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 King County?
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I live in Pierce County. |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Sebring for Supreme Court |
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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:
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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The state supreme court needs people who have had Superior Court trial experience and a diverse legal background. I have been an attorney, both criminal and civil trial work, worked as a manager [Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor, County Personnel Director and Chief Labor Negotiator, Administrative Officer for the County Executive]. Policy experience as Legal Counsel to Governor Booth Gardner. Finally I was a Superior Court Judge in Pierce County for over 12 years. I currently work as a 60% Assistant Attorney General in the Tort division in Lacey as a trial attorney. A central theme in my work experience is making government work more efficiently and effectively. It is uncommon for a judicial candidate to have management and leadership experience. I feel the court need the skills I possess. My varied experiences have taught me to work effective with others in policy and legal decision making groups. My approach is pragmatic, what works best, not based in ideology. I have learned the hard way that ideology, often does not attain the goals we desire. Unfortunately changing criminal behavior is not simple. Nor is adopting legal policy. Too often we get unintended consequences and do not achieve our common goal. I believe I could provide leadership to the court and view points others on the court would join. In political races we are all drawn to people with our experience or point of view on key issues. My belief is some of our best jurists historically were centralists. Those jurists who stayed within a narrow ideological point of view, isolated them from the other members of the court and the public ultimately. The law should be for all of us, not just fashioned to reflect a narrow interest group. I would listen to all the public and not a select few.
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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 work well with others in a group setting. Listen to their points of view, tried to define an approach or way to satisfy the goals we share. My management experience has taught me that making a decision is not enough. We all make mistakes and need to learn from others. No single person has the answers, nor is always correct. My views on a variety of topics have changed over the years and I like to think I am open to others' views. I enjoy working. I found out fairly quickly at age 57, I am not ready to retire from public life. |
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 public work positions have keep me very involved in the community, they are listed elsewhere. My wife and I have three children, all adults at this point. I consider my children one of the greatest blessing of my life. I stay in contact with them several times a week and try to visit them often.
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The Supreme court sets the judicial policy and procedure by its many rules and its decisions. The decisions given by the court impact our daily lives and how we feel about our safety and security. I view the rule making duties of the court as important as the issuing of legal decisions. Rule making changes for model jury instructions avoids the retroactive effect which results from case law decisions. The retrial of a murder cases greatly impacts the victim's family, when the law is changed after the trial is over, but is allowed to be retroactive for all pending appeals, which force the reversal and re-trial. Unfortunately, the public turns too often to the courts as the final recourse for solutions to the most vexing issues. The court needs to acknowledge its limitations occasionally, Some issues do not have solutions in the courts. As a policy making body, the court does not have the tools [options], nor diversity of the Legislature. The court can not fund or create programs. The legislature should take the lead on major changes in public policy. The court's job is much narrower, trying to answer the finer questions of what the Legislature really meant and if the method the legislature adopted is within constitutional requirements. |
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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1974 Juris Doctorate in Law: University of Puget Sound Law School; 1969 B.A. in Sociology [criminology]: Washington State University; 1987 Harvard, Kennedy School of Government Course for Executives, 1970 U.S. Army Engineering Candidate School. |
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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Terry Sebring Supreme Court, Position 6 Address: Sebring for Supreme Court, 11012 Canyon Rd E.# 8,PMB 147, Puyallup WA 98373-3002 Phone: 253 531-2602 Email: terrysebring@prodigy.net
Education: Washington State University, University of Puget Sound Law School, Occupation: Attorney since 1975. Professional experience: Assistant Attorney General: 1+ year. Superior Court Judge in Pierce County: 12+ years Legal Counsel & Administrative Officer for Booth Gardner when Governor & Pierce County Executive: 8+ years. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney: 7 years. U.S. Army, 1st Lieutenant: 3 years. Personal Information: age 57, born and raised in Wenatchee, WA, married 34 years to Laurie, 3 adult children. Community Involvement: My wife and I attend Lighthouse Christian Center in Puyallup; past member: State Employees Insurance Board, Higher Education Finance Authority. Personal Views: Court decisions impact all of us; we need to feel safe and secure. I have years of experience as a trial judge, and a willingness to improve the law and our courts. Health care insurance costs concern me; I understand the factors behind them. |
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
Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: 425-671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org