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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26 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Elect Ed Pottharst |
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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.
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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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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My mission as an Independent King County Council member will be to make the County Council more accessible, particularly for people for whom access is a challenge. I intend to provide strong and accessible regional leadership. I am committed to bridging the gap between Democrats and Republicans on the County Council while encouraging community constituents with different viewpoints to work together toward common goals. My objectives include preserving open space, strengthening the regional park/trail system, bolstering County actions to meet the challenge of climate change, forming County-community partnerships, building mass transit, restoring confidence in the County elections department, and bridging the rural-urban divide about land conservation and stewardship (critical areas).
I look forward to the opportunity of working closely with community groups (i.e., schools, businesses, community councils, churches, youth groups, food banks, conservation and outdoor recreation groups, service clubs, and so on) and helping them build partnerships among themselves and with County, City, and other levels of government. My vision is to be an amazing resource and catalyst for the residents of both District 4 and the County as a whole. With my strong background as a community coach and my experience in local government, I believe that I can accomplish this mission. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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1. I have a great ability to work with people, and I pride myself on being highly accessible. I am an eager listener because of my outgoing personality and because of my deafness--I take good care to listen well. Because I have grown up deaf in a hearing world, I have great respect for all people, especially people who are not in the mainstream of society. People have said about me that I have the ability to bring disparate groups together for the common good with no agenda other than to improve conditions in the community.
2. I am open-minded and independent-thinking. I love brainstorming ideas and coming up with positive, creative solutions. I like to start with values and overarching goals and work from those towards solutions, rather than allowing myself to get mired down in entrenched partisan positions.
3. I have excellent skills in problem-solving, opportunity-finding, and community-building. As an example, while doorbelling as part of my campaign, I have met several people who had questions and concerns about the County's critical areas ordinance, and I have been able to connect these people with County staff to address their concerns.
4. I am hard-working and persistent. I have lots of energy and staying power (I'm an avid bicycle commuter, and I have climbed Mt. Rainier). I know that it often takes stamina and steady work to get past the occasional obstacles and setbacks in community projects or collaborative processes. It also takes persistence to scout out underrepresented groups and help connect them with the community (I give an example in #3 below).
5. Integrity/values: I value candor, and I think people respect honesty, especially if one listens well and maintains a positive outlook and focus on the common good or public benefit. I also value diversity; to me, it is an attribute of a community to be embraced, and by valuing the wealth of attributes and talents people have, we are better able to build community and unity. Finally, I value family and friends as an integral part of my community; I truly believe that there ought to be room in public and community service for all people, including people with young, growing, and active families. |
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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Neighborhood District Coordinator, City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods (1999-2005, currently on leave). As a neighborhood coordinator, first in Queen Anne and Magnolia (1999-2002) and then in the Lake City/Northgate/Maple Leaf district (2003-2005), I have helped residents, community groups, businesses, and schools work with the City to make communities a better place. This work has included problem-solving, scouting of opportunities, and coaching on neighborhood matching fund grant applications. I also have managed neighborhood service centers in both areas, including establishing a larger one in Queen Anne/Magnolia (please see #3 above). I also have worked with City staff to promote revitalization of the Northgate area and to create a Northgate stakeholders group, which has been a highly successful forum for community-developer-government partnerships and exchanges of views. An important part of my work has been to go into the community to find and help people who have challenges accessing government and community resources.
Environmental analyst and project manager, Seattle City Light (1989-1999). Negotiated environmental agreements with tribes, fish and wildlife agencies, and other utilities. Tracked global warming effects of City Light operations.
I have been a mentor in many capacities with youth groups over the years: Nathan Hale High School (2003-present), high school students with disabilities (1993-present), Metrocenter YMCA (1997-2000), and Seattle Youth Garden Works (1998-2000).
Since 1985, I have volunteered with, and served on the board of, several resource and advocacy groups on behalf of people who are deaf or hard of hearing. As chair of the Washington State Telecommunications Relay Service Advisory Committee, I helped establish the state's first telephone relay service to enable deaf and hard of hearing people to use the telephone. I have also lobbied public opinion and movie theatres for greater accessibility for movie-goers who are deaf or hard of hearing. Still also, I was a founding board member of Listen and Talk School for children with hearing loss (1995-1998). In 2003, our younger daughter, Amy, who is also deaf, began receiving services from Listen and Talk.
I have served on the board of the Washington Conservation Voters (1992-1995), formerly WENPAC.
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The most important duties of a King County Council member are to improve the quality of life for all residents of King County and to be accessible to all constituents. And to accomplish these goals, a Council member needs to go back to the people. As a Council member who would represent the residents of the 4th District, I believe this would be best done by doorbelling district residents, hosting town meetings, and networking and collaborating with community resources and assets, such as schools, businesses, senior centers, youth groups, churches, temples, food banks, service providers, and so on.
To accomplish the broad goal of improving quality of life for County residents, I believe that four duties of a King County Council member are the following:
--provide constituent service: As a Council member representing the 4th District, I would want District 4 and other County residents to look to my staff and me as resources for solving problems, obtaining services and information, forming partnerships, and building community. I would want to collaborate with City, State, federal legislators and staff in my district to help provide this service.
--create government-community partnerships: I believe that creating government-community partnership is a great way to build stronger communities, to empower residents, and to leverage scarcer government budget and staff resources. With my background in local government, I have extensive experience in forging such partnerships and would see that as one of my primary duties as a Council member.
--provide regional leadership: I believe that King County government can provide stronger and more accessible leadership on regional issues such as transportation, water supply, and environmental stewardship in both the rural and urban parts of the County (critical areas). I can help King County government accomplish this by working to focus on larger goals rather than entrenched positions.
--champion King County employees: King County's strongest asset is the people who work for it. As a Council member, I would help County employees be the best possible resource to County residents by ensuring that the County hires and supports a diverse, versatile, and highly effective workforce whose mission is to improve the quality of life for County residents.
The 4th District is an urban district entirely within Seattle (Northwest and Center City Seattle). In such a district, the main functions of King County government include transportation (Metro bus service), parks, human services, courts, and sewage services. The Seattle-King County Department of Public Health also provides important health services as well as community-partnering opportunities such as programs with schools to encourage greater physical fitness and less obesity via children walking or bicycling to school. Also, the County plays a major role in regional transportation planning via the Regional Transportation Investment District. In the unincorporated parts of the county, King County government is responsible for providing direct services such as police, library, and land use regulation.
I also strongly believe that a duty of a King County Council member is to help bring into the fabric of our community underrepresented and challenged groups of people such as recent immigrants, people with disabilities, and people who face discrimination. |
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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B.A., Human Biology, Stanford University; M.S., Biostatistics, University of Washington. |
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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Neighborhood District Coordinator, City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Help residents, community groups, businesses, and schools work with the City to improve the quality of life and build healthy, vibrant communities. Manage neighborhood service centers in Queen Anne/Magnolia and Lake City/Northgate/Maple Leaf.
Environmental analyst and project manager, Seattle City Light. Negotiated environmental agreements with tribes, fish and wildlife agencies, and other utilities. Tracked global warming effects of City Light operations.
Founding board member, Listen and Talk School for Children with Hearing Loss (Bothell).
President, Washington State Chapter of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf. |
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