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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15 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Friends of Hank |
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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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City of Redmond Board of Parks Commissioners
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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 running for Redmond's City Council because I want to make sure that Redmond maintains its community feel. One of the reasons I chose to live in Redmond was the strong neighborhood orientation of the city and for that reason I volunteered to serve on the Education Hill Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC). Volunteering is one way I've chosen to "give back" to my community, serving as a leader for the Redmond West Little League as the Vice-President for Baseball and the Tournament Director, in addition to helping to coach for six years. I've also coached a Lake Washington Youth Soccer team for 11 years. I've found many other ways to stay involved in the community over the years as well, most recently serving on Redmond's Board of Park Commissioners. I am currently the Vice-Chairperson for this commission.
In addition, I volunteered to represent the community during the most recent budget process, participating in a small group break-out session and the larger general feedback session. Most recently, I was invited to participate in the Sound Transit Light Rail configuration review, providing recommendations regarding the preferred route into the downtown area. I was honored to represent the Park Board at the Overlake Neighborhood Charrette, providing background on the Board's process for adding park-land and collecting information to share with the Board.
The experiences I've gained in my professional life also contribute to my decision to run for office, as I believe that a successful community is led by leaders who know how to build strong teams, collaborate, compromise and are willing to make difficult decisions. As an Area Underwriting Manager for Safeco Insurance, I serve as a member of an efficient management team, working together to solve daily issues related to customer service and quality of service, combined with building effective underwriting teams. I manage the Personal Lines Underwriting for five western states; Oregon, Idaho, Utah, North Dakota and South Dakota. In that role, I am a member of a team for each state. I work together with Product Managers, Sales, Commercial Lines Underwriting, and Claims to develop and implement action plans and growth strategies. I also lead my team in providing top quality service to and developing professional relationships with our independent appointed agents. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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I was recently described as a pragmatic decision maker, focusing on facts while acknowledging how emotions are impacted. A recent example involves the result of Redmond's budget process, when anticipated increases to cover park maintenance were removed from the final version. While there was disappointment with the outcome, the decision sent a clear message to the Park Board. Rather than simply complaining about the decision, I chose to focus on what steps the Board could take to ensure our valuable park resources were protected and maintained to acceptable levels. In so doing, I helped to lead the Board back to action and away from inaction. Later, when doubts were raised as to whether Council would allow a Parks Maintenance Levy to move forward, I again showed leadership by helping to focus Park Board energy on actions we could take to convince the Council of our ability to be successful and testified before Council during a study session. We were well prepared and Council expressed their appreciation for our diligence by voting unanimously to place the Parks Maintenance Levy on the August ballot. An additional trait critical to success in public service is the ability to listen to and comprehend other points of view and I feel I possess this trait. An example relates to the Select Soccer team I coach along with two assistants. We often discuss what training exercises to accomplish during a practice session as well as what players to put in positions and when during a game. My responsibility as the head coach is to find a balance between all three coaches and the players, knowing that it is critical to honor their input, while at the same time accomplishing the team's objectives. This requires some finesse and the ability to compromise and accept alternative view points, in addition to helping individual players see the value of their role on the team. Lastly, and briefly, I have the ability to build positive relationships as shown during my tenure on the Park Board, in my professional life, and in my other activities. |
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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My role in leading the Park Board toward positive action on the pending Parks Maintenance Levy was significant. Focusing on what we could do by preparing a detailed list of where the levy funds would go was one way to get the group on track. During the Council presentations, I took the lead in detailing how the funds would be allocated amongst the various maintenance and program activities. As a result of our preparedness and readiness, the Council was unanimous in their support for placing the levy on the ballot. During my tenure on the Education Hill CAC, we participated in a discussion regarding the change of 166th Ave NE from 4 to 3 lanes. While the suggestion appeared off-base, I realized there was potential for improved vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian safety in the plan. The problem was that as presented the idea was counterintuitive - how could reducing the number of lanes improve the flow of traffic? Through patience, respecting other opinions, and compromise we reached a consensus to support the change in lanes with conditions for ensuring safe movement of traffic past Redmond Junior High and providing for intersection improvements at 166th Ave NE and the NE 104th Street. My third example goes back a number of years to my US Air Force service. Upon my arrival at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, I was greeted with the news that the unit I was to manage had just failed an inspection. I worked to remove those who had failed in their duties, replacing them with motivated individuals who were equal to the challenge they faced. We first cleaned up the leave administration program since that was the primary culprit for the inspection failure. Then we set out to change the image of the unit within the squadron, establishing credibility and professionalism as our cornerstones. Our efforts were rewarded during the next inspection as well as my selection as Company Grade Officer of the Year and my lead sergeant’s selection as Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year. |
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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Currently serve as the Vice-Chairperson of Redmond's Board of Parks Commissioners. I was appointed to the Parks Board in 2004. Seved on the Education Hill Citizens Advisory Committee during 2004-2005, selected as the Vice-Chair. Crossfire Select Soccer Coach - 2004-2008 LWYSA Recreational Soccer Coach - 1997-2004 Redmond North Little League - Assistant Coach 1997-2000 Redmond West Little League - Assistant Coach/Summerball Manager 2001-2002 Redmond West Little League - Board of Directors Member 2001-2002 (served as Tournament Director and Vice-President for Baseball) Member Norman Rockwell PTA (1994-2002), Redmond Junior High PTA (1998-2005), Redmond High PTA (2001-present) Member of the Lake Washington Chapter of Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) Society (2002-present), earned my CPCU designation in 2002. Member of Northwest Baseball Umpires Association 2003-present
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Redmond City Council is responsible for establishing City law and policy by passing ordinances and resolutions. It also adopts the city budget, approves appropriations, approves contracts in the City's name, levies taxes, and grants franchises. In addition, council members serve as important liaisons for the residents of the community, assisting with questions as varied as solid waste pick up to property rights questions. Each duty carries its own importance, but the most important to me are the duties that support safety and financial stability. The residents and employees of Redmond should expect a high level of service from the public safety providers, including Police and Fire. At the same time, the City must be fiscally responsible to ensure accountability and efficiency are the cornerstones of the budget. Sustainability of the community is another of Council's key duties, chiefly ensuring adequate and varied stock of housing, infrastructure sufficient to support the communities needs, and parks, trails, recreation and open spaces that enable the residents, employees and businesses to thrive. A strong sense of community is critical to the livability of Redmond and Council has the responsibility to consider this in decisions that will affect our future. |
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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MPA, Public Administration, University of Oklahoma, 1991 BA, Criminal Justice, Washington State University, 1981 CPCU, American Institute for Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters, 2002 |
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