2006 Candidate Questionnaire
SECTION I
BASIC CANDIDATE INFORMATION
1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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First Name |
Middle Initial or Nick Name |
Last Name |
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Judy |
Clibborn |
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?
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37 years |
5. How long have you resided in King County?
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62 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
7. If partisan, please indicate party: Democrat
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Judy Clibborn for State Representative |
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Address: |
8140 SE 44th St. |
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City/State/Zip: |
Mercer Island WA 98040 |
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Campaign Phone: |
206-232-8213 |
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Campaign Fax: |
206-236-3057 |
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Campaign E-mail: |
judy@judyclibborn.com |
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Campaign Website: |
www.judyclibborn.com |
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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) |
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Elected
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2002 - 2006
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Vice Chair of Local Government
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City Council Member
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Elected
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1990 - 2001
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Mayor 1994-1998 Chair of Suburban Cities 1997
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Park Board, Arts Council Mercer Island
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Appointed
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Chair of both during terms
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2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
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Office Title |
Year of Run |
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City Council, City of Mercer Island
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1985
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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:
- Involvement: What has the candidate done previously in family, neighborhood, community, volunteer work, employment or public life to suggest readiness to accomplish challenging objectives? How do these activities demonstrate readiness for the challenges unique to the office sought?
- Effectiveness: Has the candidate demonstrated promise of being productive in the office sought? Has the candidate shown the ability to work with other people?
- Character: Do the candidate's personal traits show the ability to take on the responsibilities of campaigning for and holding the public office she or he is seeking? Is the candidate a leader, participant or observer? Is the candidate trustworthy, reliable and candid?
- Knowledge: Has the candidate demonstrated the willingness and ability to learn and adapt? Does the candidate understand the duties and challenges of the office sought? Does the candidate have a firm grasp of the issues important to his or her constituency and their potential effects?
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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As a nurse, mother, Councilmember, and Mayor, I brought a diverse background to the legislature. My training as a nurse was based on looking at and solving problems. As a mother, I raised our three children and five foster children. This experience led to involvement in the community in many different ways. As Councilmember and Mayor, I made decisions about transportation, public safety, trails and parks, and land use regulations. As Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, I worked closely with small business and the issues they face every day. With four years of legislative experience, these vastly different experiences help me find solutions at the state level. These are the issues I want to work on in Olympia: Transportation – I ran in 2002 to break gridlock in transportation funding that had existed for thirteen years. I pushed for a bi-partisan 5-cent gas tax in 2002 and a 9 1/2-cent gas tax in 2004 that is attacking safety and chokepoint issues on our highways, I also supported transportation alternatives that provide a way to move people and goods without relying on single occupancy vehicles. These transportation jobs provide strength to our economy. Last year I worked to link the two transportation efforts in the Puget Sound region, RTID and Sound Transit, for a vote in 2007. The Legislature showed they are serious about comprehensive transportation planning and implementation. The Governance Task Force will start to take us down the road to more effective use of our tax dollars and decision- making. It is important to have comprehensive goals, not parochial decisions. Healthcare – I am concerned about the increase of uninsured in our state. Coming up with a solution that addresses access, cost, and personal responsibility will be my goal this next session. As a member of the Healthcare Committee, I sponsored bills that establish coverage for all kids by the year 2010, (HB 1441), a bill that allows private, part-time employees to get coverage from multiple employers, (HB 2972), and supported the subsidy for small business employers to help their employees get coverage. Covering more people brings down the cost of insurance, and helps with the high costs for hospitals and clinics.
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2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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Connecting personally, understanding complexity, and taking hard stands make me a leader in Olympia.
My most important success comes from my ability to connect personally with others and bring diverse sides together for a common solution. By throwing my personal impact into finding solutions, I am able to build bridges between constituencies that would not usually work together. This goes a long way to breaking gridlock, something citizens like. Focusing on where there is agreement and downplaying our differences gives us a lasting solution, not a partisan solution.
I have an understanding of the complexity of many of the issues we deal with in Olympia and who they impact. Few issues impact only one area. Local Government and Finance, Economic Development and GMA, transportation and land use. I keep this awareness in my decision making to ensure we do not have unintended consequences.
I am not afraid to take a hard vote and stand by the solutions that are controversial if I think it is right. I try to exert leadership on issues without leaving my constituents behind. This has created some heat for me but it also has created the realization that I am not afraid to do the right thing and think outside the box. This gives me credibility on issues and people listen.
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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.
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I have a fundamental value in finding lasting solutions to answers, not just the political one. This is important to me because if it is not sustainable, it is not a solution. That is why I am so proud of the collaborations I have done in Olympia and the style I am known for by my colleagues.
Last year we changed the Unemployment Law for the third time in four years. We were in total disagreement about whether the costs should be carried by business or workers. I followed the task force that was set up during the interim and learned as much as I could about this complex issue. When the task force did not come up with a clear decision, I worked with both sides to hone in on common ground. Using my personal “bridges” that I had built working on other issues, I kept the lines of communication open to keep all solutions on the table. In the end, both sides got their main requests, and we kept the Unemployment Trust Fund solvent. This win/win is my favorite effort in the last session.
When the Governor wanted to launch an effort to cover all kids by the year 2010 with healthcare, I became the leader of a stakeholder process to work out how to get there. Creating a group process and leading them with staff and the various interests is interesting and takes the ability to work with different personalities and agendas to come to a common goal. We are in our third year and have made great strides. I have kept the communication open about what is politically doable to activists who might otherwise feel left out. I have brought their issues to the Governor to make sure she is on board. I have worked with both the Senate and House chairs of healthcare committees to keep their interests alive. I have always kept the private sector interests in mind as we work on solutions. There are controversial issues embedded in these efforts but it is important for the children of our state to make sure we are successful |
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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Graduated in 1965 from University of Washington School of Nursing with RN and BS Degree. Head Nurse at Harborview Medical Center from 1967 1969.
Raised three children, five foster children, and one foreign exchange student before running for City Council in 1989. Worked with school systems, human service providers, counselors, foster care programs, and community services.
1980 Member of the Parks Board. Opened street-end parks to the public. Ran a bond issue for open space: Gallagher Hill on Mercer Island.
1984 Founding member of the Mercer Island Arts Council. Worked to start the summer concert series “Mostly Music in the Park”. Helped start the public art program and later as a Councilmember voted for the 1% for art proposal.
1989 Ran for City Council. Won on issues of saving parks slated for development and sale and unseated an incumbent. Set up first Municipal Open Space Trust in state for Pioneer Park on Mercer Island.
1990 Member of “Fifth Quarter” a youth orientated activities group working with Mercer Island High School and the churches.
1990 – 1993 During term as Mayor completely rebuilt the downtown infrastructure of the town center of Mercer Island to make it more pedestrian-friendly, focused retail and made available room for mixed-use infill in housing. Using a mix of Federal, State, and local dollars, built to the standard requited under the GMA to sustain targeted growth. Also started working with Sound Transit to site parking services for the Island. Recently, eight new re-development sites have been completed or started on Mercer Island bringing office, retail and housing to the Towncenter.
1992 –1994 Built and designed the first open skateboard park in the state and later helped to change the law to make skateboard parks equal in insurability for other recreational facilities. Worked wit the youth to include their ideas and designs and taught them how to work with the government to get something they wanted.
1992 – 2000 Served as Chair for two years of the King County Human Services Roundtable. Passed an omnibus bill on domestic violence and identified gaps in services for DV victims to be met by the County and cities working together.
1995 –2000 Served on the King County Law, Safety, Justice Committee. Made subcommittee report on court services. Co-chaired the committee on Regional Specialized Police Services. This committee worked on issues such as detention, youth and adult, disproportionality, regional information sharing, sentencing impacts on jail costs among other issues.
1994 – 2001 Member and Chair of Suburban Cities. Reformed governance for this body to be proactive in dealing with county/city issues. Served on the Growth Management Planning Council as chair for the Suburban Cities. Co-Chaired a committee at the watershed level to bring cities and the county into a partnership to plan for protection of salmon under ESA (Endangered Species Act).
1998 – 2002 Citizen member of the Oversight Committee on Police Corps at Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center. Became knowledgeable about training issues for the state public safety system and impacts on local departments.
1998 – 2002 Assessor for the Western Regional Institute for Community Oriented Public Safety. Made one assessment to Laramie, Wyoming to assess their community policing.
2002 - Received an award from the Mid-East King County Network for work over the past years with youth.
2001 – 2003 Executive Director of the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce. Help the business community work with the city on communication, signage, parking and other issues.
2002– 2006 Member of the Washington State House of Representatives. Vice-chair of Local Government, Member of Healthcare, Economic Development/Agriculture and Trade (EDAT) and Transportation. Also serve on the Rules Committee and a member of the Committee on Committees.
2003– 2006 Current member of Rotary International, Mercer Island
2004-2005Awards:
Legislator of the Year for Washington Parks and Recreation Association
Special recognition for healthcare bill from Restaurant Association
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- Please describe the duties of the office you seek. Which are the most important duties and why?
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The most important duties are to be present in your job and listen. Engaging in the discussion of different viewpoints and making sure every side is heard means being in the present. Listening to the committee reports, to the caucus members, the citizens, and the lobbyists to get the most information before you make up your mind and vote. Going to committees and talking with colleagues about issues is a good way to keep things moving. Being flexible and willing to learn. And lastly, being able to make a vote and stand by your convictions. Knowing your district well enough to know that your vote reflects their values.
Communication is the most important part because it is how you find out what is going on in your district and how they find out about what you are doing. Emails letters and calls are usually the best. The Townhall meetings are always great. |
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.
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Graduated from the University of Washington, School of Nursing with a BS and RN |
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.
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As a legislator, I have brought years of diverse experience as a nurse, mother, city councilmember, and regional leader to Olympia to serve the 41st. These vastly different experiences came from being in leadership roles for over 20 years of my life. I represent the citizens well because I understand their issues on a personal basis. I look forward to serving the citizens of the 41st District again finding solutions to improve transportation gridlock, healthcare costs, and education funding. |
Finished!
If at all possible, send your response to the Municipal League electronically as an attachment, or insert it into an e-mail message (cec@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 newsletter 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: Jennifer DiGiacomo
Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: 425-671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org