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

Christal

Olivia

Wood

 

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

 

Seattle City Council, Position 7

 

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?

 

11 years

 

6.   Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan?         Nonpartisan         

                                                                                                                       

7.   If partisan, please indicate party:  n/a

 

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

 

Campaign Name:

Wood for City Council

 

Address:

 

P.O. Box 95535, Seattle, WA  98145-2535

 

City/State/Zip:

 

Seattle, Washington, 98145-2535

 

Campaign Phone:

 

(206) 222-7522

 

 

Campaign Fax:

 

n/a

 

 

Campaign E-mail:

 

christal@woodforcitycouncil.com   or  wood4citycouncil@yahoo.com

 

 

Campaign Website:

 

www.woodforcitycouncil.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)

n/a

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

 

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

 

Office Title

Year of Run

Mayor, City of Seattle

 

2001

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 


 


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.)

 

As my campaign materials state, there are an increasing number and magnitude of issues upon which the current council has shown a lack of vision, initiative, or comprehensive understanding.  I believe that with the mixture of experience, knowledge and passion, I would be able to make real, visible, and effective gains on behalf of the people of this city, in the target areas I've identified in my platform.  Having been an activist in these areas in the past, I have a good grounding in where the problems are.  I have found that the arena of politics has been an appropriate use of my energies and knowledge.  I seek office in order to put it all to use in a meaningful way through public service.

 


 

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

 

Anyone who knows me understands that I am a systemic, creative, and intuitive logical thinker with a sincere passion for social justice.  I also have a broad social background, being multi-racial, being an artist, being a mother, having worked in the service sector as well as community planning--have all served to enrich my outlook as it relates to public policy.  People understand that I am a forthright, tenacious and candid person--often outspoken-- who brings heart and humor to everything I do. 

 

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. 

 

1) I will list my daughter as my most important accomplishment.  As a single parent, I know intimately the tough budgeting decisions; the struggles for employment, decent education (for both parent and child), access to social services and health care that many parents face--as well as the importance of community in strengthening families.  I have a mother's appreciation of children and youth in society, and the role they play in our future.  I incorporate this experience and sensitivity to my public activities.

2) While an educator at the Museum of Flight, I had opportunity to lead a team in developing a computer based learning  station on flight dynamics for what was to become their Aviation Learning Center.  Although I'd had taken astronomy in college, I didn't come from an aviation background, and my supervisor had some reservations about whether I'd be able to handle leading a team of seasoned aviators and physicists in this venture.  To their surprise, we were able to work basic aviation history, fundamentals, and in some more advanced concepts dealing with glide, windspeed and weather into a 45-minute interactive curriculum for two age groups.  We were the first of 10 teams to construct a prototype and set the bar for the process overall, while having a great time delving into the subject matter.  The early prototype was used by the Museum to leverage funding for construction of the site.  The ALC is open now, with a modified (somewhat simplified) version of what we came up with.  I'm very proud of it.

3)  In my first attempt at public office, I ran for Mayor of a mid-sized city as a nobody.  Despite media blackouts and the lack of establishment recognition, I was able to reach voters and the community, and shape public debate on numerous issues.  Over 1,100 people took the extra effort to write in their votes in support of my campaign during the 2001 general election--asserting  that I would do a better job in the office than our current mayor.  It was an amazing, profoundly challenging, and rewarding experience, during which I acted as my own treasurer and compliance officer, conducted public and media relations, crafted policy proposals, and employed all the skills that a public official is expected to display.


 

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.

 

As a youth, I supported the arts through community arts projects--I performed in a choral benefit calling attention and resources to the movement to clean-up the Hudson River in New York State; and hammed it up before the Boston Public School Board in an effort to make a public (and bi-lingual) performing arts magnet school a reality.  While on staff with the American Heart Association, and then as part of the staff of United Way of King County I took part in numerous volunteer efforts in support of human services.  In my official role with UWKC I helped to facilitate the review and funding of over 135 human service agencies, as well as regional needs assessments and strategic planning.  I've attended scores of public demonstrations in support of election reform, police accountability, free speech, fair trade, and global peace.  I've often spoke before the council, and at public forums, as well as  written letters to legislators on all levels on a wide range of interests from animal protection to FCC movements to deregulate media.  I've donated art to the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic for their annual benefit auctions.  As a member of the Coalition to Save the Lillian/South Lake Union, I helped to organize, and provided materials for a creative post-card writing campaign, and fought to bring the discussion of corporate encroachment and loss of affordable/low-income housing units (both in the S. Lake Union area and City-wide).  As an intern for the Nader2000 presidential campaign, as well as during my own campaigns for public office, I have made public education a priority, speaking to youth and adults alike about the importance of civic engagement.  This summer, my media organization will be sponsoring the “Voting is Sexy” voter registration drive.  I was a voice at the recent Neighborhood Planning Summit along with numerous neighborhood council members and community stewards.  I am a member of the Speakers Bureau of the Citizen's Campaign for Commercial Free Schools. I am affiliated with numerous groups including the Displacement Coalition, NION, SNOW, Washington Citizen Action, and MoveOn.org.  My daughter and I are both members of the Seattle Peace Chorus.  We have also been volunteers and participants in the Hiroshima to Hope commemorative ceremonies; and this will be my third year taking part in the Race Talks—both sponsored by the Wing Luke Asian Museum.

 

 

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

 

Primarily, the role of a City Councilmember is to craft legislation and establish/approve a budget that facilitates the ability of our community to protect it's citizens and care for one another.  A councilmember must be a diplomatic liaison to other jurisdictions and tiers of government, contractors, and other entities; must find and/or build consensus among community interests; to appoint/approve committee and advisory staff, and to competently oversee public processes.  All are important, but perhaps none more than being an accessible, and representative voice for the average citizen.  I feel it is crucial that a representative also be an educator on issues, as well as a listener.  I also feel that one of the aspects of this job that I would highlight, is the responsilibity to be sure that the public is informed, recognizes their stake in council actions, and feels gratified in their ability to contribute and participate on issues that are important to them--as well as their confidence that their representative responds in a meaningful way.


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.

 

AA - Green River Community College (1998); BA - Society & Justice/BA – Communications, University of Washington (2000).

 

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.

 

I vote, and am quite politically active.  I was also an intern with the Municipal League in 2000 helping to facilitate non-partisan candidate review.  As part of the Nader2000 presidential campaign, as well as during my own campaigns for public office, I’ve spoken before youth and adults alike about the importance of civic engagement.  Also, this summer, my media organization will fight voter apathy with the “Voting is Sexy” voter registration drive.

 

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