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

Michael

J.

Thompson

 

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?

 

43 years

 

5.   How long have you resided in King County?

 

43 years

 

6.   Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan?              Nonpartisan         

                                                                                                                       

7.   If partisan, please indicate party:       

 

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

 

Campaign Name:

Mike Thompson

 

Address:

 

9594 1st Ave. NE PMB 348

 

City/State/Zip:

 

Seattle, WA 98115

 

Campaign Phone:

 

(206) 522-8184

 

 

Campaign Fax:

 

(206) 522-8184

 

 

Campaign E-mail:

 

electmikethompson@comcast.net

 

 

Campaign Website:

 

www.electmikethompson.org

 

 

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)

Municipal League Board of Trustees

 

Appointed

 

1996-1999

 

None.  Part time Trustee while serving as CEC Chair

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

 

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

 

Office Title

Year of Run

This is my first run for public office.

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 


 


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.)

 

Community activism is my passion.  I see the City Council position as the ultimate community activist job.  I believe my skills and experience are needed on the council.  My strengths are ethics, communication and conflct resolution.

 

My guiding principle is that the people of Seattle are our greatest resource.  The current trend among some elected city leaders is to use decision making as an excuse to isolate or marginalize citzens who do not support their political agenda.  My vision is completely the opposite.  The more we involve citizens, the better our city works.  While decisions must be made, meaningful public involvement makes those decisions better.  This may not be the poplular view right now, but it is one of my core values and a core value of our city.  I want to serve on the council in part to restore this value to our community ethic.

 

I want to give the council the benefit of my experience.  During the 1990s I spent five summers working with the Muni League's Candidate Evaluation Committees.  This experience has taught me the essence and importance of good government.  For the last several years, I have played a leadership on the Maple Leaf, North District and City-wide Neigbhorhood Councils.  This work has given me the opportunity to hone my leadership skills, to connect with citizen groups city-wide, and to get citizen perspecitve of the strengths and weaknesses of city government.

 

For the last 22 years, I have worked at Seattle City LIght, the last 14 years as a Safety and Health Specialist charged with administering employee safety programs.  In this capacity, I have worked with all the employee and management groups at City Light.  My detailed knowledge of City Light operations surpasses the combined collective knowledge of all the current councilmembers.  My extensive network of contacts within City Light and city government in general is a powerful tool that will serve me well on the council.

 

I am running for the council so I can utilize my skills to help make the council more effective. I will use my office to create new, meaningful opportunities for citizens to become involved in finding solutions to our problems and guide the future of our city.

 


 

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

 

Ethics:  Since 1995 I have made a concentrated effort to devolop my knowledge and practice of good ethics in my professional and volunteer acitvities.  Ethics are the cornerstone of character and one of my core values that I believe will help keep me centered when facing difficult decisions as a Councilmember.

 

Communication:  Good communication begins with excellent listening skills.  Listening skills are an essetial part of my job as a Senior Safety and Health Specialist at City Light.  As a Councilmember, listening skills are vital in developing compromise solutions to our city's issues and opportunities.  I also understand and value of seeking out opinions of others, especially of people who don't agree with me.

 

Conflict Resolution:  In both my job at City Light and my role as a neighborhood leader, I have learned how to make people, including opponents, feel that their point of view is valued.  I am skilled at moving group decisions toward common ground and compromise, in most cases.

 

Compassion:  I care deeply for the needs of citizens.  While it's important to focus on the big picture on all issues, it's also important to stay emontionally connected with how those decisions impact people. 

 

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. 

 

In my professional life, my greatest accomplishment is creating a safety culture at Seattle City Light that is based on compliance with all worker safety laws.  When I started in safety in 1989, the utility, including workers and every level of management, ignored most safety laws.  The offical position was that they were exempt from all but a few electrical safety regulations.  Over the years, working with others, we have turned that completely around.  The utilily now bases its operations on compliance with all safety regulations.

 

Also, in 1999 I was a member of a six person team which reduced City Light's Industrial Insurance (I&I) costs by $800,000 in one year.  This was a 30% decrease.  We did this through our knowledge of the city's I&I systems and its shortcomings, coupled with our extensive knowledge of how City Light really works.  We received an internal  Light, Power and Pride  performance award for this achievement.

 

Another accomplishment is my leadership of the North District Council, a neighborhood coalition in NE Seattle.  When I became Chair in 1997, the group only had 3 or 4 active member organizations and did not have much credibilty.  Under my leadership we now have 10 active member organiztions, including neighborhood councils, business groups, an environmental group, a volunteer social advocacy group and a neighborhood plan implementation subcommittee.  I believe we are now seen by city and county governments as a credible proactive group and a significant player in Seattle's future. 


 

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.

 

Municipal League of King County

1995 NW Candidate Evaluation Committee (CEC) – Vice Chair

1996 NW CEC – Chair

1997 NW CEC – Chair

1998 NW CEC – Chair

1999 County-wide CEC – Chair

 

1996 – 1999 Member Board of Trustees

 

Maple Leaf Community Council

1997 to present. Executive Boardmember and representative on North District Council.

 

North District Council

1997 Vice Chair and Chair

1998 to present. Chair and representative to the City Neighborhood Council.

 

City Neighborhood Council

1998 to present – Member

 

Downtown to U. District Light Rail Task Force (Sound Transit)

1997 Maple Leaf representative

 

Mayor Nickels Transition Team

2002 – Member

 

46th Dist. Democrats

2002 to present, member

 

State Initiative 291 to legilslature. (Cap interest on credit cards at 12% per year).

2003 – Sponsor

 

 

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

 

The Seattle City Council establishes City policy through enactment of ordinances (laws) and adoption of resolutions. City Council also approves and adopts the City's budget. Councilmembers are elected at-large to four-year terms through nonpartisan elections. The nine Councilmembers and their legislative assistants are part of the City of Seattle Legislative Department.  

 

Beyond the offical duties, Councilmembers have a bully pulpit to raise awareness about issues and engage citizens in finding solutions to our city's problems.

 

The most important duties are passing the budget every two years, setting utility rates and passing ordinances that give direction to city departments.  These duties have the most immediate impact on the lives of our citizens.  


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.

 

Graduate of Seattle's Lincoln High School, class of 1973.

Graduate of a Joint City of Seattle/South Seattle Community College management training program titled Preparation for Supervison.  This program focused on communication, conflict resolution, business writing, public speaking and facilitation skills.

 

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