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
Tom		Rasmussen

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

Seattle City Council Position 5

3. Are you the incumbent? No

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

Since 1976

5. How long have you resided in King County?

Since 1956

6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Nonpartisan

7. If partisan, please indicate party:

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

Campaign Name:

Tom 2003

Address:

PO Box 3342

City/State/Zip:

Seattle, WA 98114

Campaign Phone:

206-923-2003

Campaign Fax:

Campaign E-mail:

tom4seattle@msn.com

Campaign Website:

www.tom2003.com

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)

Mayor's Office for Senior Citizens

Appointive

1999 to present

Director

Seattle City Council

Appointive

1976-1990

Legislative Assistant

Prosecuting Attorney, Yakima County

Appointive

1973-1976

Deputy Prosecutor

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 am seeking the position held by Margaret Pageler because we need a Councilmember in this position whose heart is in the job. We need a Councilmember who will listen and who is open to new ideas and accessible to the public. We need a Councilmember who can bring people together to solve the pressing issues of the City.

Following are my priorities for my first term:

Fix Traffic Now. Until we get people and goods moving again, our economy and quality of life will continue to suffer. I will work on real issues, like replacing the Viaduct, getting Light Rail and Monorail on track and under construction, and working regionally to fix highway gridlock. I successfully worked with the Port of Seattle, West Seattle residents and businesses and the maritime community to ensure construction of the high and low level West Seattle bridges.

Invest In Jobs. Seattle needs a diverse economy that creates family wage jobs. I will target economic investment to attract desired businesses, protect wages and workplace standards, and provide the infrastructure and tax system that attracts new jobs and keeps existing jobs here where they belong.

Help Seniors Stay In Their Homes. Seattle is home to nearly 100,000 seniors. I will work to expand transportation options, affordable and safe housing, keep water and City Light rates reasonable, and create a tax structure that doesn’t force older residents to sell their homes and move away.

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

I am deeply committed to equal rights and fairness for all.

I am passionate about public service and working for the benefit of the community.

I am open and accountable to the public. I listen to various viewpoints and I welcome new ideas. I am accessible and seek to involve people who may be affected by decisions which I make.

I am able to bring people together to solve common issues and to create new ideas and lasting organizations for our community. I have a record of creating strong organizational partnerships and creative, consensus based solutions in an environment of competing interests and diminishing resources.

I am successful in policy analysis and persuasive communications with policy makers. I have a record of motivating public officials, staff and volunteers to implement initiaitives that support targeted populations.

I have expertise in organization and issues management, strategic planning, program development, advocacy, fundraising and building community support and visibility. I have broad knowledge of state and local legislative processes and a history of building effective working relationships with public officials.

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.

For the past twelve years I have been a leading advocate for seniors and people with disabilities. As Director of the Seattle Mayor’s Office for Senior Citizens, I work to assist over 35,000 individuals each year who are struggling with overwhelming challenges including affordable housing, rising utility rates and employment needs. I improved access to employment, information and services for people with disabilities with the development of the “FLASH Card.” I created the Intergenerational Dialogues Project to strengthen the community and support public schools. Because affordable housing is critical for seniors and people with disabilities I secured funding for the Home Sharing & Minor Home Repair Programs and worked on two successful Seattle housing levies.

As a community leader, I chaired the Parks Committee of the Queen Anne Community Council. I led the acquisition of property resulting in the development of one of the largest new parks on Queen Anne. In addition, I identified the opportunity and organized community support for acquisition of an historic private garden and open space located in Southeast Seattle known as Kubota Gardens. The proposal was approved by the city council and resulted in the purchase of one of the best Japanese style gardens in the United States which had been in danger of being destroyed. Because of this work and my strong leadership for open spaces and green belts I have been endorsed by the Sierra Club over my opponent.

A long time leader and advocate for human rights and social justice locally and nationally, I was a founder and first co-chair of the Privacy Fund, the first state wide lobbying organization for Gay and Lesbian rights. I also worked on a national level as a board member of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. I focused my energy on building the organization’s visibility and effectiveness nationally. In addition, I was a founder of SEAMEC, which was the first organization that interviewed and rated candidates on issues important to all Seattle residents who care about civil rights. Because of my work over the past three decades on these issues, Seattle is recongized nationally as leader in protecting civil rights.

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.

Board Member of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund 1984-1988

Co-founder and a member of the Seattle Municipal Election Committee 1978

Co-founder and first co-chair of the Privacy Fund 1987-1990

Board Member, Fairness Lobby 2002 - present

Board Member of the Queen Anne Community Council 1985-1989

Chaired Parks Committee of this Council

Board Member of the Alki Community Council 2002 to present

Board Member of King County Sexual Assault Resource Center 1995- 1996

Member of King County Elder Abuse Project Team 2002-2003

Volunteer Rainbow Train, focused on health issues for gay/lesbian elders 2002

Volunteer, Housing Levies

Volunteer, numerous campaigns for elected officials

Member of the Washington State Bar Association 1972 to present

Member of Senior Services of Washington 1990-1996

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

Propose, review and act on city projects, policies, ordinances and budgets. Provide oversight of City departments. Respond to constituent requests for assistance and information. Advocate for issues important to the people of Seattle. Represent the City on the regional, state and national level.

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.

BA Political Science, Pacific Lutheran University

Juris Doctor, Valparaiso University

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.

Past and current activities include: Board Alki Community Council, Board Queen Anne Community Council, Member Senior Services of Washington, Member 34th, 36th, 37th District Democrats, Co-founder & co-chair Privacy Fund, Board Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, Board Fairness Lobby, Board King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, Member of King County Elder Abuse Project Team, Co-founder Seattle Municipal Election Committee, volunteer housing levies.

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