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
Phyllis	Gutierrez	Kenney

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

Legislature, District 46, Position 2

3.   Are you the incumbent?                  Yes              No

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

Since 19765

5.   How long have you resided in King County?

Since 1976

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

7.   If partisan, please indicate party:  Democrat

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

Campaign Name:	Committee to Reelect Phyllis Kenney
Address:	P O Box 15314
City/State/Zip:	Seattle, WA    98115
Campaign Phone:	206-526-5236
Campaign Fax:	206-526-3290
Campaign E-mail:	kenneylp@aol.com
Campaign Website:

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	1997	1997-Present	Chair, Higher Education
Seattle Community College District Board of Trustee	Approinted by the Governor	1985-1998	chair of the Board
Parole Board / Indetermined Bd	Appointed by Governor	1984-88

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

Office Title	Year of Run
Secretary of State	1996

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.)

Because I believe I can make a difference and the past eight years I have made a difference--in education, housing, environmental issues, and health care.

 I believe we must invest in Washington's future through education and economic opportunity.  As a legislator I want to make our community and state a safe and healthy place for our families and children to live.

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

Commitment

Hard worker

Knowledge of the issues I work on.

Ability to work with others and bring about concensus.

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. 

I was the co-founder and later Director of an educational day care system for migrant children.   It was not an easy task.  The funding obtained from state and federal funds were the first of it's kind.  The program developed was recognized nationally by the National Education of Young Children Association.  The program also established the first  program for training of day care aides.  The program later become the start of a teacher career ladder.  Many of the mothers who started as day care aides went on to be certified teachers.  This program took a lot of coordination between many agencies, stakeholders, edcuational institutions and the community as a whole.  The program is still in operation and it has changed the lives of many children and their families.

I was instrumental in the establishment of the Farmworker Health Clinics in Rural Washington.The Clinics were started in 1968 with one double wide trailer.  Getting people to believe that it was worth funding was not an easy job.  Getting doctors and nurses to work for little pay  in a rural area was not easy.  But we did find people who were committed to making people's life healthier. Today the centers have expanded their services throughout the Yakima Valley and are serving people from all works of life.  People who might not otherwise have an opportunity for a healthy life.  These centers have been used as model programs in other parts of the state and nation.

My personal pride are my eight children and now  also my grandchildren.  I am very proud of them.  When my youngest son had Hodgins (form of cancer) it was the strength of the family that kept us together and helped him surive.  He was 9 years old at the time and now he is 32.  Nothing can replace the love of a family and the support of each other.

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.

State Representative for seven and a half years,  Chair of the Higher Education Committee and a member of the Appropriations and Commerce and Labor Committees.

Assistant Commissioner Washington State Emploiyment Security Department- Director of Special Projects  1976-84

Owner of a small business " Felipa's on 45"  (women's clothing)

Member of the Seattle Community College District Board of Trustees and Chair-1985-98.

President of the State Trustees Association for Community and Technical Colleges.

Past Member of the Board of Directors for Leadership Tomorrow- Seattle Greater Chamber of Commerce.

Member and Past Chair and President of the Washington State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

National Co-Chair for the Eleanor Roosevelt Global Leadership Institute and Board Membeer of the Center for Policy Alternative.  2000-present

Member of the National Council of the Raza and Executive Board Member. 2001-present

Member of the Dan Evans School of Public Affairs Advisory Committee , University of Washington.  2002-present.

Presidental Delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business-1999

Member and past chair of the 46^th District Democrats 1977-present.

Member of the Board - Center for Women and Democracy at the University of Washington

2002- present.

Migrant Early Childhood Education Program and Health Care  1964-76

Director and Consultant.

Good will Games /Seattle Organizing Committee 1989-1990

Assistant Vice President, Human Resourses/Manger, Awards Ceremonies

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

2001-o=presebtAs a state represtative it is my duty to assure that laws that are passed are in the best interest of all of our citizens.  It is my duty to work with the stakeholders in preparing a budget that will strive to meet the needs of all our population.  It is also our responsibility to look for ways to increase accountability and assure we have a good return in our investment of state funds.

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.

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.

yes

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