1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
|
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?
|
25 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
|
Campaign Name: |
John Kane for Port Commissioner |
|
|
Address: |
|
|
|
City/State/Zip: |
|
|
|
Campaign Phone: |
|
|
|
Campaign Fax: |
|
|
|
Campaign E-mail: |
|
|
|
Campaign Website: |
|
|
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) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
|
Office Title |
Year of Run |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.)
|
As the current Chair of the Ballard Interbay Northend Manufacturing Industrial Center (BINMIC), I am very concerned that the current Port policy is moving in a direction away from its core mission of being focused as an excellent seaport and airport. The Ports proposed residential development in the industrially zoned Interbay area was paid for by the King County property owners (tax levy) and has been a planning effort that initially omitted many of the local maritime businesses. Starting in 2004 for over the period of a year, acting as the Chair of the BINMIC Committee, I was finally able to convince the Port Commission that they should establish an ad hoc committee of maritime business representatives to discuss their Interbay proposal before the Port issued the Draft EIS. The amount of time and effort it took to establish this ad hoc committee reaffirmed that the Port was not a transparent organization or understood the concerns of the maritime businesses. More recent examples reveal too many important decisions that are not discussed publically: the purchase of the former South Tsubota Steel site (approximately $6 million), the sale of the Charlie's Produce property (a loss of approximately $10 million in potential revenue to the Port, and more importantly, King County taxpayers) and the initial $10 million plan to save the waterfront trolley, all completed with no public input or review. This local issue is a microcosm of a larger issue throughout King County, the Port needs to support the entire county, not just the Seattle area. That is why I support expanding the "Seattle First" program, currently managed by the Manufacturing Industrial Council (MIC), that contacts businesses directly to determine their problems with local government, to find solutions, and to make certain that they do not leave Seattle. I would support a similar program, with leadership from the Port of Seattle, to expand the Seattle First program throughout King County. The current potential revenue shortage at SeaTac airport is also a cause of concern for two reasons: the lack of communication between the Port and their airline tenants and secondly, how fast the economics can change with Port projects. I recently heard one of the Port Commissioners state in public that Southwest Airlines knew and approved of the proposed changes at SeaTac. It now appears that miscommunication occurred between the Port and Southwest Airlines. Furthermore, King County taxpayers were not provided information to know that airport improvement costs could potentially jeapordize the continued presence of Southwest Airlines. A better dialogue, including the public, could raise these issues before bonds are issued and dollars are invested. Because of the potential shortfall, a recent Port Commissioners meeting revealed that some of the airport projects may need to be cancelled or reduced in scope. I believe that annual performance audits will provide financial information to reduce costs and allow for the planning for potential shortfalls for future Port projects. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
|
I have an excellent abililty to listen to opposing points of view and varying factual information and then synthesize the information into a clear and concise opinion. I have learned this ability from my training and years of work experience as a scientist and entreprenuer, where I learned how to think through complex problems in explaining them in straight forward terms to my clients and the general public.
I have direct experience in working with Port of Seattle and City of Seattle staff. The Port's maritime projects are almost always reviewed by the city staff, and having worked with both parties over the past 7 years I understand their differences and know how to successfully integrate ideas from both groups. A good recent example is the potential late night 8-hour closure of the Ballard Locks. I worked as the BINMIC Chair with city staff and with Port Commissioner Fisken, to lobby the Corps of Engineers not to close the locks. Our combined efforts, as well as many others, including our State Senators, resulted in successfully keeping the locks open. This was a group effort and showed that we can work together with a common purpose and goal. |
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.
|
I have been the Chair of the Ballard Interbay Northend Manufacturing Industrial Center (BINMIC) Action Committee for the past two years, and a member of the Committee the previous 5 years. The purpose of the Committee is to represent the maritime/industrial and other commerical businesses that make up the vibrant BINMIC area and provide jobs and economic development for King County. Over the years, we have worked with three city administrations and a number of Port Commissioners and staff. Members of the Committee are also members of other neighborhood committees. We all work to ensure that issues such as freight mobility, environmental cleanup, and business retension and growth, increase family-wage jobs throughout King County. I also served as a member of the Executive Committee with the Manufacuring Industrial Council (MIC) from 2002 to 2004, and I was recently appointed for three years by Mayor Nichols to serve on the Restore Our Waters Committee. I also serve as an advisor for the maritime businesses on a Groundswell NW Committee that is looking to enhance salmon habitat west of the locks.
I have been an active member in athletic programs on Queen Anne from 1998 to 2005. I started, managed, and coached the first Queen Anne AA Girls FastPitch Softball team seven years ago, and I am pleased to say that the program is still succeeding today and that some of the girls I coached seven years ago are still playing organized softball on the team currently sponsored by my company, Kane Environmental Inc. I have also contributed as a coach and supporter for the QA community soccer league over the past seven years. Both of these efforts gave me new skills in communicating with parents, supporters and children from various backgrounds as well as an outlet to serve my community. My company has purchased books for my daughters public school, McClure Middle School.
|
|
The Port of Seattle Commissioners establish Port policy and approve budgets and expenditures. They also support Port staff in economic development projects. The proposed North Bay development is a significant directional change for the Port, using King County tax payer money to fund Port staff and their consultants in their planning work for North Bay. Projects such as this are significant expenditures of taxpayer money and Port staff time, and reflect the direction that the Port Commissioners want to take. |
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.
|
Master of Business Administration Western WA Univ Bellingham WA 1986 GeoScience BS Hobart College Geneva NY 1979 |
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.
|
|
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