SECTION I
BASIC CANDIDATE INFORMATION
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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Al |
Runte |
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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27 years |
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5. How long have you resided in King County?
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27 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
7. If partisan, please indicate party:
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Neighbors for Al Runte |
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Address: |
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City/State/Zip: |
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Campaign Phone: |
(206)-799-4298 |
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Campaign Fax: |
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Campaign E-mail: |
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Campaign Website: |
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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.
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Public Office |
Elective or Appointive? |
Dates Held |
Leadership Role (if any) |
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California State Department of Transportation, Rail Advisory Board
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Appointed
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1976-1978
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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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2005
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REFERENCES
This information is for League use only. It will not be published in any format.
If you have not provided the League with references, please list references you would like us to contact who can speak to your involvement, effectiveness, character, and/or knowledge. Please name at least one from each of the following three categories:
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Name of Colleague |
Daytime Phone |
Home Phone |
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Carsten Lien |
(206) 522-3403 |
Same |
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Dr. Ben W. Twight |
(206) 784-6335 |
Same |
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Name of Supervisor/Committee Chair |
Daytime Phone |
Home Phone |
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Dr. Daniel B. Botkin |
(917) 747-3068 |
Same |
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Charles Mott |
(206) 255-6796 |
(425) 710-9665 |
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Name of Employee/Member of a Committee You Chaired |
Daytime Phone |
Home Phone |
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Dr. Lisa Mighetto |
(206) 465-0630 |
(206) 525-1458 |
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Dr. Michael Allen |
(253) 692 4466 |
(253) 272 6594 |
1. Have you ever been convicted of a crime excluding minor traffic offenses? Yes No
If yes, please explain.
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- - - - - CONFIDENTIAL SECTION ENDS - - - -
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?
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.
At a conference on the national parks, the late Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin once challenged me to look in the mirror. “Al,” he said, “you complain about government, but why does the public keep voting for mediocre candidates? If you think you are a better candidate, run for office. It is your responsibility to give the public a choice.” I believe that was Senator Nelson’s polite way of saying that he was tired of critics who just complained. Two years ago, I took his advice, running for the office of Seattle Mayor. This year I am taking his advice again. There was a time when Seattle was renowned for its progressive spirit. Consistently, city leaders thought first of the people and cooperated to do great things. The city’s parks were spacious, and all of them beautifully planned. Between Tacoma, Everett, and Seattle, interurban trains (yes, trains) reached speeds of 80 mph. Seattle City Light, a system of public power, was the envy of the world. Simply, Senator Nelson was uncomfortably right. Only when informed citizens stopped caring—stopped running for office—did Seattle begin falling behind. I am talking about people like Jim Ellis, Victor Steinbrueck, J.D. Ross, and Virgil Bogue. All had a vision for Seattle that transcended personal profit and private gain.
In contrast, Seattle today has lost direction. Ultimately, a city depends on its infrastructure—streets, sewers, water mains, and the accessibility of public parks. If a city cannot address its infrastructure, it crumbles from within. So far, it is estimated that Seattle's maintenance is at least $500 million in arrears. During heavy rains, sewage still flows into Lake Washington and spills into Puget Sound. Elsewhere, city parks are perennially jeopardized by the schemes of tree-toppers and land developers. Mega homes spring up in neighborhoods, obliterating all sense of greenness and open space. We rationalize that we are saving farmland. We invite density with no plan for where people will find recreation, not just live and work. We forget those great teachers of the past who reminded us that a city needs beauty, too.
From a commitment to beauty springs everything else—good transportation, affordable neighborhoods, safe streets, and excellent schools. When people feel good about their lives and surroundings, everything else falls into place. The models set during America’s Progressive Era (1890-1920) are just as relevant today as then. It is all about quality of life. If we grow to become obese as a city, we will become aesthetically ugly, and socially ugly, too.
I
believe that Seattle, through its City Council, needs again to reach for greatness.
As a historian, I am trained to research facts and tell the truth about what I
find. As a member of the Council, I may not always be right. However, I
will not shift the blame or dodge the question. I will ask the questions that
need to be asked. I will not look to voters to tell me what to do through a
stream of constant advisory ballots. To save the legacy we inherited from Seattle’s progressive leaders, we must come to grips with and act on the knowledge of what
works and what will not work. We must seek the truth, not political expediency,
or the largess that comes with catering to special interests.
Describe your most important personal traits or characteristics as they relate
to the office you seek.
From the time I was three years old, my mother called me the professor because I always had my face in a book or was asking questions. I have always welcomed the opportunity to bring people and knowledge together. Although an academic, I have considered myself first an on-going learner and then an activist. As early as 1966, Nancy Ayers, a distinguished Broome County, New York, environmentalist, asked me to serve on the board of her organization, the Susquehanna Conservation Council. I was 19 years old at the time. Together with other civic leaders, we established five major county parks specifically designed for inner-city children and families. Even in Binghamton, New York, where I grew up, a city of 85,000, there were thousands of children who had never played in the countryside that was just a few miles away. During the summers of 1966-1968, in conjunction with First Presbyterian Church, the Council arranged for a busload of children every weekday morning to visit a park for the day. I served as their guide. Every weekend, we took another busload of children to Cooperstown, New York, to visit Otsego Lake and the Baseball Hall of Fame. From this initial immersion in community service grew the realization that everyone needs access to natural beauty—rich and poor alike.
Public service is what I do. I have been a teacher, professor, park ranger, government advisor, board member, media commentator, consultant, and citizen activist. The only thing I have not done is hold elective public office. The point again is that I have learned to listen, and through history to know what works.
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.
In 1958, my father, a factory machinist, died of a heart attack. I was just 11 years old. In 1959, my mother resolved to grieve positively, taking my brother and me on a 10,000-mile camping trip through the national parks. In 1979, I published my first book, NATIONAL PARKS: THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, dedicated to her and my father's memory. She realized then what her investment in my education had meant.
An accomplishment is something that makes a difference. Just as my mother rose to the challenge of being a single parent--and raising her sons to be honest men--I accept the challenge of bringing better government to Seattle. Too often, we value our citizens for their financial wealth, fame, or possessions rather than what they have accomplished with those assets. We ignore that in a progressive city taxes should never be regressive. For example, we do not owe sports franchises sales taxes, which fall heaviest on the poor. Rather, those blessed with the bounties of civilization should not forget who and what made that civilization possible in the first place.
My mother taught those values. We grew up in a household of books, reminded that readers were leaders—not just millionaires. What do I consider my single greatest accomplishment? Learning from my mother how to make a difference. My writings about the national parks continue to inform thousands of readers what it means to have parks, and why they sustain the quality of life in an urban society.
In 2004, my contribution became truly international when I received an invitation to speak in Brazil. In 2002, I had been invited to serve on the editorial board of a new Brazilian environmental journal, and to write the lead article for the first issue. My article spoke to the importance of preservation in an international context. From that evolved the invitation, and the spirit of my talk. "A gift composed of land requires vigilance." That renewed vigilance with regard to Seattle's beauty is lacking today. "Money equates expediency with profit and the exploitation of natural resources as success. Shopping malls and suburban sprawl, rather than conservation, are today’s most visible signs of growth and prosperity." Brazil is learning to understand it: Preservation is the key to saving beauty. How has Seattle forgotten that? Why do we need a new parking garage at the zoo, a new conference center at the Arboretum? My promise is not to fill parks with development. The point of having parks is what parks do—provide open space for its own sake. And that means even downtown, where parks are needed most.
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.
It would be impossible for someone in my field of writing and advocacy not to be constantly interacting with the public sector. A normal year for me includes many invitations from local, regional, and national groups, including perhaps my favorite--an annual invitation (since 1990) to address the 5th graders at Assumption-St. Bridget School, North Seattle, on the purpose and meaning of national parks.
As my reviewers and critics have been quick to note, my work consistently guides the public sector, including policy makers in state and federal agencies, and legislators on Capitol Hill. My writings, national leaders have told me, have indeed influenced public policy. In my most recent book, Allies of the Earth: Railroads and the Soul of Preservation, I combine the issues of transportation and the environment, showing why they cannot be separated. If Seattle is to become a great international city, it needs to think sincerely about the relationship between the environment and transportation. Currently, I am consulting with All Aboard Washington, a group dedicated to saving the East Side Rail Line (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) for an immediate solution to regional gridlock. We need to make wise regional decisions when it comes to our transportation infrastructure. And that means preserving our rail lines, not tearing them up.
Family is important, too. Over the past several years, my aging in-laws have needed my time and care. My mother-in-law died in January 2005 and my father-in-law continues to reside at the Hearthstone. Suddenly, I have a new expertise--aging, and all the problems it entails. Over the next several decades, America--including Seattle--will dramatically age. I am concerned that Seattle is not doing enough as this new age "boom" comes upon us to make our city friendly to its veteran residents.
For example, how many public housing units for seniors have been added in Seattle in the last two decades compared to the 1960s and 1970s? As our city’s population ages and housing becomes more expensive, public policy makers have a responsibility to address this growing need.
Please describe the duties of the office you seek. Which are the most important duties and why?
As I perceive the duties of City Council, the most important is making local government accountable through Council oversight of city agencies. From that evolves good, sound public policy making. Too often, our political leaders forget where they come from—and whom they serve. They forget how to ask questions and learn. It often seems to me that some members of the Council defer to the bureaucrats because members have not done their homework. I will do mine. If my experience as an educator has taught me anything, it is that every teacher needs constantly to be reeducated, too. I even learned from my students. Students are running my City Council campaign. With those overarching obligations of the office constantly in mind, the specific duties to which I aspire include the enhancement of public parks, affordable housing, and excellent public transportation. Thousands of Seattle constituents have already assured me of their support. 62,500 nominated me 2 years ago to lead this city, which was a humbling experience for a novice politician.
Otherwise, my pledge remains—to think of the future, not just the present. For example, think where Seattle would be today if it had NOT torn up is urban railways. The issue of the Alaskan Way Viaduct would be moot. There would still be electrified trains running all the way between Everett and Tacoma. From now on, it will be the duty of every political leader in the country to think a century ahead, not just a decade or two. Where should Seattle be a century or half century from now? Will we have paved over all our remaining open space? That is the question of greatest interest to me, and why I am motivated to serve on the Council. What can we do to anticipate our needs and problems as we grow--not after we grow? Had Seattle been thinking that way these past 20 years—just as it did during its first century—we would not be arguing about what bridge to fix or passenger rail line to build. We would not be arguing what we need to teach in the public schools. We would know these things from having believed in them with confidence, constantly reinforcing our beliefs. That is the standard I promise on the City Council: listen, learn, and then act on behalf of the people, both those living today and generations hence.
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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Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1976 M.A., Illinois State University, 1971 B.A., State University of New York at Binghamton, 1969
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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.
X Check here if you would like the Municipal League to copy the first 500 characters from Question 4 to paste into this section. Yes, please copy and paste.
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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.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND GOOD LUCK IN YOUR CAMPAIGN!
THE MUNICIPAL LEAGUE OF KING COUNTY
Candidate Evaluation Coordinator: Jason Thibedeau
810 Third Avenue, Suite 224 Phone: (206) 264-1070 Email: cec@munileague.org
Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: (425) 671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org