1995; MS, Environmental Management & Policy, Lund University (Sweden), 2002 |
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