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

JOHN

     

SPANGENBERG

 

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

 

KIRKLAND CITY COUNCIL  POSITION 5

 

3.   Are you the incumbent?                  Yes              No

 

 

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

 

34 years

 

5.   How long have you resided in King County?

 

38 years

 

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

                                                                                                                       

7.   If partisan, please indicate party:       

 

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

 

 

Campaign Name:

 

COMMITTEE TO ELECT JOHN SPANGENBERG

 

Address:

 

6401 122ND AVENUE NE

 

City/State/Zip:

 

KIRKLAND, WA 98033

 

Campaign Phone:

 

425 822-0822

 

 

Campaign Fax:

 

425 889-8235

 

 

Campaign E-mail:

 

cemckee@comcast.net

 

 

Campaign Website:

 

www.spangenberg.cc

 

 

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)

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

     

 

 

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:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.)

 

BUILDING TRUST

 

            No more surprises

            Effectively inform and involve residents and businesses in key issues

            Build partnerships to achieve city goals

 

IMPROVING KIRKLANDS EDGE – a great place to live and do business

 

           Enhance our neighborhoods - increase walkability to build a healthier community

           Plan for well-designed housing that fits the community  

           Sustain businesses to meet neighborhood and citywide needs

 

BALANCING BUDGET - fiscal responsibility

  

            Evaluate the need and effectiveness of services and programs

            Strengthen business areas to increase revenues

 

MANAGING TRAFFIC – now and in the future

 

            Traffic calming in our neighborhoods and improving key intersections

            Work regionally for traffic solutions

       Increase public tranportation options

 


 

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

 

My knowledge of cities is wide-ranging: from urban design, housing, public finance and natural evironment to urban development, demographics and politics. My education (architecture, urban design/planning, and public administration) prepared me for professional/managerial roles in city planning, urban development, and government affairs. In addition, I designed and teach, with other professionals, the graduate level Comprehensive Planning and Implementation class at the University of Washington.

 

My involvement, and working with others to accomplish goals, includes my roles on nonprofit boards, managing the planning and building of housing and business projects, and public sector comprehensive planning. These activities included working relationships with business groups, environmental and neighborhood groups, as well as clients and members of volunteer and professional organizations.

 

My election to chair of two boards speaks to my character and effectiveness. These roles required, of my collegues, the knowledge and confidence in me to effectively lead the organization and achieve organizational goals. The boards are responsible for defining strategies and building interest in and support for activities, as well as overseeing actions to accomplish these goals.

 

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. 

 

These examples relate accomplishments to  meeting current growth management policy challenges and the provisions for urban elements and programs.

 

The design, funding, and construction of the Redmond SR 520 interchange - provided for a key regional roadway connection to minimize local traffic impacts and meet projected growth needs. Following a unique fianancing plan to address housing and business park traffic, the SR 520 project proceeded through design, public review, EIS and pre-construction stages only to be interrupted by the Legislature (affected all funding and priorities for state projects). The funding was successfully restored in the next session, through my efforts as President of the Redmond Chamber, the active involvment of the City of Redmond (to keep traffic out of neighborhoods), and King County (regional access for fast growing Northeast County). The Legislature, by an almost 80% affirmative vote, restored the funding to the transportation budget. As the result, the interchange has been built, along with substantial works to protect Bear Creek and the provision for additional wetlands.

 

A new vision for the City of Kirkland was the City Council's rationale for its first comprehensive plan and related shoreline element. I was the city planner hired to manage and write the plans. The planning program involved the Council, Planning Commission, a new advisory body, residents, businesses and property owners at many meetings and public hearings. The result was a growth management plan that set the foundations for the City's open spaces and parks, established neighborhood identities and concepts, created unique community districts, such as medical/hospital and downtown, and housing densities related to activity centers. Kirkland's pioneering work on its waterfront (park acqusitions and activity districts) set the stage for its leadership in bringing together eleven jurisdictions to create a policy framework utilized by each jurisdiction to meet new state requirements.    


 

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.

 

The skills described in the following activites illustrate different ways to define needs, create a plan or policies and implemention strategies , involve those affected, and move forward with reasonable actions.    

 

Family Resource Center(FRC),the Eastside Human Services Campus, gave me opportunities to develop working relationships with board members, staff and volunteers, and the community to provide reasonable space and a "one stop" facility to meet a variety of community needs. The FRC, under my leadership became financially sound and embarked on a fund raising campaign to reduce our mortage to help reduce the financial burden of health and human service agencies.

 

The Redmond Chamber of Commerce provided me with a better understanding of the business sector's role in the community. My Chamber involvement, as past board president and current board trustee, was to reach out to the City, businesses, and the broader community  to define and support land use, transportation, environmental, housing, fiscal,and other issues benefitting the city and region.

 

The Lake Washington School District Modernization Committee involvement was to define school rehabilitation or new construction options and to recommend a proposal and package to the School Board Directors for a future bond issue. The proposal was based on a review of voter attitudes toward schools, the geographic distribution of new/rehab schools (elementary, junior and senior high), and dollar size of the ballot measure and levy. The $250 million bond issue was passed with positive results in many neighborhoods within the District.

 

Being the coach of my son's soccer team required learning soccer from the ground up. Teaching soccer at practices, getting parents' support and coaching games over a few seasons required positive approaches to create an atmosphere to enable the players to work as a team and win games. It was a learning and rewarding experience for the team as well as the coach.

 

 

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

 

To communicate with residentsand businesses.

- Seek input on a regular basis

- Listen to identify emerging issues, existing problems and feedback.

 

To achieve and maintain sound fiscal policies. 

- Understand key revenue sources and expenditure components

- Propose reasonable options as part of the budget cycle.

 

To maintain strong working relations with other council members, commission/board members, city manager and staff to effectively communicate and implement actions.

 

To build better working relations with regional entities.

- Many city actions, and opportunities, depend on, relate to, or are affected by regional          policies and actions.  

- For example, county-wide planning policies, road funding, watershed planning,  water source/distribution, and transit options and funding.

 

Maintain awareness of emerging issues and an openness to new ideas and solutions.


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.

 

Bachelor of Architecture  UC Berkeley

Master of Urban Planning  UW

Master of Public Administration  UPS

 

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.

 

Family Resource Center Board Chair

Redmond Chamber of Commerce Trustee

Rotary

Rose Hill/Bridle Trails Neighborhood Association

 

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