SECTION I
BASIC CANDIDATE INFORMATION
1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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First Name |
Middle Initial or Nick Name |
Last Name |
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Jay |
R |
Rodne |
2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
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State representative, 5th Legislative District, Position 1 |
3. Are you the incumbent? X Yes G No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
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5 years |
5. How long have you resided in King County?
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Approximately 7 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? X Partisan G Nonpartisan
7. If partisan, please indicate party: Republican
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Friends of Jay Rodne |
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Address: |
P.O. Box 2627 |
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City/State/Zip: |
Issaquah, WA 98027 |
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Campaign Phone: |
425-890-3336 |
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Campaign Fax: |
425-396-5442 |
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Campaign E-mail: |
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Campaign Website: |
www.jayrodne.com |
1. Beginning with the most recent position, please list public offices which you have held. Include positions on appointive Boards or Commissions.
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Public Office
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Elective or Appointive? |
Dates Held |
Leadership Role (if any) |
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State representative
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Appointed
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Jan. 2004-present
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Assistant Ranking Member, House Health Care Committee
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City Councilmember, City of Snoqualmie, WA
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Elected
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2001-2004
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Chair, Public Safety Committee; Co-chair, Finance & Administration Committee
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Precinct Committee Officer |
Elected |
2000-present
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N/A |
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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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.)
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Throughout my life, I have been committed to improving our community through service. From volunteering at a local Boy’s and Girl’s Club as a youth in high school, to volunteering at various food banks in Omaha during college in the mid-1980s, I firmly believe that the rights and privileges of citizenship bring attendant responsibilities to contribute our talents and abilities for the betterment of society. I have continued this spirit of volunteerism in my professional life through my service as a volunteer attorney with the King County Neighborhood Legal Clinic, which provides free legal services to low-income people who would otherwise go without legal representation as well as my volunteer efforts with the Access to Justice Network, which strives to break down the impediments to our civil justice system so that the principle of equal access to justice will become a reality for all. It was my commitment to service that inspired me to serve my country in the armed forces after graduating from college in 1988. While on active duty from 1989 to 1993, and having served in the Persian Gulf War and the humanitarian mission in Somalia, I had the privilege of serving with many fine young men and women who instilled in me a renewed sense of faith in our nation. Although I left active duty in 1993, I continued to stay in the reserves and, in February 2003, my reserve logistics unit was activated and sent to Kuwait and Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This was a watershed event in my life. I recall a specific event in April 2003 as we were traveling through a small Iraqi village approximately 60 miles south of Baghdad. Numerous children and their parents came out to greet us, many with tears in their eyes, to thank us for giving them and their children a chance to live life in freedom and the hope of a better, more prosperous future. This experience was relived in numerous Iraqi villages and it was because of this transforming episode in my life that I am running for this office. In short, I am seeking this office because I care deeply about our future as a community and I want to work hard to help bring about a more prosperous and better future for our children, a future that is infused with a sense of optimism and hope, similar to the sentiment that I witnessed in the faces of the Iraqi people in that small village southeast of Baghdad. |
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2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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I reflecting on my life, I believe that my most important personal characteristics with respect to the office that I currently seek, as reflected in my life experiences, family background and personal and professional life, include a record of leadership, a strong work ethic, a priority on education, and a commitment to the intangible values of character and integrity. I learned early on at a young age the importance of hard work, perserverence and the importance of obtaining a good education by the example set by my parents, who both worked full-time to support our family and who took turns over the course of several years to obtain their college degrees by attending night school. As a young military officer during the Persian Gulf War and in Somalia, I witnessed first hand during some very trying and challenging times the importance of leadership and the powerful impact that an adherence to character, conviction and teamwork can overcome even the most daunting of circumstances. However, in order to be an effective leader, I also firmly believe that one needs to be a good listener and be able to compromise and work collaboratively with others towards a consensus. I have worked hard during this past session as a representative, and formerly as a city council member, to listen to the needs and concerns of my constitutents and to work collaboratively with my colleagues to craft common sense solutions and policy. I fundamentally believe that the ability to rise above partisan politics and reach effective compromises is essential because many of the challenges facing our state such as revitalizing our economy, overhauling our education system, delivering health care services and fixing our transportation problems will need bipartisan cooperation and compromise in order to formulate workable solutions. I am committed to this approach. |
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.
a. One of the most significant accomplishments in which I have played a part involves my participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom from February to June, 2003. As a Major in the U.S. Marine Corps reserves, I am the Executive Officer and second in command of a 1200-person reserve logistics battalion. In February of 2003, my unit was activated and sent to Kuwait and Iraq to provide logistical support to coalition forces and Iraqi civilians during Operation Iraqi Freedom. As second in command of this unit, it was my responsibility to ensure that the unit was properly trained, and that we successfully accomplished our logistics mission overseas. As I have previously indicated, this was a watershed event in my life on many levels. We were able to successfully accomplish our mission with no injuries or loss of life. We were able to provide food, comfort and security to scores of Iraqi civilians who had been devastated by years of oppression by the former regime.
b. A second accomplishment of which I am proud involves my work as a city councilmember for the city of Snoqualmie and our efforts to generate the community suppport to build a new fire station. When I was elected to the city council in 2001, the city's firestation was a decades-old structure that was in bad condition and prone to flooding. Moreover, the station was too small for existing need and it was not equipped with a ventilation system and thus exhaust fumes from the fire trucks would seep into the living quarters of the firefighters each time an engine was started. My colleagues and I on the council worked collaboratively to provide a workable plan to the community's approval for a new state of the art fire station that would meet the city's needs for generations to come and which will be a model for environmental design and concept by utilizing the most advanced low impact design techniques.
c. Finally, a third accomplishment of which I am proud occurred during this past legislative session. As one of the few attorneys currently serving in the legislature, I have seen the traumatic effects of requiring child victims and child witnesses to testify in person during court proceedings while the adult perpetrator is present. Current Washington law allows child victims to testify via remote teleconference but the law does not provide a similar opportunity for child witnesses to crime. Thus, when members of the King County Council approached me with this concern, Democrat Rep. Ruth Kagee and I agreed to co-prime sponsor a bill that would expand Washington law to allow child witnesses to testify via remote teleconferencing. Although the bill enjoyed wide bipartisan support, and had a positive hearing before the House Judiciary Committee during which I testifed in support, the bill was not able to make it to the floor of the full House for a vote. However, current Washington law need to change in this respect and I will continue to seek the passage of this legislation next legislative session.
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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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-Elected City Councilmember, City of Snoqualmie, 2001-2004 *Chair, Public Safety Committee (2002-2004) *Co-Chair, Finance & Administration Committee (2002-2004) *Co-Chair, Planning & Parks Committee (2002-2004) *Chair, Public Works Committee (2004) -Snoqualmie Valley Rotary, 2000-present -Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce, 2001-present -Washington State Bar Association, 1997-present *Member, WSBA Court Improvement Committee (2000-2002) *Member, WSBA Pro Bono Committee (2000-2002) -King County Bar Association, 2000-present *Member, KCBA Bench-Bar Committee (2000-2002) *Member, KCBA Judiciary & the Courts Committee (2001-present) -Volunteer Attorney, King County Bar Association’s Neighborhood Legal Clinic Program (2001-present) -Access to Justice Conference Planning Committee (2002-2003) -Snoqualmie Valley Youth Hub (city council liaison member, 2002-2003) -Member, Association of Washington Cities, 2001-2004 -Member, Snoqualmie Valley Governments Association, 2001-2004 -Maple Valley Chamber of Commerce, 2004 -Issaquah Chamber of Commerce, 2004 -Little League baseball coach, Snoqualmie Valley Little League baseball program, 2001. -Volunteer, Toys for Tots program, 1999-present |
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5. Please describe the duties of the office you seek. Which are the most important duties and why?
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The duties of the office of state representative are multi-faceted. As a member of a policy making body, one of the most important duties of a state representative is to formulate the long-term fiscal policy of the state and the prioritization of government that is an integral component of this policy making process. Accordingly, those who aspire to state office must have the ability to grasp the complexities and nuances of a variety of issues and be able to comprehend the far-reaching implications of their decisions. As a representative during this past session, my daily responsibilities included preparing for and attending committee hearings and floor debates by researching bills, reviewing statutes, reviewing committee notes, and gathering all essential information on proposed legislation in order to make a thoughtful and well-informed decision. On a more fundamental level, a critically important duty of a representative is to be engaged in the community and the district that one represents, to listen to constituents and to communicate with them on a regular and consistent basis. I firmly believe that the fundamental duty of a representative is to serve as the voice on behalf of the constituents in Olympia and to represent the views, aspirations and intentions of the people of the district that one represents. During this past session, an example of this occurred during regular morning teleconferences that I conducted with members of local chambers of commerce from the 5th Legislative District concerning pending and proposed legislation that was important to the business community. This proved to be a very effective means of sharing information and facilitating dialogue during what proved to be a very busy legislative session. Additionally, an important duty of a representative is to communicate with and build positive relationships with one’s colleagues in an effort to promote the exchange of ideas, build a spirit of cooperation and to be able to transcend partisan politics to effectively address the pressing challenges confronting the people of our state. |
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.
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J.D., cum laude, Gonzaga University School of Law, 1997 B.A., Creighton University, 1988 |
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.
X 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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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
Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: 425-671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org