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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24 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
People for Richard Conlin |
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Address: |
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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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Year of Run |
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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 passionate about democracy. I want to continue to use my excellent analytical and accomplished leadership skills to meet the needs of the diverse communities of Seattle.
In my eight years on the City Council, I’ve made decisions that affect many lives – about public safety, transportation, health care, and education. I’ve been willing to make tough choices, to take votes based on what I believe in -- and to stand up for the people of Seattle.
My job is to listen to people, resolve conflict, and make decisions based on a set of core values. My leadership focuses on creating a positive future while keeping what is good about Seattle. We can have great neighborhoods and a thriving downtown connected by transit, bicycle, pedestrian ways and well-maintained roads. My goal is to support healthy families, communities, and neighborhoods -- and a vibrant economy whose benefits are shared by all.
I am committed to stand for integrity and accountability in our city government. We reach our goals by making well thought out decisions. I will continue to ask tough questions on all issues, including the billions of dollars in transportation projects (the monorail, the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the 520 bridge, Sound Transit) that will change the face of our city. I want to make sure that citizens have a voice and that government is fair, transparent, and responsive.
I will continue to be a strong leader and to deliver results. In the next four years, I want to: • Get resources into Seattle’s transportation network, to maintain our roads and bridges, implement our neighborhood plans, promote economic prosperity through freight mobility, and ensure that Seattle is a safe place to walk and bicycle. • Keep our communities safe and healthy, by supporting our parks and libraries, working for better public health, housing, education, and human services, and ensuring that our police and firefighters have the support they need. • Expand my regional leadership work, to get light rail to the airport and Northgate and across Lake Washington to the Eastside, to keep moving on replacing the Viaduct and the 520 bridge, and to replace our fragmented transportation decision-making with a coordinated regional approach that integrates all transit modes into a seamless whole. •Restore faith in government by listening and responding to citizens, valuing and supporting our diverse communities, and preserving open, accountable government and a City Council that develops superb public policy to keep Seattle vibrant, functioning, and resilient. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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I was inspired to run for City Council because of my deep commitment to our communities. I served in leadership posts on my community council, and as a founder of Sustainable Seattle, I helped shape Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan. I base my work on bringing together the core values articulated in that plan – environmental stewardship, economic opportunity, community, and social justice. We must weave those together to create a positive future while valuing the heritage and commitments that have made Seattle such a wonderful place.
I live by a set of principles that guide me in making good, well thought-out decisions for the people of Seattle. I am a consistent and experienced city council member who is thoughtful and positive. I work well with a variety of constituencies including labor, environmentalists, developers, neighborhood activists, city staff, communities of color, and regional partners.
One of my core strengths is my ability to build win-win solutions by engaging with people, listening to them, identifying their core interests, and negotiating to find ways to resolve conflicts. When I take on an issue, I identify what’s required, involve people, and avoid the pitfalls that lead to endless process. I get things done in a timely and systematic manner. I involve all constituencies, creatively develop solutions, find the right answer (not the hasty one), and follow through by doing the hard work, obtaining support, and ensuring implementation. I have earned the trust and respect of a wide range of constituencies throughout the City.
When issues become contentious I work to find solutions that benefit the City as a whole while meeting the legitimate interests of the various stakeholders, whether they come from business, the neighborhoods, or labor. I believe my style of leadership is critical to preserving the things we love about our City and its neighborhoods. |
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 have been involved in civic life since my teenage experiences as President of my County Teen Democrats organization and activity in the civil rights movement in Virginia. I was involved in the first Earth Day in 1970, and in 1971-72 was Co-Chair of Sixth District Citizens for McGovern. I was elected to the Ingham County Board of Commissioners in 1972, serving for two terms. In my second term, my colleagues chose me as Chair of the Finance Committee (at the age of 26), where I was responsible for developing and monitoring a $16 million budget. I left politics to raise my family, and spent two years as a Lecturer in Public Administration at the University of Botswana, an invaluable cross-cultural experience.
I arrived in Seattle in 1981, started a newsletter for the Northwest Energy Coalition (then NCAC), and was selected as a member of the City Light Alternative Resources Advisory Committee, where I wrote the report on renewable resources. I founded an energy conservation business, and managed two contracts for Seattle City Light and Bonneville Power Administration, supervising seven employees; the business was based at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, and a percentage of the income went to the support PNA programs. I was a member of the City Light Rates Advisory Committee, a Water Department advisory committee, the Discovery Park Advisory Council, and the Mayor's Environmental Priorities Project Advisory Committee. I was one of the founders ofer of Sustainable Seattle, the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, BikeWorks, and the Positive Futures Network, where I served for a year as the first publisher of YES! magazine. I am a graduate of Leadership Tomorrow (1991).
I have been Chair of both Public Safety and Land Use for the Madrona Community Council, and a founding member of the 23rd and Union Neighborhood Planning Team. My three children are all graduates of Garfield High School, and I was active in the PTSA's and as a soccer referee and baseball coach.
Prior to my election to the City Council, I worked for 13 years as Director of the Community and Environment Project of Metrocenter YMCA. My major projects including founding and directing Seattle YMCA Earth Service Corps, a program to engage teens in environmental education and action; the City Light Study Group, a project that brought business and low income advocates together to monitor city light rates and financial policies; Sustainable Seattle, a volunteer network dedicated to promoting the long-range environmental, economic, cultural, and social vitality of Seattle and King County; and the Master Home Environmentalist, a nationally recognized program to combat childhood asthma and other indoor pollution issues. I also founded and directed the King County Household Hazardous Waste Round-Ups, and was contracted by King County to manage publicity and education activities for the Household Hazardous Wastemobile.
As a Councilmember, I am Co-Chair of the Seashore Transportation Forum, Vice-Chair of the King County Board of Health and the Growth Management Planning Committee, and a member of the WRIA 9 Forum and Steering Committee (planning salmon recovery in the Green-Duwamish Watershed), the Transportation Policy Board, the Regional Transit Committee, and the Executive Committee of the Puget Sound Regional Council, as well as serving as Chair of the Transportation Committee, Vice-Chair of Finance and Budget, and member of the Urban Development and Planning Committee for the Council.
This variety of civic, work, governmental, and political experience has given me both the breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding to make me an effective Councilmember on a wide variety of issues. All of these activities have reinforced my faith in the collective ability of communities and groups of people to effectively engage in building a better society, and my commitment to civic engagement as a way of life.
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The key duties of the City Council include:
1. Engaging with citizens to educate them about city government and civic life, listen to them about issues and concerns in the community, and partner with them to address community concerns and foster and enhance our democratic society. 2. In partnership with citizens, creating and sustaining the civic spirit of Seattle and developing a vision for Seattle's future. 3. Serving as steward of the public resources entrusted to City government, the Comprehensive Plan, our natural environment, and the community institutions that make Seattle's character. 4. Managing the City's budget and workforce to ensure that resources are used effectively deployed, that the budget is balanced, and that the workforce is treated with dignity and embodies the spirit of public service. 5. Overseeing key City functions, including police, fire, courts, and emergency preparedness; land use, community development, transportation, and neighborhoods; city utilities, including electricity, water, sewer, drainage, and solid waste; parks, community centers, and libraries; housing, health, and human services 6. Working with the region to find ways to cooperate around common regional issues, including transportation, the environment, growth management, health and human services, and other regional services. 7. Ensuring that Seattle government is open and transparent, with decisions made in public, access to decision makers and information, and proactive work to ensure that communities that are less well represented or do not have access through traditional channels can participate. |
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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M.A. Political Science, Michigan State University, 1971 B.A. History, Michigan State University, 1968, Phi Beta Kappa |
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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Currently serve as Vice-Chair of the King County Board of Health and the Growth Management Planning Committee and member of the WRIA 9 Forum and Steering Committee, planning salmon recovery in the Green-Duwamish Watershed.
Community involvement includes Madrona Community Council, Discovery Park Advisory Council, City Light Rates Advisory Committee and Resource Planning Advisory Committee. Founding Board member of Sustainable Seattle, the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, BikeWorks, and the Positive Futures Network. Graduate of Leadership Tomorrow (1991). |
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