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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Since 1995 |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
John James |
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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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Sammamish Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee
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February 2007
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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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I am a candidate for the Sammamish City Council, and I running primarily to improve the quality of life for residents of Sammamish. My wife and I have three children in a city with the highest per capita number of kids in the State of Washington. Sammamish is a wonderful place to live, but we do not have enough facilities for our youth and teens and other members of our community. As the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee Co-Chair, I advocated for a comprehensive approach to providing more amenities for the city. I would like to finish the work of our advisory group to provide more sport fields, an aquatic/community center, and parks and recreational opportunities for all of our citizens. I am committed to building the facilities we need through partnerships and other means as soon as possible. By working together we can build a legacy that will benefit everyone, and future generations. I am a 12-year resident of the Sammamish Plateau, and an active member of the community with a hands-on understanding of the quality of life that defines the City of Sammamish. I am a family member of the PTSA for Blackwell Elementary and Inglewood Junior High and Eastlake High School later this year, and I have served as an assistant coach and umpire for Eastlake Little League, coach for Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association, a social member of the Sahalee Country Club, a member of the Pine Lake Club, participate annually in the Windermere Community Service Day. I am also a member of the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce. In addition to parks and recreation, I see two other critical issues that I intend to address, and once elected to office: roads / transportation, and education. As a Plateau resident who works in the community, I hear daily the needs and concerns of our families. I know of people's concerns over traffic, and I desire to do something about our roads and infrastructure. I am constantly being asked about the quality of our schools, which I know something about as a PTSA Member and a local Realtor. Sammamish is making progress in the area of transportation, yet we not only need to build roads, but we need to do it in a smart manner. Working with the city, county and state agencies, the City can reduce the traffic congestion problems in Sammamish. And in the area of education we are fortunate to have two highly regarded school districts where our kids receive a quality education. The City has taken a first step by partnering with the high schools to provide more amenities, and it is possible that the City can do the same at the Junior High/Middle Schools and the Elementary Schools in our community. Quality education with highly ranked schools makes Sammamish a more desirable place to live. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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I like to help others, build consensus, do the right thing, and I am able make tough decisions. |
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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1) Personal - I am blessed with a wonderful family and I have been married for over 20-years, and I have three great children ages 15, 12, & 8.
2) Professional - I ran a national division of a company successfully.
3) Public Life - Giving back to the community… I coached soccer team and several of the kids were apparently troubled and having problems in school. At the last day of the season, their teacher came to the game and shared afterwards that their attitudes had improved dramatically and school work was getting done for the first time. The teacher continued to share that the kids attributed to their being on the team I coached and the influence I had with them. My involvement with the City of Sammsmish has the potential to inprove the quality of life for the Citizens of the City. My reason for running is to see the recommendations of the committee which I co-chaired turn into reality for the benefit of everyon who lives in Sammamish. |
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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Former Co-Chairman, Sammamish Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee (2006-2007)
Member, Sammamish Chamber of Commerce (2007)
Member, PTSA for Blackwell Elementary & Inglewood Junior High, & Eastlake High (Starting in 1997 at Margaret Mead Elementary)
Coach, Lake Washington Soccer Association (2004, 2005 2006)
Umpire, Assistant Coach Eastlake Little League (on-and-of since 1998)
Volunteer, Windermere Community Service Day (2002 to present)
Counselor, Blackwell Elementary 6th Grade Outdoor Education (2004, 2007)
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The City of Sammamsih Council provides direction to the Cit of Sammamish Staff in terms of the priorities and sets policy and municipal ordinances. The City of Sammamish has a City Manager, the the responsibility of providing leadershipis shared by a seven-person City Council with an honorary mayor appointed bny fellow council members. The most important function of the council is not onlty to make sure the City and public services are running effetively and efficiently, but also to set priorities beyond the day-to-day operations. In order to maintain the highest level of service it is important to hire the right City Manager and subsequent Department Directors are critical to maintainig a well-run City. In addtion, the city sets policy by establishing and enforcing ordinaces and land use requirements and planning guidelines related to zoning. The City is also responsible for Fire and police protection that are currently contracted. Roads and transportaion are also approved and provided by the City Council along with parks and recreational opportunities. Finally, priorieties are also made by setting a budget that is within the means of the City's tax base. and making sure that the services provided are well-planned and well-implemented that meet the needs of the population served in a finacially prudent manner. |
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., University of California, Santa Barbara, June 1985 - Double major: Business Economics / Law and Society
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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