1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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First Name |
Middle Initial or Nick Name |
Last Name |
2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
3. Are you the incumbent? Yes No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
5. How long have you resided in
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July 1993 |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
People for Weston |
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Address: |
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Campaign Phone: |
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Campaign Fax: |
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Campaign E-mail: |
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Campaign Website: |
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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.
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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There are two different
types of answers to that question. Why should someone vote for
me? And, what motivates me to run? First, why a person should
vote for me. You should vote for me because I would be an excellent
judge. Of the candidates for this position, I have the most experience
in superior court. I am also the only candidate who has significant
trial experience from both sides of the aisle. As a deputy
prosecutor and public defender, I have been in superior court daily. I
have prosecuted and defended people in charges ranging from DUI to
murder. I have tried both criminal and civil cases. I know
everyone in the
I am motivated to run for judge because it is the next step along a path begun when I was a young adult. In my undergraduate study of philosophy, I took a two-year independent study of ethics and justice. I knew that I wanted to spend my life in some form of public service. Since my talents were writing, photography and graphic design, I went into public relations for higher education. I did freelance work, and worked on the staffs of Grinnell and Ripon Colleges. I also did graduate work in journalism and in communication theory. Law interested me as a way of integrating my interests in ethics and communication. My career path in law has been as a public defender (Grant County), in plaintiff's civil work (Sampson and Wilson, PS), as a deputy prosecutor (Grant and Island Counties), and as a public defender (here in King County). I am good at what I do, but I would be better as a judge. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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I am diligent, efficient, patient, and analytic. I have a great sense of humor. I have a good memory. I work well with people. All these characteristics suit a judge. I have demonstrated diligence in managing the heavy caseloads of prosecution and defense, and assembling the elements to successfully try a case, routinely. I can get this work done because I can strategize to the long-term goals while minding the minutes of the day. I would use county resources carefully, and manage the high caseloads of the court. My "boutique practice" as a public defender has been representing the high-need person. I do this well because I respect my clients, and I am extremely patient. I do well in trial, and would do equally well on the bench, at analyzing the issues as they arise. For instance, one skill developed after years of trial practice is having a running analysis of the evidence law as testimony unfolds. This makes for a good judge, but it also prevents me from enjoying movies of courtroom drama. Watching actors make errors of law jars my attention, like the bell ringing for Pavlov's dog. I have a good sense of humor because I also have a good sense of tragedy. I occasionally describe my current job as being a stand-up tragedian. My memory has served me well in remembering statute and case law, and lets me give an hour-long closing argument with only minimal notes as a safety net. A judge needs to remember the law, and the facts of the cases playing out in court. My most important personal characteristic integrates this all. I continue to demonstrate good legal judgment. |
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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My primary community service has been dedicating my professional life to community service. I have volunteered at my son's schools: Olympic Hills Elementary and Kellogg Middle School. I just helped the Seattle Ki Society, the aikido dojo my son attends, to move from the Roosevelt to the University Districts. I routinely donate blood. Before I was a lawyer and father, I did a lot more volunteer work. I helped fundraising for the Johnson County/Iowa City National Organization of Women. I helped fundraise for the Iowa Feminist Legal Defense and Education Fund. I volunteered in the recreation therapy program of the Linn County Home. I volunteered in the Ripon public schools talented and gifted program. I did grass roots political work in Iowa City and Grinnell to get out the vote at the caucuses and elections.
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The Superior Court is the forum for resolving the basic legal antagonisms of our society. The judge provides the best place possible for the fair and efficient resolution of these conflicts according to the Constitutions and the law, and thus commands the respect of the citizens for our system of justice. To this end, the judge must know the law, that is, the U.S. and Washington State Constitutions, the statutes, the case law, and the court rules. Because such omniscience is outside human capacity, a judge must continually learn the law as it is needed, and as it develops. A judge must also be a successful umpire, arbitrating the rules of evidence and law during the presentation of trials and hearings. A judge must be efficient, not only in handling the caseload coming through the courtroom, but also the minutes of the day. Courts cost our county money, and our citizens time. Besides running a good place to try a case, a judge demonstrates judgment. The judge not only rules on what is the law, and what is fair and what is foul, a judge evaluates what is true and what is less so. A judge issues verdicts, rulings and settlements that touch lives long after the trial is over. This final duty is the most important, exercising the judgment of the community, because it defines who the community is. |
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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B.A. Philosophy (ethics and justice) Cornell College; graduate study communications U Iowa; J.D. University of Oregon |
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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I have served my community as a deputy prosecutor and public defender in superior court for most of my career. I have prosecuted and defended people accused of charges ranging from forgery to murder, and from arraignment through appeals. Before I became a lawyer, I working in public relations, helping small colleges weather the lean years of the 1980s, when the money and the enrollment was gone. |
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.)
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Nothing official, only resolving interpersonal conflicts in my supervisory positions. |
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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% municipal court |
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3 |
% state district court |
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97 |
% 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