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

Pat

     

Sullivan

 

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

 

State Representative 47th District Position 2

 

3.   Are you the incumbent?                  Yes              No

 

 

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

 

15 years

 

5.   How long have you resided in King County?

 

22 years

 

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

                                                                                                                       

7.   If partisan, please indicate party:  Democrat

 

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

 

 

Campaign Name:

 

Pat Sullivan for State Representative

 

Address:

 

26513 168th Pl. SE

 

City/State/Zip:

 

Covington, WA  98042

 

Campaign Phone:

 

253-740-6772

 

 

Campaign Fax:

 

     

 

 

Campaign E-mail:

 

info@votepatsullivan.com

 

 

Campaign Website:

 

www.votepatsullivan.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)

Covington Economic Development Council

 

Appointive

 

2004-current

 

     

 

Covington City Council

 

Elective

 

1997-2003

 

Mayor - 1997-2000 & 2002-2003

 

Suburban Cities Association Board

 

King County Regional Policy Committee

 

Appointive

 

 

Appointive

 

1998

 

 

1998-2001

 

   

 

  

 

 

 

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

 

Office Title

Year of Run

State Representative

 

2002

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 


 


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:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 have been involved in my community for a long time serving as our city's first Mayor, working with numerous non-profit and service organizations and volunteering in my local schools.  I would like to continue serving my community by representing the district in the State Legislature.

 

After 15 years as a legislative assistant in the State House of Representatives and Senate, 7 years as mayor and city councilmember in Covington, and the past nearly 3 years as a senior legislative assistant for the King County Council, I believe I have the experience necessary to make an immediate positive impact in Olympia.  I understand how government works at all levels and how we can do better by working more efficiently and effectively.

 

In Covington, I was able to bring diverse groups together to improve the lives of our residents and improve our reputation within the region.  We were able to improve services to our residents without the need for new and increased taxes.  I would like to take this same collaborative, hard working approach to Olympia.

 

The public's trust in government continues to decline.  I want to institute performance audits of all state agencies and work to make our state government as efficient as possible.  I will continue to go door to door throughout the district in off-election years to talk with district residents and help bridge the gap between government and our citizens.

 

There are many important issues that will come before the Legislature during the next biennium.  Creating family wage jobs, controlling skyrocketing health care costs, and improving our education system are just a few of the issues I look forward to addressing.  It's time for a change in Olympia and I look forward to bringing new leadership to the Legislature.

 


 

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

 

After spending 7 years on a non-partisan city council, I am a strong believer in the need for a collaborative approach to solving our problems.  I believe we need to get past the partisan bickering and move our state forward for the betterment of our citizens.  One of the most important traits that I possess is the ability to work with diverse groups to solve problems.

 

I also believe that honesty and integrity are critical to the success of the office.  It is imperative that we work to regain the trust of our citizens and office holders need to be honest and open to the public.  I have a very good reputation in my community as someone who is accessible and trustworthy.

 

The position of state representative also requires someone who is willing to take the time to listen to the concerns of the district and patiently work to solve the problems.  As the father of 3 children and as someone who has been involved in many organizations throughout my community, I have become a very good listener and developed a thoughtful and patient approach to problem solving.

 

Finally, I believe a state representative must be dedicated to their job.  Serving as a legislator takes a genuine commitment to serving the community.  Throughout my life I have taken on the role as community volunteer and dedicated leader.  I will continue to be actively involved after being elected and will dedicate the time and energy needed to be effective as a state legislator. 

 

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.  At a time when most local governments were raising taxes and implementing utility taxes, Covington adopted budgets for 2003 and 2004 which did not require raising property taxes or implementing new taxes such as a utility tax. At the same time, we continued to improve local services and respond to areas of concern.

 

2.  As the Mayor of Covington, I worked to bring together the City of Covington and the Chamber of Commerce by creating the Economic Development Council.  This organization helped bridge the gap between these 2 organizations and work to bring new business to the city.  In turn, this economic development has enabled the city to keep our taxes low and continue to provide quality services.

 

3.  Throughout my life I have been involved in a number of activities, especially with groups and organizations that work with youth.  But the one activity I am most proud of and received the greatest satisfaction is coaching my daughters in T-ball and soccer.  Watching my children, and others on the team, develop individual skills and the ability to work together as a team has been more rewarding than anything else I have been involved in.  This past spring, our soccer team lost our first 5 games of the season.  In our last game, the team worked together and was able to defeat a team they had lost to earlier.  It was great to see how they had improved and how excited they were to win the game.  No matter how busy my schedule gets in the future, I will continue to coach my daughter's teams.

 


 

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.

 

Covington Economic Development Council - member (2004-present)

 

Covington Rotary - charter member (2004-present)

 

Covington Elementary PTA - member and past chair (2000-present)

 

Kiwanis Club of the Foothills - member and past president (1992-present)

 

Youth T-ball and Soccer Coach (2002-present)

 

Church volunteer - teacher, baptism committee and various activities (1999 - present)

 

Communities in Schools of Kent - board member (2002-present)

 

South King County Multi Service Center - Board Member (1995-96)

 

Kent School District Strategic Planning Task Force (1992)

 

Suburban Cities Association - Baord Member (1999)

 

King County Regional Policy Committee - Member (1998-2001)

 

Reach Out Covington - volunteer (1995-96)

 

 

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

 

The duties of State Representative are to represent my district on issues that come before the Legislature, to work with other members to solve problems facing our region and our state, and to promote issues that are of concern to my district.

 

It is also important for a state representative to act as a conduit between the government and citizens in the district.  Government can often times be confusing and difficult for individuals to get answers to their questions or concerns.  A legislator must have the ability to bridge the gap between the community and our government.

 

Legislators must be good listeners, must be dedicated to their job, and must be trustworthy and honest.  Legislators must be accessible to residents, easy to work with, and willing to hear all sides of an issue and work with diverse groups.

 

Most importantly, legislators must not forget that they are public servants.


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.

 

B.A.  Political Science, University of Washington (1997)

 

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