1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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First Name |
Middle Initial or Nick Name |
Last Name |
2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
3. Are you the incumbent? Yes No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
5. How long have you resided in King County?
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11.5 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Friends of Toby Nixon |
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Address: |
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City/State/Zip: |
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Campaign Phone: |
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Campaign Fax: |
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Campaign Website: |
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1. Beginning with the most recent position, please list public offices which you have held. Include positions on appointive Boards or Commissions.
2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
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Office Title |
Year of Run |
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State Representative, 45th District, Position 2
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State Commissioner of Labor, Georgia
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State Representative, 61st District, Georgia
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In this section, we are seeking responses that reflect the four ratings criteria: involvement, effectiveness, character, and knowledge. These are defined as follows:
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.)
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I first became involved in politics and government as a teenager through the influence of my 7th grade social studies teacher. She worked hard to instill in each of her students a love for our country and the principles upon which it was founded -- individual liberty, personal responsibility, limited government, and tolerance of others. I think often of the preamble of the U.S. Constitution and the grand vision it laid out for our government -- unity, justice, peace, security, prosperity, and liberty -- and the securing of those not only for ourselves, but for our children. It is that vision that motivates me to public service.
But that answers why I would run for *any* office. Why am I running for *this* office? It is because I believe the decisions and actions of state legislators, more than any local or federal office, have the greatest influence over the daily lives of the people of Washington. Most of the rules we live by are determined in Olympia, not Kirkland, or Seattle, or Washington DC. The education of our children, the services we provide to the poor, elderly, and disabled, the regulation of health care and of businesses, the protection of our environment and of our privacy, the management of our transportation systems, the use of our land: all of these are influenced more from Olympia than anywhere else. For someone like me who has many ideas about how to improve the performance and efficiency of government, it is the place to be. And I know from first-hand experience that a single individual with a good idea can have a major influence in Olympia, and a real impact on people's lives.
There are many reasons why I believe it is important to serve right now. With the continuing fluctuations in our economy, we need creative solutions to avoid burdening our families with new and increased taxes. We need action-oriented legislators who recognize the urgency to preserve family-wage jobs and attract more to our state; who will press not for more studies, but act now to relieve the traffic congestion and the crushing burden of regulation that are driving jobs elsewhere. We need legislators with experience, creativity, and leadership -- the ability to work across party lines, build support for solutions, and get them implemented. We need legislators committed to government accountability and efficiency, to bringing to the public the services they demand at a price they can afford. I have these abilities, and seek to continue applying them in the service of the people of the 45th District and all of Washington. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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I have integrity. I strive to be honest and truthful, even when it is unpopular or difficult; to earn the trust of others; to maintain confidences; to admit mistakes and work to correct them, and to admit when I just don't know the answer to a question; to share credit for accomplishments; to hold fast to my fundamental principles. I make realistic commitments, I strive to exceed expectations, and I report the results back to those to whom I made the commitments. One cannot be an effective legislator if other legislators do not trust you to follow through on commitments, and you will not be a legislator long if you violate the trust of the voters and fail to adhere to the principles you espoused while seeking the office. In the incredible rush of the session, it can be easy to set aside principle for the sake of expediency; it takes solid grounding to keep in mind why you are in Olympia and the overriding goals you set out to accomplish.
I am a leader, and passionate about my work. I strive to learn as much as I can about the issues before the legislature, and to be able to explain the issues effectively to others. I am very detail oriented, seeking to make legislation as good as possible at every stage, to get it right the first time so as to not have to go back year after year fixing errors. Leadership in the legislature takes many forms, but the most important is being able to communicate effectively and persuasively, garnering the support of your colleagues for legislation. Such leadership is based not only on technical knowledge, but also on trust and integrity -- your colleagues must know they can depend on your word: if you say a bill does something, it in fact does that and not something else. While leadership can be exhibited in floor speeches or in caucus, it is most effective in the one-on-one meetings where frank discussion and negotiation takes place. Leadership is also exhibited in being able to explain to constitutents and interest groups why you support or oppose legislation, and to be able to motivate them to agree. Leadership is also exhibited in commitment to principle and reminding others of those principles. And leadership also means being willing to listen, striving to find win-win solutions not for political advantage but to serve the people, and never getting angry or disrespectful under pressure.
I am well organized. Organizational skills are incredibly important to being a legislator. Your calendar is packed from beginning to end every day, and you must be where you have promised to be (another element of trust). You may have a dozen or more bills at various stages of the legislative process to be shepherded every day. The dozens of letters, emails, and calls you receive every day must be answered, or your constituents will consider you unresponsive. You must make time to study the bills to be voted on and seek advice from experts, or get caught taking bad votes based on bad advice. You must be flexible, squeezing unexpected visitors and other interruptions into your well-planned schedule with a smile. You must know how to file things where you can find them later. Your legislative assistant is a help with many of these things, but the ultimate responsibility falls on you. |
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.
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.
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Washington State Legislature: State Representative, 45th District Position 1, Jan 2002-present House Republican Caucus: Vice Chair, Jan 2003-present Joint Administrative Rules Review Committee: Vice Chair, Apr 2004-present; member, Feb 2002-present House Committee on Technology, Telecommunications, and Energy: member, Jan 2002-present, Assistant Ranking Minority Member, Jan 2003-present House Committee on State Government: member, Jan 2003-present House Committee on Transportation: member, Jan 2003-present Joint Legislative Systems Committee: member, Jan 2003-present House Committee on Finance: member, 2002 House Committee on Children and Family Services: member, 2002 Working Group on Washington State Patrol trooper-involved accidents: member, present Working Group on Replacing the Primary Election System: member, 2003 Joint Task Force on Local Effort Assistance (Levy Equalization): member, 2002 Simplified Sales Tax Project Oversight Committee: member, 2002-present Precinct Committee Officer: Kamiakin Precinct: 2001-2002; Violet Precinct: 2002-present Youth Eastside Services: Board of Directors, Apr 2002-present Kingsgate Highlands 3&4 Homeowners Association: President, Feb 2002-present; Vice President, 1994-2002; Board of Trustees, 1994-present Kingsgate Monarchs Swim Team: volunteer, announcer and timer, 1995-2003 Kirkland National Little League: volunteer, scorekeeper, 2001-present PTSA, Robert Frost Elementary School: Member, 1993-present PTSA, Kamiakin Jr. High School: Member, 1997-present PTSA, Juanita High School: Member, 1999-present Student newspaper at University of Washington: member of advisory committee, May 2002-present Carnation Chamber of Commerce: Member Duvall Chamber of Commerce: Member Greater Kirkland Chamber of Commerce: Member Greater Redmond Chamber of Commerce: Member Woodinville Chamber of Commerce: Member Washington Conservation Voters: Member Sierra Club: Member Cascade Land Conservancy: Member Republicans for Environmental Protection: Member Municipal League of King County: Member National Federation of Independent Business: Member Church men's organization: President, 1998-2001 Church Sunday School superintendent: 2001-present Church food and clothing bank volunteer: 1984-present Boy Scouts of America: merit badge counselor, 1988-present Former church public communications director, newsletter editor, music director, member of regional choir, and regional youth leader Puget Sound Blood Center, volunteer blood donor, 1993-present; two-gallon award Metro Atlanta Red Cross, volunteer blood donor, 1984-1993; plasma pheresis donor, 1990-1993; bone marrow registry, 1990-present Komen Race for the Cure, participant, 2000-2002 Waterford Park Homeowners Association: Founding President, 1990-1993 Lawrenceville Jaycees: member, 1988-1991; treasurer, 1990-1991 Norcross Toastmasters: member, 1985-1988 Georgia Association of Taxpayers: Board of Directors, 1992-1993 The Taxpayer Coalition: President, Board of Directors, 1989-1993 Universal Plug and Play Forum: Chair of Steering Committee, 2003-present; chair of technical committee: 2001-2003; vice chair of steering committee: 2002-2003 Voice on the Net Coalition, founding member of Board of Directors, 1998-2002 International Multimedia Telecommunications Consortium: Board of Directors, 1997-2001 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers: Senior Member, 1999-present; member, 1988-present International Telecommunication Union (agency of United Nations): Delegate from United State (appointed by Department of State), 1988, 1989, 1990 International Telecommunication Union: chair of technical committee on modem-computer interfaces, 1988-1993 Telecommunication Industry Association: chair of technical committee on modem-computer interfaces, 1986-1993 Third Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy: Member of Advisory Committee, 1993
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As a group, state legislators have responsibility to make the laws of the state. They set policy for the operation of the state government, decide what services will be provided, and the parameters under which they will be provided. They determine the state budget, including how funds will be raised and how they will be spent. They oversee executive branch agencies, holding them accountable for conformance with the law and for using resources wisely. Legislators are the voice of the people in the government, representing the interests of their constituents and ensuring that the rights of the people are protected.
Individual legislators communicate with constituents, lobbyists, government agencies, fellow legislators, legislative staff, and many others to determine what changes are needed in state law and to draft legislation proposing those changes. They conduct or oversee research necessary to demonstrate why the legislation is necessary, whether it's been tried before, and if it failed, why it failed. They meet with other legislators and stakeholders to solicit their advice and support as co-sponsors of legislation and to negotiate the content. They work with committee chairs to get hearings on bills, and to get people (including themselves) to the hearings to testify. They meet with committee members to explain legislation to them, negotiate amendments, and get the bill voted out of committee with a positive recommendation. They work with leadership to get their bills onto the floor for a vote, and again with other members (through the caucus process) to answer questions and build support. They repeat the process in the other house, and then again with the Governor's staff to get the bill signed. While managing this process for all of their own bills, they're also participating hundreds of times over in a similar process for bills sponsored by other members: studying issues, asking questions, consulting with experts and constituents regarding the possible impacts, proposing perfecting amendments, and deciding their position on each bill. They also work hard to keep their constituents informed through email and newsletters of the progress of legislation. They respond to thousands of calls, letters, and emails asking for information and expressing positions on issues, greet visitors to Olympia, and acknowledge accomplishments with letters and phone calls. They attend many events sponsored by groups interested in state government activities. And probably most rewarding of all, they have the opportunity to serve individual constituents by helping them deal with the government and intervene on their behalf to ensure they are satisfied with the treatment they receive and that government agencies are obeying the law and rules.
Back home, the legislator meets with constituents, local governments, agencies, community groups, and many others in a variety of settings to inform them of activities in Olympia and the impact of legislation on them, answer questions, and collect their input for further work. And, of course, an important part of a legislator's job is campaigning -- meeting voters and getting the word out on their positions on important issues so that voters can make informed decisions. All this while maintaining relationships with their spouse, children, and friends, and, since ours is a part-time legislature, keeping their business or job going.
It is a great challenge for legislators to balance the many demands on their time. Do you attend that one more reception with a key group of supporters, or do you spend another hour answering mail and studying bills for the next day? Sleep deprivation can be a real problem for those who are committed to fulfilling as many of their responsibilities as possible. In my case, I have learned to manage my time carefully and to juggle a lot of commitments and responsibilities in my life; adding the complexities of being a legislator to the mix has been challenging but manageable. I have often said that I feel as though I was "born to do it" -- in the sense of having a natural affinity for doing what it takes to be a good legislator. |
EDUCATION BACKGROUND SUMMARY
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.
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Attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (1976-77); 29 years experience in software design. |
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.
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Incumbent state representative. House caucus vice chair. Homeowners association president. Youth Eastside Services board member. Member of several Chambers of Commerce and environmental organizations. NFIB Guardian of Small Business award winner. Volunteer for Boy Scouts, swim teams, youth baseball, food and clothing bank; PTSA member at three schools; past member of Jaycees, Toastmasters. Sunday school president and teacher. Chair/director of several industry committees. Proud father of five! |
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.
Candidate Evaluation Coordinator: Rebecca Cooper
Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: 425-671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org