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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Bill |
Sherman |
2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
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King County Prosecuting Attorney |
3. Are you the incumbent? Yes No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
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Eight years. |
5. How long have you resided in King County?
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Eight years. |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
7. If partisan, please indicate party: Democratic Party
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Committee to Elect Bill Sherman |
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Address: |
PO Box 25896 |
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City/State/Zip: |
Seattle, WA 98165 |
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Campaign Phone: |
206-251-6492 |
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Campaign Fax: |
206-985-7336 |
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Campaign E-mail: |
mail@billsherman.org |
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Campaign Website: |
www.billsherman.org |
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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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Precinct Committee Officer, 43-2254
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Elective
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2002-Present
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n/a
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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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State Representative, 43rd Legislative District
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2006
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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:
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 believe that justice is fundamentally about protecting the most vulnerable in our community: victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, and identity theft. I’m running because, as the only current courtroom prosecutor in the race, I know what it takes to keep us safe - and provide support and protection to victims and their families. I’m running because I want to focus on a few critical priorities:
Overseeing the criminal justice system is an important task, and it requires not just a caretaker or an administrator, but a leader. As Prosecutor, I will bring a new approach, cutting bureaucracy to focus resources on front-line prosecutors. And I will remain on the front lines by personally prosecuting at least one case a year.
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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 dogged; curious; and impatient with bureaucracy. I have worked in public service, off and on, for 17 years, and found that each of these traits is essential.
First, I am doggedly persistent. Whether it is investigating a domestic violence case, working with police officers to obtain evidence necessary to prove a complicated identity theft, or researching legal precedent to support an important point of law, I have found that there is no substitute for perseverance. Recently, I was concerned that I would not be able to go forward with prosecution on a brutal domestic violence sexual assault – the victim was homeless, and nobody had heard from her in six months. I called every telephone number in the file, asking questions and finding additional numbers to call. Finally, I found the number for a homeless shelter she had visited briefly; the manager had no idea where she had gone, but found a slip of paper on which the victim had written her emergency contact information. It turned out to be her brother, who helped me find her – newly employed, with an apartment, and absolutely ready to testify against her abuser. We need a Prosecuting Attorney who will be unyielding in the search for justice.
Second, I am curious about why things are the way they are, and whether they can be improved. In the field of criminal justice, there are innovative ideas across the globe – often with data that can help determine if those ideas can work here in King County. Whether it’s emulating Hawaii’s treatment of drug probation, Missouri’s juvenile corrections system, or Los Angeles County’s environmental crimes strike force, I want to make sure that King County’s criminal justice system adapts with new information and changing times.
Finally, I am impatient with bureaucracy for its own sake. Too often, public agencies ossify because their management assumes that the structure that was created in past decades works just fine. King County deserves better than just fine. |
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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In the 1990s, I served as a Special Assistant to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt. As part of Al Gore’s National Performance Review, or “Reinventing Government” initiative, I was asked to supervise a review and reorganization of the Office of the Secretary of Interior, a 700-person agency – approximately 200 people larger than the King County Prosecutor’s Office. I convened a task force consisting of imaginative, dedicated career employees, and we examined everything the office did – what it did well, what it did poorly, and what systems worked and what did not. In the end, we produced a reorganization plan that focused on our core competencies, eliminated redundant functions, and saved $10 million per year – and allowed us to do our jobs better.
While serving as a prosecutor in the Domestic Violence Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office, I worked with many victims of family violence who refused to cooperate with the police or with our office. Often this was out of fear of retaliation or economic dependence, but sometimes it was because the victim’s self-esteem had been destroyed by constant abuse. I prosecuted one case in which the victim was not aware that it was illegal for her husband to threaten to kill her; to blackmail her; and to take her children. She was terrified of him, but did not believe that her problems amounted to anything. I sat with her for literally hours on many occasions, talking about what had happened to her, and why she did not have to put up with abuse, and why I believed that she and her kids deserved a life free of fear. Finally, she said to me, “I think I understand now … I am worth it.”
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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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The most important duty of the Prosecuting Attorney is to be fair, impartial, and evenhanded in the administration of justice. I have been proud to go to work every day as one of Norm Maleng’s deputies. I have friends at different prosecuting agencies around the country, and I am well aware that the fair and nonpolitical way Norm ran our office is both precious and rare. I am dedicated to carrying on Norm’s tradition of blind and impartial justice.
More concretely, the Prosecuting Attorney must oversee an office of 500 employees, including approximately 250 lawyers – establishing good working conditions, training and support, a professional environment, and a system of work flow that uses scarce resources effectively.
And finally, the Prosecuting Attorney serves as a public advocate in the community – acting as the public’s voice on matters of corruption, justice, and criminal law. Often, the battle for public awareness and understanding is the most important part of creating a safe and vibrant community. |
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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J.D., magna cum laude, University of Michigan B.A., Wesleyan University |
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