1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
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First Name |
Middle Initial or Nick Name |
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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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17 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Committee to Elect Dini Duclos |
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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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Kent Human Services Commission
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1/1/06-1/1/08
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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 |
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Federal Way City Council - Position 6
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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 have been an active member of this community since moving here 12 years ago to become the Chief Executive Officer of the Multi-Service Center, a non profit community action agency providing services to low income families in south King County. When hired, this agency was experiencing much financial difficulty along with a very poor image in the community. I met with community leaders, staff and others from all parts of South King County. I then led the Board and staff in developing a three year plan to improve the financial condition and our public image. By the end of three years the agency was on solid financial grounds and we had made substantial improvements with our image in the community. Today we are cited by government officials and city staff as one of the best run agencies and in south King County. I attribute much of this success by listening to what people told me and implementing plans and actions that address those comments.
When I accepted this CEO position, my goal was to live and work within one community so that I could be more involved with my community. Early on I was appointed to the Parks and Recreation Commission by the City Council and served for 4 years; two as the Chair. During my term I helped raised funds for Celebration Park - a new sports; play and recreational area in Federal Way. After leaving this commission, I was appointed to the Planning Commission and have served on that continously and currently am the Vice Chair. I also have also been appointed two separate terms on the Kent Human Services Commission and currently am the Chair.
I am a member of the Federal Way Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and served as Chair of the Board in 2003-2004. As Chair I lead a meeting of over 100 people of all areas of our community to help formulate a vision for our downtown which was later presented to the City Council. Currently I chair the Government Affairs Committee for the Chamber and work very closely with City officials and our legislators, both locally and federally. Together we have been gaining support and funding for road improvements for our "Triangle Project".
I am running for the open seat as I believe my extensive and broad work in the community will allow me to be an effective Council member; to represent the people of Federal Way, to work on behalf of small businesses in our community to help make them stronger and to provide for public safety by strengthening and retaining a solid police department.
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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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I am a very honest person and this comes through in all my interpersonal interactions. I am very good at listening to people and sorting out to the heart of thel issues. I have successfully brought people together who were are odds to develop solutions that all parties could agree to accept. I am an individual with integrity and when I commit to do something, I follow through. I have been a part of this community for 12 years and want to see it continue to thrive and grow. I believe my background and training will help me be a very effective council member who will not forgot that I am elected to represent all the people of our community. People respect me because I follow through on what I say I will do. I am appreciated by the staff of my agency because I listen to their opinions and concerns. When people do a good job, I believe it important to recognize and acknowledge that effort.
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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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When hired by the Board of Directors in 1995, the agency I went to work for was in a very bad financial position and suffered from a very poor image throughout south King County. For several years there had been many negative stories about the agency and its former director. I set out to personally meet with every staff member and every member of the Board. Then I began getting names of elected officials and other influencial people throughout south County to talk with about the agency. After spending 6 months doing this, I brought the Board and staff together to look at where the gency was currently and where it wanted to be in three years. From that both Board and staff developed a plan and worked the plan. I am proud to say that we accomplished our goals and the agency has been financiallyl stable for the past 10 years and has earned excellent reviews from funding sources, community leaders, and others. My skill as a coalition builder was paramount here.
Another major accomplishment was bringing together a politically divided Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Upon becoming Chair, I eliminated the current Management Team and brought all decisions to the Board as a whole. I was praised by many for doing as they had felt this "prior elite mangement" group was making all policy decision for the Board. In this manner we began to have open dialogue and discussion and brought us together as a Board
As a result of my leadership of the Chamber Board, I made it possible for local businesses to come to the Board and present information on the potential harm to them by Sound Transit Plans for a Transit Station. The result of all the investigation into the plans for the Transit Station was that the Chamber withdrew its support of the project until changes could be made. In the end the City was able to negotiation a better contract with Sound Transit than what had been presented and the Chamber Board and City Staff and Council developed a new and more meaningful working relationship. |
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: Upon moving to the City of Federal , I was elected to the Board of Directors of my Home Owners Assocation in August of 1995 and served as Secretary, Vice President and two years as President until 2001.
Governmental: For the same time periods I was appointed to both the Federal WayParks and Recreation Commission (1996-2001) and the Planning Commission (2001 to present) I also represented non profit agencies on the Kent Human Services Commission for 2 years in the early 2000's and am again representing large regional non profits on this Commission and serve as its Chair (2005-2008). In addition I was selected to serve on the Municiple Facilities Ad Hoc Committe by the Federal Way City Council to help determine a location and cost for a new municiple complex.
Community: With respect to local businesses, I have been very involved in the Federal Way Chamber of Commerce and served as Chair of the Board of Directors (2003-04); Chair of Government Affairs Committee of the Chamber (2004- present) and also represent the Federal Way Chamber on the South Sound Chamber of Commerce Legislative Coalition. Further I have been a member of the Board of Directors for the FW Chamber's Education and Communities in Schools Foundation since 2000. I was a founding member of the Federal Way Family Centers and led to its present incorporation with Federal Way Youth and Family Services. I have assisted the Korean Women's Association in writing and obtaining their first funding award from the City of Federal Way. I currently serve as President of the Board for The Alliance Center, an extremely significant project, which consists of 8 non profits that have come together to purchase a building for their long term location in the City of Kent. In addition I have lead the fund raising effort to raise $2,900,000. At this point we are over 85% complete.
As a result of my community involvement, I was named as Federal Way's Citizen of the Year in 2001, honored with the Martin Luther King "Living the Dream" award by the Weyerhaesuer Company Employees in 2003 and received the Women of Distinction Award by the Soroptimists Club in 2000.
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I am running for Position 7 of the Federal Way City Council. This is a vacant seat as the incumbent has chosen not to seek re-election.
I believe one of the most important duties of this office is to provide for the public safety and well being of its citizens. I have already shown that I can lead in this area as I was the author of Proposition One which went to the voters last November to increase utility taxes to pay for additional police officers. I also wrote letters to the local papers in support, testified in support at the Council hearing and Chaired the committee that wrote the pro statement in the voters guide. My background in the social services field also gives my solid knowledge about the needs of lower income people and those with other problems. This expertise will allow me to influence council decisions regarding social issues.
The Council is also responsible for the fiscal well being of the city and needs to manage its resources wisely. Having been the CEO of two non profit organizations, I have years of experience in developing and managing budgets. I am currently oversee a complex agency budget of over $25 million dollars. This will help me offer meaninful contributions to theCouncil with respect to budget building and management. It will also help me help other Federal Way citizens better understant the City budget.
The Council also takes responsibility for the direction in which our community will head in the future. Assuring that our community remains vibrant and healthly and a desirous place to live by all economic groups is vital. My work with the Chamber and local businesses provide me with an excellent understanding of their needs and the issues they face. |
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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Dini Duclos holds a Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Connecticut. She graduated "cum laude" from Fitchburg State College in Massachusettes. |
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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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 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: Jason Thibedeau
Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: (425) 671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org