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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18 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Richard Pope for Port Reform |
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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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2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
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Washington State Attorney General
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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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I am running because I want to make the Port of Seattle financially accountable and self-supporting. King County property owners pay $62.7 million per year in Port property taxes -- an increase of 76% since 2001. Most port authorities in the USA are self-supporting and many return substantial net revenues to local governments. The Port of Seattle receives the largest subsidy by far of any port in North America. Why should local taxpayers subsidize airlines, cruise lines and shipping companies. I want to eliminate this unnecessary and extremely unfair tax levy, and make the Port give back to the people, instead of the other way around.
I am extremely concerned about the Sea-Tac expansion program and the prospect of "competition" from King County's Boeing Field. The major airlines demanded improvements, and Sea-Tac is spending $4.2 billion. Southwest Airlines now doesn't want to pay its fair share. Opening Boeing Field to "competition" could cost King County taxpayers dearly.
I strongly oppose having local governments "compete" with each other using our tax dollars. Airlines must honor their commitments and pay for improvements. I also want to make sure that Sea-Tac is wisely spending our money, especially on the expensive expansion project. We must also be fair to the environment and Sea-Tac's neighbors (and their many concerns).
I want to make the Port of Seattle's maritime business competitive and financially viable. Right now, the Port subsidizes many of its maritime operations in an effort to "compete" with Tacoma and Everett. The Port has spent countless millions on expensive pet projects not directly related to its maritime business. The Port has also spent heavily on its own offices, and its cruise ship terminal facilities (which are heavily subsidized for cruise ship companies.)
I wish to redirect Port dollars to modernize cargo terminals and improve technology. The Port needs to focus on self-supporting operations, instead of subsidizing things which other local ports can do more cheaply or effectively. The Port should preserve vital industrial and warehouse land to every extent reasonably possible. Obsolete facilities which are no longer needed or economically viable should be sold only at fair prices. I am opposed to giving surplus land and buildings to developers at bargain basement prices. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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I have extensive education and experience relevant to the position of Port of Seattle Commissioner . I have a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from the University of the State of New York (Albany) and a Juris Doctor degree in Law from the University of Washington with Highest Honors. I also pursued graduate studies in Economics, including International Trade and Econometrics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I taught Economics classes at the University of Tennessee and worked as an Economics researcher. I have taken a number of real estate and appraisal courses.
I have been involved in a numerous of government and civic organizations, including being elected President of the Graduate Student Association at the University of Tennessee, serving the interests of over 6,000 graduate and professional students. I served on the ASUW Board of Control and GPSS Executive Committee at the University of Washington, and also one year as Chair of the ASUW Experimental College Board of Trustees, responsible for overseeing hundreds of instructors and tens of thousands of adult education students in the Seattle area.
I have practiced law for almost 14 years, and have extensive experience in real estate, taxation, criminal justice, civil litigation, business practice, and family law. I have devoted his entire legal career to personally representing ordinary citizens, and am aware of their issues. I have been actively involved in neighboorhood, civic and political affairs, including twice seeking election each to the Port of Seattle and for State Attorney General. Although I was not elected, I received very substantial vote totals each time, including the largest number of total votes ever received by a challenger in each of my races for State Attorney General. |
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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I moved to Washington in 1987. I live with my daughter Kathleen (born January 30, 2003) in our house in Bellevue. I have extensive experience in real estate, taxation, criminal justice, civil litigation, business practice, and family law. I have devoted my entire legal career to personally representing ordinary citizens, and have frequently represented low or moderate income clients pro bono or at a greatly reduced fee. I lived in Shoreline from 1993 to 2003, and was involved with the Shoreline Council of Neighborhoods, and the North City Neighborhood Association, and ran for Shoreline City Council in 1997 I am a member of the Phi Alpha Delta legal service fraternity, and the Washington State Bar Association.
I volunteered to serve my country for seven years in the United States Army Reserve -- including active duty service during the Persian Gulf War. I received an honorable discharge in 1993 and was awarded the Army Achievement Medal for distinguished service. I also served an internship with the U.S. Army JAG Corps during the time I attended law school.
I pursued graduate studies in Economics and International Trade at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where I was elected by the student body to serve as President of the UT Graduate Student Association. I taught Economics classes to hundreds of undergraduate students at the University of Tennessee, and also worked as an Economics researcher.
While attending the University of Washington, I served on the ASUW Board of Control, and the Graduate and Professional Student Senate. I was Chairman of the ASUW Experimental College, a student-run non-profit organization providing adult education to tens of thousands of Seattle-area residents annually. I served for three years on the UW Student Financial Aid Committee, assisting thousands of low and middle-income students to afford college.
I was actively involved opposing taxpayer financing of the sports stadiums in the mid-1990's, and was recently involved in PDC rule-making, etc., concerning out-of-state contributions. I have served as a Republican PCO in various precincts, and was a delegate or alternate to the Washington State Republican Conventions in 1988, 1990, 1996, 2000, 2002, and 2004.
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The Port of Seattle is governed by a board of five part-time citizen commissioners. These five commissioners determine the Port's policy and budget, make major decisions, and hire the top level executive management. The Port's commissioners are each elected by the entirety of King County and should be responsible for listening to the public's concerns and addressing these concerns in making their decisions. Operation of Sea-Tac International Airport is extremely important, serving nearly 30 million passengers, and is the principal commercial airport for over four million people in western Washington. The Port's maritime operations are also extremely important, although other local ports such as Tacoma and Everett provide similar services as well. It is extremely important for this region's people and economic well-being for Sea-Tac Airport and the maritime operations to be managed in a cost-efficient and productive manner. The Port of Seattle also possesses taxing authority, and is allowed to impose considerable property taxes without a vote of the people. Presently, this property tax levy is $62.7 million per year, and has increased by 76% just since 2001. I believe it is extremely unfair to tax property owners to support maritime or aviation operations, which should be self-supporting. I believe that Port funding will be a major issue in the future, and that the Port of Seattle needs to do everything possible to reduce and eliminate the property tax levy. The only input the public has on the tax issue is through electing commissioners. |
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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JD (Law), U Wash, 1991; BA, Econ/PolSci, U St New York, 1985; Grad Study Econ, U Tenn, 1985-87, Real Est/Appraisal, NSCC |
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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President, U Tenn Grad Stud Assn, 1986-87; ASUW Board of Control, 1988-89; U Wash GPSS (Grad) Exec Comm, 1988-89; Chair ASUW Experimental Coll Board of Trustees, 1988-89; U Wash Stud Fin Aid Comm, 1987-90; Shoreline Coun of Neighborhoods, 1997-98; North City Neigh Assn, 1997-2003; Active in opposing taxpayer financing of sports stadiums, 1995-98; Involved in PDC rule-making and activism re out-of-state contributions, 2002; Republican PCO; Delegate or alt, 88, 90, 96, 00, 02 & 04 Wash GOP St Conv |
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