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
Frank	V.	Chopp

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

State Representative, 43^rd Legislative District, Position 2

3.   Are you the incumbent?                  Yes              No

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

Over 25 years

5.   How long have you resided in King County?

Over 25 years

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

7.   If partisan, please indicate party:  Democrat

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

Campaign Name:	Friends of Frank Chopp
Address:	1414 Dexter Avenue North, Suite 201
City/State/Zip:	Seattle, WA  98109
Campaign Phone:	206.291.5296
Campaign Fax:	(206) 381-1235
Campaign E-mail:	frank@frankchopp.com
Campaign Website:	www.frankchopp.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)
State Representative	Elected	1995-present	Speaker of the House, 2002-present Co-speaker of the House, 1999-2001 Minority Leader, 1998-1999 MInority Floor Leader, 1997-1998

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

Office Title	Year of Run
N/A

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 want to run for office because there is still so much to be done.  In the past two years the state was faced with a declining economy and severe budget crisis.  There was an urgency to invest in transportation and the threat that Boeing was going to leave.  In response, we balanced the budget holding spending down while still protecting vulnerable people, the environment and making investments in education, higher education and human services.  We did more for transportation than has been done in 30 years and we kept Boeing jobs here by landing the 7E7. 

While I am very proud of these outcomes, these very big accomplishments are not enough.  They are a stable foundation on which to build.

Now is the time of opportunity and to firmly establish a vision for the future.  As our economy transitions, it has to work for everyone.  We have to create and keep jobs here.  Everyone needs health care insurance – starting with covering all kids by 2008!  And we must aspire to have the best education system – preschool through college – in the country.

Everything I have done as adult has been to improve the lives of people in my community.  I am running for this office because I think being Speaker of the House is the best way to use my talents to continue to improve the lives of people in this State.  I have a solid record as a pragmatic leader who gets things done.   I want to take on the challenge of creating jobs, getting people better health care, and ensuring a quality education.

I believe I am the right person for the job.

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

Vision, hard work and bringing people together.  It is said politics is the art of the possible.  You have to know clearly where you are headed.  But it does no good if you aren’t willing to put in the hours it takes to get the job done or if you can’t bring people along with you.

The successes of the Fremont Public Association, PortJobs and low-income housing funding are all examples of when I combined these three traits to reality out of a vision.   In the legislature I believe I have also demonstrated these skills over and over.  Getting us through very difficult economic times, investing in human services, agriculture, homecare workers, job training, children’s health and protecting the environment are all examples.

So when I set a new goal – like getting all kids health care insurance coverage by 2008 – it’s not just words.  I believe I have the track record to show that I will roll up my sleeves, build a coalition and put in the hours to see that vision to fruition.

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. 

The first accomplishment that I am very proud of is building the housing trust fund up to its historic level of $81 million.  Prior to being a legislator, I was involved in the Capitol Forum effort that led the state to its first investment of $50 million for low-income housing.  Every year we have built on that success.  Due to this effort, thousands of people have roofs over their heads that otherwise wouldn’t.  I truly believe that my leadership in housing has made the difference between building up this critical resource or letting it decline.  Having a place to live is not only the foundation for survival, but allows for our families to succeed and thrive.

Second is insisting that the Tacoma Narrows Bridge be built with public funds and public ownership.  While the people who live near the bridge and the State Treasurer were always on my side, many people were not – mostly from the transportation and Wall Street establishment.  But it was the right thing to do.  Even though it meant changing course mid stream it resulted in taxpayer savings of hundreds of millions of dollars – perhaps it will reach a billion.  More importantly, it meant we don’t start selling off our public assets to private interests.  Roads, like power, need to be kept in the public domain.  We don’t have to look to far to the tragedy of Enron, to know what can happen when corporate interests run amok.  That is not Washington State and it never should be.

Another example of my ability to translate a vision into reality is the creation of Community Jobs.  Coming out of a non-profit social service agency, I had an idea to help people and the community by giving those on welfare the opportunity to work in the non-profit sector.  We created the community jobs program and every evaluation has shown that this program is a huge success.   It has been nationally recognized and has become a shining light in welfare reform.  This is what I love to do; find solutions that make real differences in peoples lives and are a win for the state.

While there are many accomplishments in my career of which I am proud, I believe these three embody who I am and why I choose public office – to protect and enhance the public good, to help those who need a helping hand and to be in a position to find creative ways to implement change.

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.

Founding Board Member, Economic Opportunity Institute, 1998-Present     

Co-Chair for Low-income and Affordable Housing, 1989-1993

Capital Forum Coalition (Washington State Capital Budget)

Founding Board Member, Low Income Housing Institute, 1991-1998  

Board Member, Office of PortJOBS, 1990-1994

Co-Chairperson, Committee for Economic Opportunity, 1989-1992

Member, Working Group on School/Community Partnerships, 1990

Member, Seattle Housing Levy Oversight Committee, 1987-1988

Chairperson, Seattle Housing Levy Campaign Committee and Member, Steering Committee, Citizens for a Better Seattle (Housing Levy and Art Museum Levy Joint Campaign), 1986

Founder and Board Member, Seattle Personal Transit, 1984-1986

Co-Chairperson and Organizer, Health Care for the Homeless Coalition, 1984-1985

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

This answer has not changed since my last questionaire for your organization. 

The role of the speaker is to provide leadership for the House Democrats in cooperation with committee chairs and other members of leadership, communicate this direction to the public and constituents, serve as the institutional head of the House of Representatives, and work closely with the Senate and Governor.

The most important duties of my position are vision, leadership and coalition building.  Being a state representative, and particularly being the Speaker of the House, requires a clear vision of where this state is going, how to get there and how to involve people in the process-whether that is the general public, members of the caucus or other elected officials.  I have a strong vision for this state that is built on the fundamentals--strong schools, good jobs, repsonsive government, secure families and a healthy environment.

I have shown that I can lead in very difficult times and I have a strong ability to bring people together, even those who have traditionally been on opposite sides.

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.

Bachelor of Arts, University of Washington 1975, Magna Cum Laude

East High School, Bremerton, WA  1971, Valedictorian

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