1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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First Name |
Middle Initial or Nick Name |
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2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
3. Are you the incumbent? No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
5. How long have you resided in
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2 YEARS |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
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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.
Public Office |
Elective or Appointive? |
Dates Held |
Leadership Role (if any) |
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KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT COMMISSIONER
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2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
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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:
§ 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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I have spent my entire
adult career committed to justice for all and to the improvement of the lives
of the most vulnerable members of our society, including our children.
Hence, my campaign slogan is "Kim for Kids". I started out as
a youth counselor after attending college and became interested in the law as
a way to improve children's lives. I later became a family law lawyer
and directed the
As a Court Commissioner for the last nine years, I have sat on a wide variety of court calendars, including Juvenile offender (crime), Child abuse and neglect, family law, truancy, BECCA, civil commitment, guardianship, probate, and civil injunction matters. As a judge, I will bring to our bench a strong background in family and juvenile law issues. Although we have a wonderful group of judges, they tend to have a background in either criminal or civil trial experience. 40% of the court's caseload is in the area of juvenile and family law. If children are truly our most precious resource, we need to foster that resource by electing judges who have dedicated their lives to improving how the court system handles cases involving children whether it be BECCA, truancy, child neglect, juvenile offender or family law matters. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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According to the latest survey by lawyers who actually have appeared before me, I have high ratings for efficiency, impartiality, decisionmaking skills, and appropriate demeanor. In the 2003 King County Bar Survey, I scored in the top 25% of ALL King County Superior Court Commissioners AND Judges and ranked #3 among all Female Judges and Commissioners in overall performance on the bench. (Overall rankings in the "Excellent" and "More than satisfactory" categories.)
I am known as one of the hardest working members of my bench and approach every problem with enthusiasm and determination.
Running a courtroom requires not only these skills, but the ability to work well with staff, lawyers and other judges. I am well-liked by staff and have the support of over thirty of the Superior Court Judges on my bench. Statewide, my judicial skills are so well respected that I have been asked to teach for the last three years at the one mandatory training that every new Judge and Commissioner (at all court levels, including Supreme Court) must attend- State Judicial College. |
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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Seattle Rotary Club, 1994-present Washington Talking Book and Braille Library (2002-present) (Volunteer Newsreader) National Adoption Day, King County Superior Court (Planning Committee, 2002-present) High School Moot Court Competition, Moot Court Judge (2002-present)
Girl Scout Leader , 1992-1996 Soccer Registrar, 1998 Church Nursery School teacher 1990-2 School Volunteer 1988-1992
Mother of two adult children, Alex and Zachary Married to Arnie Whedbee, 24 years
Former small business owner (law practice,1993-94)
Former Union member (AFL-CIO, NOSLW), 1982-1993)
Active in analyzing and drafting legislation and court rules since 1984
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Presiding over criminal, civil, family and juvenile cases; listening to the evidence and applying the law to the facts of the case while demonstrating a fair and thoughtful approach. Public trust in government is enhanced when the litigants and the public at large feel that their issues are treated seriously, that they are listened to and that the judge will make a decision based on the facts presented to her or him and the applicable law and not based on political or personal considerations.
Administering a large and complex bureaucracy; although each judge is a separate elected official, we all have the to help manage it in a manner that is efficient and makes wise use of scarce public resources.
Fostering access to justice. We cannot truly be a justice system if some people are denied access because they cannot afford or cannot understand how the system works. We must do our part to make the court system more transparent, more user friendly and more accessible to all.
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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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State Judicial College, 1994 University of Puget Sound, School of Law, 1982 University of California, B.A. Psychology |
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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Supplemental Judicial Candidate Questionnaire
1. Briefly describe the nature of your current practice/position including types of clients and areas, if any, of specialization. State what percentage involves civil litigation, criminal litigation, and/or nonlitigation.
2. Identify all your experience as a neutral decision maker (e.g. judge, permanent or pro tem, in any jurisdiction, administrative law judge, hearing officer, arbitrator, etc.)
3. If you have been a judge, identify any court committees on which you have served or administrative positions you have held, including dates.
4. List the approximate percentage of your time over the last five years you have made appearances in:
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n/a |
% municipal court |
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% state district court |
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% superior court |
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% federal district court |
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% appellate court |
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% administrative tribunals |
5. Are you now an officer or director of any business enterprise other than your law practice? If so, what role do you expect to play if elected?
6. Have you ever been disciplined or determined to be in breach of professional conduct by any court, administrative agency, bar association, disciplinary committee, judicial conduct commission, or other professional group? Have you ever had a formal complaint filed against you with the WSBA? If so for either or both questions, give the particulars, including the outcome.
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