The Municipal League of King County 810 Third Avenue, Suite 224 Seattle, WA 98104

2005 Board of Trustees Rita Brogan, Chair Mark Troxel, Vice Chair Beth M. Arman, Secretary Harold Taniguchi, Treasurer Putnam Barber, Executive Alliance Vaughnetta J. Barton, community volunteer Jill D. Bowman, Stoel Rives Patricia Bowman, human resources manager (ret.) Bruce Carter, judge pro tem, Seattle Municipal Court Kevin Carter, Safeco Stephanie Cirkovich, Pike Place Market PDA Peter Coates, Building and Construction Trades Council Chris Cooper, CHHIP Paul Demitriades, Medina City Council (ret.) Sandra Driscoll, City Attorney (ret) Deborah Eddy, Consultant Keven Franklin, King County Mary Gates, Consultant Norma Jean Hanson, Norma Jean Hanson Paralegal Services Robert Klein, McNaul, Ebel, Nawrot, and Helgren Eric Laschever, Stoel Rives Steve Marshall, Snohomish PUD Rob Neate, Puget Sound Energy Jennifer Piccolo, citizen activist Charles Redell, Reporter Tami Ritoch, Fireside Homes Real Estate Associate R. Todd Slind, CH2MHill Lucy Steers, public participation consultant Harold Taniguchi, King County Department of Transportation Rashelle Tanner, CRISTA Ministries David Tarshes, Davis Wright Tremaine Kate Tate, Weyerhauser Philip Thompson, Perkins Coie Mark Troxel, City of Seattle Wes Uhlman, Wes Uhlman & Associates Rich White, Boeing

2005 CANDIDATE BACKGROUND QUESTIONNAIRE FOR NON-JUDICIAL CANDIDATES The Municipal League of King County requests every candidate who participates in the candidate evaluation process to submit background information prior to his/her interview with a candidate evaluation committee.  The questionnaire is the basis of the League’s research and interview process.  The League’s ratings are non-partisan; they are based on standards of Involvement, Effectiveness, Character, and Knowledge, all of which have been developed and refined over the past 90 years. A printed version of the questionnaire is available for candidates who prefer to use the traditional format.  To obtain a hard copy, please contact the League office.  A copy of this questionnaire will be provided to Candidate Evaluation Committee members to help them prepare for your interview.  Candidate responses, except the confidential section, will be available to the general public at the League website.  The Municipal League requests the following materials from candidates.  Please check to make certain you have sent in your: Candidate Questionnaire           Sent by:         Email        US Mail          Fax       Not Sending Resume (education, employment, and professional activities)           Sent by:         Email        US Mail          Fax       Not Sending      Check here if you DO NOT want your resume posted on the Municipal                    League website Campaign Materials           Sent by:     Email        US Mail          Fax       Not Sending Constituent Newsletters and other publications           Sent by:         Email        US Mail          Fax       Not Sending Photograph           Sent by:         Email        US Mail          Fax       Not Sending Note: Electronically submitted questionnaires are strongly preferred. All materials can be emailed to rebecca@munileague.org.  They can be processed and made available on-line far more rapidly than handwritten or typed submissions. For non-electronic submissions, please print clearly and legibly and return the application as soon as possible in order to allow the committee the greatest amount of time to prepare a complete report on your skills and experience. If you have not yet been contacted to schedule an interview, or if you have questions about the candidate evaluation program, please contact the League office at 206-264-1070. If you have a disability and require accommodation to participate in the candidate evaluation process, please contact Rebecca Cooper at the League office.

2005 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
Richard	Rich	Berkowitz

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

Seattle Port Commission Pos. 3

3.   Are you the incumbent?                  Yes              No

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

16 years

5.   How long have you resided in King County?

16 years

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

7.   If partisan, please indicate party: 

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

Campaign Name:	Rich Berkowitz for Port Commissioner
Address:	1900 Alaskan Way #312
City/State/Zip:	Seattle, WA 98101
Campaign Phone:	(206) 728-8086
Campaign Fax:	(206) 728-8086
Campaign E-mail:	berkowitzforport@msn.com
Campaign Website:	berkowitzforport.com

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)
Seattle-King Co. Workforce Development Council	Appointed	2000-present	Currently Vice-Chair, previously Chair of two committees
King County Maritime Heritage Task Force	Appointed	2005

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 office of Seattle Port Commissioner due to my interest in enhancing our regional economy and creating career opportunities for dislocated, disenfranchised, and other individuals in our community.  I have spent the better portion of my career offering a hand up to those that seek to enhance their employment opportunties. I believe the Port of Seattle, as a key component and economic driver of the Puget Sound economy, is poised to play an ever greater role in this effort due to anticipated trade volumes increasing three-fold in the next twenty years.

By focusing on the core mission of the Port, moving passengers and freight, we can create these opportunities.  Nonetheless, the Port of Seattle has strayed from this effort and seems more inclined to develop real estate which is something the private sector can do far better and at significantly less cost.  Numerous examples of this policy failing King County taxpayers exist, including Interbay, elements of the Central Waterfront project, Sea-Tac Airport, Terminal 106 (sale to Charlie's Produce), and the Meydenbauer Center Parking Garage.

Looking at the current make-up of the Port Commission, I am confident my unique background, skills, knowledge, and experience will add value to the combined attributes of the existing Commision.  I am a policy and management analyst by training and practice.  I have professional experience in the business, labor, and public sectors.  My background includes over fifteen years working in the transportation, logistics, and maritime policy and operational arena.  I have worked with ports, waterfront unions, and employers to find common ground and expand jobs and revenue benefiting all.  The recognition of my skills in this last area is why many fishing and marine businesses and waterfront unions have jointly and actively encouraged me to run for this office and are key componets of the coalition supporting my campaign.

Last, the opportunity that the aforementioned explosion of trade provides is transitory.  If it is not immediately sought it will find a home elsewhere and the Port of Seattle will fail to find its most natural niche and a certain revenue and job generator.

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

Among the characteristics significant for qualifying me for the role of Port of Seattle Commissioner are integrity, particularly when faced with competing interests, and my committment to developing a solution that recounciles the interests of all parties while achieving a common goal.

I also have the intellectual skills and tools to comprehend the complex fiscal, economic, policy, and strategic decisions the Port will be required to make in the coming years to be successful.  I have a deep curiosity in pursuing the root causes of complex issues and have been fortunate enough to have found employment which sustains this interest as a primary element of the job.  Consequently, I've had the pleasure of following through on understanding and resolving many issues that have piqued my curiosity.

Last, I am able to articulate policy-related information to the public, media, industry, and policymakers.  Given the role of the Port in our region, its ability to impact so many neighborheads, industries, and constituencies, this is one of my characteristics that will certainly help in achieving the Port's mission.

A good example of the use of these skills is my leadership in creating and sustaining the Internationational Tug of Opportunity System. Through a process of evaluating the root causes of marine oil spills, and having an indepth knowledge of marine operations, I was able to join with a few colleagues to convince the maritime industry in Canada and Washington State to jointly fund and operate a private tug response system that incorporated funds and vessels from both sides of the border.  This assured our joint waters are better protected from the threat of a vessel-related oil spills. In so doing, we were able to craft a joint solution with regulators to increase marine safety without burdening just U.S. operators plying our joint waterways.

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. 

1. During my career, I have served as a policy analyst for the Washington State House of Representatives.  I was asked by House leadership to help define, draft, and coordinate passage of legislation that would help to address the significant dislocated worker problems we were feeling in the timber, aerospace, and manufacturing sectors, among other, in the early 1990s.  As primary staff on this issue, I worked with a variety of educators, trade unions, private vocational school operators, public sector employment and training leaders, and private industry to develop innovative legislation that redefined the role that unemployment insurance benefits and funding would play in adapting to the new work paradigm presenting itself as we headed towards the 21^st century and beyond.

While researching the root causes of structural unemployment and getting a better appreciation for the skills being demanded by industry, I was able to draft legislation that addressed a multiple of needs and purposes.  A key element of this effort was explaining to stakeholders that we could not follow the same path of cycling workers into and out of the unemployment insurance system.  In order for workers to get ahead and maintain quality employment, they were going to need new skills and learning.  I was able to get the community college system to agree to develop more tontemporary training paths to meet the nees of employers if they could be guaranteed a steady flow of enrollments.  I was then able to cajole labor and elements of the business community to support legislation to divert a percentage of unemployment insurance (U.I.) tax revenue to pay for demand-oriented training and extended U.I. benefits for workers who needed the additional skills being demanded by employers who were experiencing shortfalls in trained new-hires.

Shiftng the paradigm of using U.I. benefits exclusively for paying workers while they are unemployed is contriversial and not all business and legislators were willing to change their point of view, particularyly as it might be viewed an increasing U.I. costs.  Noentheless, theough much determination, organizing, outread, and simultenously addressing the needs of disparate interests, the legislation passes, albet by only one vote in the State Senate.  Today, principal elements of the 1993 Washington Workforce Training Act remain intact.  Over $350, million dollars has been expended to train our state workforce for demand occupations in a new economy.

2. As an advocate of U.S.-flag operators, I spend a good portion of my time working with various organizations, policymakers and industries involved in Alaska's economy.  Throughout my tenure on the job, I have come to recognize the importance Alaskan's place on "local hire".  I also recognize that Alaskans sometimes resent U.S. maritime policy that requires all cargo going from one U.S. port to another be carried on a U.S.-flag vessel (the latter is defined as being U.S.-owned, crewed, and built).

I have helped to reconcile ill will caused by existing U.S. maritime policy by initiating a program whereby Alaskan youth, displaced workers, and veterans are targeted for employment by the U.W. flag vessel operators I work with.  This initiative was begun by my negotiating with Alaska's Department of Labor for them to provide assessment and referral services to individuals interested in pursuing a maritime career.  These individuals are then referred to the union training program that is funded by U.S.-flag vessel operators.  The eight-month apprenticeship program guarantees all graduates a job upon completion of their training.  Consequently, state dollars supporting the referral program are matched through industry training dollars by about 15-fold.

The outcome of this effort has been successful for all parties involved and it was awarded with national recognition by the National Association of Workforce Boards.  The compelling case I was able to make for participation from all the parties has left them all with verifiable achievements.  The State got to abundently match its scarce training dollars and provide its citizens with appropriate training and real jobs.  The union and employers are able to find better qualified individuals to train with higher graduation and longevity rates.  Industry as a whole has established tremendous goodwill in Alaska by having its effort become widely known among policymakers and Alaskan rejection of federal maritime policy has generally ceased to be an issue.

The above serves as a textbook example of how public/private/labor partnerships can leave all parties with a symbiotic success.  Recognizing how to demonstrate that all can gain and create a better interdependence is something I am certain the Port could readily use.

3. A key acomplishment I have achieved is through my local community as an activist and board member of my condominium association,  I live on Seattle's central waterfront (just below Pike Market and next to the viaduct).  When my wife and I moved here eight years ago, the neighborhood was under transition.  There was a regular flow of rodents, drug addicts, and alcoholics in and around the area.  Seemingly the area was not safe at night, in particular, and little care was taken in upkeep, litter prevention, grafitti removal, and police patrols.  This was a great shame as the Port and City of Seattle had expended significant funds to try to rehab the area.  However, neighborhoods are really built and sustained by people and pedestrians - not necessarily new buildings.

In order to increase safety and make people feel more comfortable in the neightborhood, I led a local campaign of neighborhood residents and businesses, including the Port of Seattle, to get civic leaders to improve services to the area.  New garbage cans were installed, greater police presence was established, grafitti was rapidly removed, lighting and fencing was improved, and civic leaders were given tours - both pre-and post improvement. To date, we have been able to vastly improve a transitional neighborhood and tourists no longer need to feel intimidated on the front door of Seattle's waterfront.

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 have spent my entire career striving to improve employment opportunities, working conditions, and benefits for working people.  I drafted and was the key staffer responsible for assuring the passage of our State’s “Workforce Training Act”.  The later has provided over $350,000,000 to train dislocated workers and maintain their unemployment benefits as they seek demand occupation employment.  I have taken a leadership role in developing our State’s child labor (minor) work rules, establishing the State Workforce Education and Training Coordinating Board, and creating the Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council.  My community activities include:

•           Vice-President, Pike Place Market Foundation (2002-present)

•           Vice Chair, Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council (2000-present0

•           Member, Seattle/King County Maritime Heritage Task Force (2005-present)

•           Member, Port of Seattle Air Emissions Forum (2005-present)

•           Former President, Washington Fair Share (Citizen Action) (1983-1987)

•           Former Board Member, Waterfront Landings Homeowners Association (1997-2000)

•           Life Member, Navy League 

•           Member, Regional Freight Mobility Roundtable (2003-present)

•           Member, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Public Affairs Council (2002-present)

•           Board Member, Alaska State Chamber of Commerce (2003-present)

•           Member, Prosperity Partnership, Logistics & Int’l Trade Group (2004-present)

•           Former Chair and Board member, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Alaska Committee (1995-present)

•           Former President and Board member, Seattle Propeller Club (1998-2003)

•           Member, National Defense Transportation Association (2000-present)

•           Member, Transportation Club, Tacoma (2003-present)

•           Advisor, Puget Sound Maritime Trades Port Council, AFL-CIO (2000-present)

•           Former Delegate, King County Labor Council, AFL-CIO (1982-1986)

•           Founding Board Member, International Tug of Opportunity System (1999-present)

•           Participant, Puget Sound Harbor Safety Committee (2002-present)

•           Advisory Board Member, Youth Maritime Training Academy (2000-present)

•           Member, Catholic Seaman’s Club (1995-present)

•           Member, Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Coalition (2004-present)

•           Executive Board Member, First Book (1997-1999)

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

Similar to the boards and commissions I have been elected or appointed to, a key role of a Port of Seattle Commissioner is to create a sustainable vision for the organization.  As a public entity, this is accomplished by taking the pulse of the wider community and assuring their needs and trust are given the utmost consideration and deliberation.  Following this, the commission must act and take upon itself a role of advocacy and not arrogance.

I foresee other paramount roles and responsibilities to include:

a.) hiring a CEO;

b) conducting and reviewing strategic planning for the organization;

c) partnering with other policy makers and civic leaders to develop shared policy initiatives;

d) maintain fiscal accountability;

e) when necessary, testifying to government officials or meeting with key custromers to embark or sustain critical initiatives; and

f) setting budget priorities and assuring the Port of Seattle lives within its fiscal means.

As the commission only hires one individual, the CEO, I would see this as a critical step facing the next commission.  I have had great experience with accomplishing this task as I chaired the CEO committee for the Seattle-King County Workforce Board and led the effort to hire a remarkable woman who has earned national recognition.  The CEO often sets the tone of an organization and is the one most accountable to the Commission.

Overall, a Commission member must have the qualitative and quantitative expertise to ask the right questions of staff and port executives to assure that they are expending public dollars and trust in the most responsible and sustainable manner.

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.

BS, Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, 1982

MBA, University of Washington, 1989

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 have spent my entire career striving to improve employment opportunities, working conditions, and benefits for working people.  I drafted and was the key staffer responsible for assuring the passage of our State’s “Workforce Training Act”.  The later has provided over $350,000,000 to train dislocated workers and maintain their unemployment benefits as they seek demand occupation employment.  I have taken a leadership role in developing our State’s child labor (minor) work rules, establishing the State Workforce Education and Training Coordinating Board, and creating the Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council.  My community activities include: Vice-President, Pike Place Market Foundation,Vice Chair, Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council, Member, Seattle/King County Maritime Heritage Task Force, Member, Port of Seattle Air Emissions Forum, Former President, Washington Fair Share (Citizen Action), Former Board Member, Waterfront Landings Homeowners Association, Life Member, Navy League, Member, Regional Freight Mobility Roundtable, Member, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Public Affairs Council, Board Member, Alaska State Chamber of Commerce, Member, Prosperity Partnership, Logistics & Int’l Trade Group, Former Chair, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Alaska Committee, Former President, Seattle Propeller Club, Member, National Defense Transportation Association, Member, Transportation Club, Tacoma, Advisor, Puget Sound Maritime Trades Port Council, AFL-CIO, Former Delegate, King County Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Founding Board Member, International Tug of Opportunity System, Participant, Puget Sound Harbor Safety Committee, Advisory Board Member, Youth Maritime Training Academy, Member, Catholic Seaman’s Club,       Member, Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Coalition, and Board Member, First Book.

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: 206-264-1070                Email: rebecca@munileague.org

Seattle, WA 98104-1614                        Fax: 425-671-0506                        Website: www.munileague.org