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
Jeff		Griffin

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

State Representative/ 5th District/ Position 2

3.   Are you the incumbent?                  Yes              No

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

23 years

5.   How long have you resided in King County?

28 years

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

7.   If partisan, please indicate party:  Democrat

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

Campaign Name:	Jeff Griffin for State House
Address:	4580 Klahanie Dr. SE #272
City/State/Zip:	Issaquah WA. 98029
Campaign Phone:	(425) 391-2543
Campaign Fax:	(425) 369-9849
Campaign E-mail:	jgriffin4statehouse@msn.com
Campaign Website:	www.jeffgriffin.org

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)
City of Issaquah Fire Review Board Member	Appointed	2001-current	Member
Eastide Fire and Rescue Board of Directors	Elected	1999-2001	Chairman
King County Fire Dist. #10 Commissioner	Elected	1996-2001	Chairman

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

Office Title

Year of Run

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 running for the Legislature to represent the needs of my community. I have worked or lived in the 5th district for more than 23 years and have watched it grow from small rural communities into thriving cities with all of the challenges that this rapid growth brings. Overcrowded roads, underfunded schools, and challenges to the emergency services, all challenging our quality of life.

I have been twice elected and served as a Fire Commissioner prior to incorporation of Sammamish, and through the incorporation process. I helped create Eastside Fire and Rescue from 5 smaller fire departments to meet the ever growing demand for services. I enjoyed working with many enthusiastic and talented people on several city councils and fire commission boards and found that almost all were serving for the right reasons. When we moved our family into the City of Sammamish I was required to give up my fire commissioner seat and I missed the involvement in fixing the problems. During my involvement in local government I found that many of the funding issues faced at the local level can only be solved at the state level. I think we have a real opportunity to improve funding for education, restore and improve funding for transportation, and bring back some of the public trust that has been badly damaged in the past. I also think we can have a government that is more transparent and responsive than we have had lately. I plan to go to Olympia to help build and work on teams to accomplish these goals, and many more.

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

I am a great team player. I have been a professional Firefighter for 23 years and have worked under the worst conditions to bring the best outcomes possible. I have been a fire officer for 14 years and am responsible for making life or death decisions on a daily basis. I have been part of teams, and lead teams, that have responded to disaster on a worldwide basis since 1980. I am very involved in my community. From serving as an elected official , coaching little league, serving on local boards and commitees, and being a good neighbor, I am part of my district. My family owns and operates a small business so I understand all of the challenges and rewards of doing that. I have worked as a negotiator, a mediator, and a facilitator, and I believe in finding the solutions, not just pointing out the problems. I am also known as a very determined person. Having people tell me something is not possible just makes me work harder.

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 elected to the King County Fire District #10 board in 1995. I ran because I saw an area that had several small fire departments tha were competing for rescources and not cooperating with responses. They were being operated as small kingdoms with rigid boarders that actually delayed some emergency responses. I saw alll of these departments with their own administrations, fire prevention divisions, training divisions, and response plans, and knew that we could spend less and get more. I was told by many firefighters, fire commissioners, city council members, and fire chiefs that getting them together was impossible. I built relationships with many of them and helped to create a vision of what could be, if we were just able to set aside egos and do what we do best, serve the public. In 1999 Eastside Fire and Rescue was formed and overnight we had more firefighters on the street providing better and faster service for less money. I served as Eastside Fire and Rescue Board of Directors Chairman and am very proud of every minute.

In 1999 I volunteered to be trained by Alaska Airlines as a CARE team member. The CARE team is formed in case of an aicraft crash to responde and care for survivors or surviving family members. I was one of only a few people to get trained that was not an employee of Alaska Airlines. When flight 261 crashed in Los Angeles I was activated and responded within a coulpe of hours. I was assigned to care for three young  men whos parents had been killed on flight 261. Two of the threee were full-time college students, and the oldest brother was just starting out in his first year after college. I spent 11 days with them and bringing 138 family members to help and support them. The loss of their parents is a terrible tragedy for the boys but all three have since graduated college. Two of them have married. I am proud to say that the boys have all visited and stayed with my family and we are very close friends today. My wife Lorna and I were honored to be in the eldest sons engagement and wedding ceremonies acting in the roles that their parents would have. I am most honored that the youngest son has chosen firefighting as his carreer.

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.

I am a married father of 2. I am active in all aspects of my kids lives. I attend and help in their classrooms, chaperone field trips, and coach all of their sports teams. I am a member of the Issaquah Friends of Youth Advisory Board since 1997.I am a 23 year vetran fire officer and past leader of a regional hazardous materials response team. I served as a Fire Commissioner from 1996-2001, and was twice elected. I was King COunty Fire District #10 Station 3 Firefighter of the year in 1984. I  the King 10 Uncommon Stewardship award in 1983. I was named the Firefighter of the Year for the Port of Seattle Fire Department in 1987. I have responded as part of a disaster relief team from 1980 till present day and operated as a part of the Incident command system many times. I was the Finance Section chief on the 2003 Carnation wildland fire. I am Trained in anti-terrorism, hazardous materials response, weapons of mass destruction, and bio-terrorism. I was an instructor at the Washington State Fire Service Academy in 1990. I have been an active fund raiser for the Northwest Burn Foundation since 1986. I was the chairman of the Pro committee for Proposition 1 to create a Fire Benefit Service Charge and stabilize emergency service funding in 2003. 

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

A State Representative needs to seek input from other citizens to better understand what issues impact their district. We must be in touch with issues and how they impact the quality of life for our constituants. We must be champions of causes for our district and be the voice at a state level for the concerns and hopes. To do this we must be and remain connected to those we serve. Issues require research and in-depth knowledge so we must be students of government and process. We must be able to work as team members and also be able to lead teams. Government is a team sport. To serve is a great honor and trust. I believe that to go to Olympia with nogoals or legislation proposals would be a huge waste of opportunity. I think the time serving is precious and it will be my duty to make the most of it.

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.

Fire Command and Administration degree from Bellevue Community College. Anti-terrorism training, Hazardous materials training from the Nation Fire Academy.

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.

I was twice elected as Fire Commissioner and served as Board Chair. I served on the Innaugural Board of Directors of Eastside Fire and Rescue, and served as Chairman in 2001.  I have served on the Issaquah Friends of Youth Advisory Board since 1997. I am in my second appointed term on the Issaquah City Fire Review Board. I was the Chair of the Pro committee for Proposition 1, the Fire Benefit Service Charge. I have coached Little League for 5 years. I am an active safety director at Cascade Ridge Elementary School. I was an instructor for the Washington State Fire Training Academy.

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