2004 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
Skip		Priest

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

State Representative, 30^th District, Position 2

3.   Are you the incumbent?                  Yes              No

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

16 years

5.   How long have you resided in King County?

21 years

6.   Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan?         Partisan      Nonpartisan         

7.   If partisan, please indicate party:  Republican

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

Campaign Name:	Citizens for Skip Priest
Address:	P.O. Box 23237
City/State/Zip:	Federal Way, WA 98093
Campaign Phone:	206-510-7810
Campaign Fax:	253-661-6628
Campaign E-mail:	www.skippriestcampaign.com/mspriest@comcast.net
Campaign Website:	www.skippriestcampaign.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)
Federal Way City Council	Elective	1/1/92-12/31/97	Mayor--1996-1997

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

Office Title	Year of Run
State Senate--30^th District	1994
State Representative--30^th District	1998

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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 re-election as State Representative for three related reasons:

First:  I care deeply about the people and communities of the 30^th District and am honored to serve as their State Representative.  For over a decade, I have worked with many groups and individuals in the community to improve the quality of life of those who live within the District's boundaries.  As a result I have a personal knowledge of not only the needs but also the dreams and aspirations of those I represent.  This commitment to all the residents of the 30^th District--not just a few--is exemplified by my public and community service summarized in Section IV.

Second:  We need experienced leaders in the legislature that are able to work across party lines to effectively address our state's ongoing challenges.  When I first went to Olympia two years ago, the state faced its greatest crisis in its long history.  Not only did we have our largest projected budget deficit--some $2.6 billion--but we also had the third highest unemployment rate in the country.  In addition, many of our state's most vulnerable citizens faced unaccepatble cuts in necessary services provided by the state.  Through a bi-partisan effort, we were able to balance the budget without raising taxes while still protecting those citizens who needed our help the most.  I am proud of my contributions to this accomplishment.  But the crisis is still not over.  While the state is experiencing a slightly improving economy, our chief economist is still projecting a budget deficit during the next biennium of over $500 million.  This deficit does not anticipate necessary improvements in our approach to basic health care for our less fortunate as well necessary investments in K-12 and higher education. As a long-time business, government, and community leader, I would like to continue to use my experience to meet these challenges.

Third: As the above suggests, setting effective state priorities is still incredibly important.  My priorities are clear and it is a message that I want to continue to take to Olympia.  (1) We must continue our review of our K-12 and higher education systems to ensure that our schools get the resources they need to achieve the outcomes we desire--an educated populace prepared to take advantage of the opportunities of the new economy.   (2) We must provide sufficient funds to safeguard the environment.  Without this commitment, we cannot maintain the quality of life necessary to make neighborhoods livable and attract businesses to our community and state.  (3) We must continue to seek ways to improve our business climate to ensure that we create sufficient family jobs and revenues to pay for our state's needs. 

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

I believe that I share three basic traits with other effective legislators.  These are courage of conviction, integrity of purpose and tenacity.  Just as importantly, I also am very aware of the importance of the word--we.  Many years ago, I was extremely fortunate to have a mentor who taught me the management skills necessary for success at the highest levels of American business.  His message was simple.  When you succeed in your goals always share that  success with those who work with you through the use of the term we.   Only when you fail do you use the word I--because a true leader recognizes that it is his or her responsibility if goals are not achieved.  It is an approach that I have found  translates equally well in either the business or public arena.

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 over a decade, my goals as public servant and community leader have been to (1) improve our public education system (2) safeguard our local environment and (3) improve the local business climate.  During my first term as State Representative, these goals, not surprisingly continued to be my main priorities.  I was fortunate to have accomplishments in all three areas last session.

(1) Improving Public Education.  As a new member, I was asked to serve on the House Higher Education Committee.  This committee is responsible for developing policy guidelines for the State's community and technical colleges, four-year comprehensive institutions and our research universities.  Much to my surprise, at my first committee hearing, experts testified that the state did not have a comprehensive plan for higher education.  This comes at a time when the state's community and four year schools are above student capacity, resources are stretched, and we are facing a baby boom echo of some 35,000 additional students who will graduate in 2010, many of them desiring to enter college.  Working with  university experts,  Rep. Fred Jarrett and I developed a comprehensive eight goal approach for addressing the crisis.  These goals are currently serving as the underpinning of a strategic plan being developed by the state's Higher Education Coordinating Board due in July.  In addition, I also introduced so-called performance contract legislation for higher education.  This legislation required that the state and its universities develop a clear agreement on what resources the state should provide and if it does provide these resources what outcomes it should expect as a result.  Performance contracts legislation was incorporated into this year's supplemental budget appropriations and model contracts are currently being developed between the state and the University of Washington and the state and Washington State University.

(2) Safeguarding the Environment.  I am very proud to be part of a group of South King County environmental leaders that are making a difference in restoring the Hylebos Creek watershed.  Five years ago, the Friends of the Hylebos was an organization seeking purpose and direction.  Today, it is an organization with strong leadership, a clear vision, and a string of accomplishments that led local National Public Radio affiliate KPLU to herald the Friends as an example of successful grassroots environmental activism.  As a legislator I have worked with other government officials, including King County Councilmember Pete Von Reichbauer and State Senator Tracey Eide to assist the group on several major projects.  This has included the transfer of the West Hylebos State Park from state management to the City of Federal Way to provide greater local control, securing state capital budget funding to replace the park's deterioriating boardwalk, and working with the State Department of Transportation in Hylebos Creek buffer acquisition and stream restoration projects.  As a result of these efforts we are very close to achieving our goal of establishing a template for the steps necessary to restore other urban streams.

(3) Improving the Business Climate.   Last session, I also had the honor to serve on the select legislative  task force charged with the responsibility of working with the governor to "land the 7E7."  The bi-partisan task force was made up of four House members and four Senate members.  Its charge was to put together a plan to make our state competive in the contest to produce Boeing's next generation airliner.  The final package contained a number of initiatives designed not only to help the aerospace industry but other businesses in our state as well.  Together with Representative Pettigrew and the Governor's office, I was pleased to play a leading role in putting together the legislative tax incentive package--a package we now know was instrumental in Boeing making its decision to site the 7E7 production facility here in the Puget Sound area.

Success in all of the above accomplishments required the type of bi-partisan collaboration that I believe is absolutely critical for our state to meet the challenges it faces.  Hopefully, these accomplishments will also give both voters and members of the Municipal League a sense of confidence that I am prepared to continue to deliver on the goals and priorities that I believe will be not only  benefit  the 30^th District but the entire state as well.

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.

Federal Way Mayor/City Council (1992-1997)

Board Member: Friends of the Hylebos (2001-present), Member: (1992-present)

Board Member: Multi-Service Center Board (2003-present)

Member: Federal Way School District Construction Oversight Cmte. (2001-present)

Board Member: Pacific Harbors Council, B.S.A (1994-present)

Board Member: Chamber of Commerce Advancing Leadership Program (2001-present)

President/Vice-President/Member: Franciscan Fellowship (1996-present)

Board Member: Federal Way Kiwanis Foundation (2003-present)

Board Member: Federal Way Kiwanis (2000-2003), Member: (1991-present)

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

The primary duty of the office I seek is inherent in the name of the office itself--State Representative.  It is absolutely imperative that one "represents" the people of the 30^th District by clearly understanding their priorities and then working to see that these priorities are achieved.  How one actually achieves this goal can be extremely varied.  It can be something very simple like giving a young boy or girl a chance to be a page for your office in Olympia.  It can be teaching a class on civics to a local junior high school.  It can be major policy legislation that helps ensure that a high quality job is maintained at Boeing or that our students who graduate in 2010 won't have to leave the state to get a quality education.  Or closer to home it can be ensuring that the state's attempt to site a sexual predator facility in a residential neighborhood in your district is redirected to a more a appropriate place in an industrial site closer to health services and employment opportunities.  No matter how it is achieved, however, the overriding responsibility of us all is--to represent.

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.

Brewster H.S., Brewster, WA

B.A., Political Science, Willamette University

J.D. with Honors, National Law Center, George Washington 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.

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