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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28 years (discontinuously) |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Citizens to Elect Eric Stavney |
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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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I-5320th Citizen Access Committ.
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2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
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Year of Run |
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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 office because I care deeply about the City of Federal Way and enjoy working with citizens, city staff, and council members to plan, develop, and implement changes to better our community. Recently I completed a year-long course called Advancing Leadership (run by the Federal Way Chamber of Commerce) that introduces a class of citizen students to the leaders of our town and teaches how to get things done in our community. This greatly inspired me to take on a greater leadership role in my community. In the community, on City committees, and in my work I've held a number of leadership roles and have found I have the passion and dedication to bring people together to explore and develop solutions to problems that affect us all. As a professor of biology and President of the Board of an environmental conservation organization, I feel a strong connection and urge to preserve open space and promote environmental stewardship. In the past year, we have seen many commercial and residential developments built at the expense of many acres of forest land. At the same time, I have started a small business in town and am finding that the road to successful permitting and licensing can be difficult in our City. I look at our downtown area and realize that this asphalt jungle of strip malls is in danger of dying. I believe, as the sitting City Council does, that new economic development is essential for the healthy growth of our City, especially downtown. Therefore, combining my business and environmental sides, I would bring to the council a commitment to sustainable and responsible development as we grow and become more "built out" as a city. I see sustainable development, along with keeping our community safe, fostering a strong education system, relieving our downtown of traffic congestion, and retaining open space and parks as all central to a high quality of life that brought us to live in this City. My strength in environmental science coupled with business is a combination I don't currently see on the City Council. Finally, I would like to see a greater linkage between the City and the Federal Way School District, where we can help each other. Currently talks are underway to build a Performing Arts Center shared, in part, by the school district to build upon our rich arts community; I strongly support this and am involved. An environmental education center is also being explored as a project jointly developed by the City and the School District. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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I am a passionate, enthusiastic fellow who believes strongly in personal integrity, honesty and fair play. I believe I am known for my consensus building and ability to motivate other people to excel and give their best. As a teacher, I am a strong communicator; I am comfortable speaking to large groups or one on one and I am an experienced writer and editor. I believe that my role in civic affairs is to foster a healthy, ethical process of decision-making, vigorously soliciting citizen input, exploring all possible options, and making a decision in front of the public. While I certainly have accomplishments I can say I've been involved in, I am most proud of the integrity of the process by which we reached our accomplishments. For me, the journey to a result is as important (or more important) than the result itself. And saying "we" accomplished something instead of "I" is far more satisfying. I feel a strong responsibility to use clear and specific language. As an educator, I feel an internal mandate to speak so that the weakest students in my class can understand. I am dedicated to the use of responsible and ethical rhetoric, if I have to use rhetoric; sincerity and genuineness are important qualities for me. I am sensitive and responsive to the needs and suggestions of others. I listen carefully, do my homework, and respond in a timely fashion. I am approachable and welcoming, often soliciting comments and opinions from quiet students (or colleagues) to be sure that their ideas are heard. I've been around the block a few times. I've been serving on college committees, non-profit boards, and city committees for close to twenty years. My experience has told me that a healthy community arises out of personal investment and motivating others to join together to work towards a common good. I believe participation in one's community is key. |
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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Three contributions of which I'm most proud are the Science Seminar series I helped launch, my work with the Friends of the Hylebos, and the writing of an article in our local newspaper. Around 2000 I suggested to the science faculty at Highline Community College that we should celebrate our collective expertise, show students how human real scientists are, and show the public the exciting cutting edge of scientific discovery today. I laid out a weekly seminar series in which Highline Community College faculty and staff, be they from math or science, or any other discipline at the college would present a talk on a science-related topic they found exciting. I had little trouble getting colleagues to "sign up" and soon found most of the science department, along with many student, staff, and members of the public attending. The Science Seminar series is still going strong at Highline, and I'm proud of the collegiality, community-building, and teaching that the seminar has provided. In 2002 I began volunteering with the Friends of the Hylebos nonprofit conservation organization. Over the years, I've worked with school kids and adults planting trees, clearing brush and counting returning salmon, being asked repeatedly to lead a team of volunteers at our field events. I was asked to join the Board of Directors in 2003 and subsequently have held the Presidency of the Board for 3 years. It's a real thrill to be trusted with the task of overseeing committees and leading some very accomplished people. I am honored to work with such leaders in our community, planning, fundraising, and improving our community. While I enjoy working with the Board, I still find that planting trees with school kids, moms, and dads on a rainy day is about as personally satisfying as it gets. Earlier this year I got an opinion piece published in the Federal Way Mirror on the joy of community service. I poured my heart into the article and revealed my own personal journey towards civic participation from a disenchanted teenager. I received a lot of strokes from the community contributing such a positive and inspiring article. |
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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* Director of Education and Entertainment, Norway Day Festival, San Francisco, CA 1997-1998. * Creator and Director of the Bay Area Science Symposia, Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, CA 1996-1999 * Teaching biology, public speaking, science, and math to high school and college students for 18 years, San Francisco Bay Area and Des Moines, WA 1987-present * Serving on hiring, tenure evaluation, strategic planning, web development, technology, and teaching practices at the colleges and universities I've worked at over the years, 1987-present * Boiled Potatoes Cook, Annual Lutefisk Dinner, Sons of Norway, San Jose, CA 1998, 1999 * Program Director, Sons of Norway, San Jose, CA 1998-1999 * Creator and Coordinator of the Science Seminar Lecture Series, Highline Community College, Des Moines, WA 2000-2002 * Public Speaker on Environmental Stewardship and Bird Biology, several retirement homes, Audubon Society, Kiwanis, Girl Scouts, Hylebos Discovery Workshops * Trainer for the Salmon Watcher Program, City of Federal Way and Friends of the Hylebos, 2003,2006 * Campaign worker for Citizens to Elect Skip Priest, 30th Dist. Rep, Federal Way, 2002 * Trustee of Educational Workshops, Puyallup Valley Rock and Gem Club, 2007-present * President of the Board, Board member, and volunteer for the Friends of the Hylebos, Federal Way, WA 2002-present * I-5/320th Traffic Access Citizen's Stakeholders Committee, City of Federal Way, 2003-2004 * Marketing/Tourism Committee, City of Federal Way, 2006-present * Tourism Enhancement Grant Committee Chair, City of Federal Way, 2006-present * Citizen's Group to Build a Performing Arts Center, Federal Way, WA 2007 * Active member of a Federal Way Kiwanis Club, 2007
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A City Council member in Federal Way is tasked with soliciting citizen comment and reports from the City staff, and, in conjunction with the City Manager, making policy decisions for the benefit of the City. A council member needs to be adequately prepared for council discussion and voting by keeping up on preparatory document reading, discussions for clarification with City staff, sounding out other council members, and incorporating citizen input through mail, email, and comments made at council meetings. A council member must also serve as chair of one of the important committees or commissions that handle a subset of City business. Here, the council member guides the appointed citizen and City staff members to make smaller policy decisions based on statistics and research by City staff. The council member should see that the right information reaches the committee in a timely fashion, and that progress is being made in formulating recommendations for the full Council. Council members do not take a direct management role in day to day City affairs; that is the job of the City Manager in our governmental system in Federal Way. Council members should be developers of future vision, crafting management plans based on community desires and value, and insuring that the City manager is working towards these goals. The most important duty is to make fair and honest decisions with citizen and staff input after healthy debate on the issues. A council member should strive to attend as many community events as possible, motivating, encouraging, and praising citizens who are contributing in their own ways to make our community vibrant and healthy. |
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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M.S. Microbiology, Univ. Wisconsin, 1987 B.S. Biology, Univ. Washington, 1983 B.A. Norwegian, Univ. Washington, 1983 |
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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President of the Board, Board member, and volunteer for the Friends of the Hylebos, Federal Way, WA 2002-present; I-5/320th Traffic Access Citizen's Stakeholder's Committee, City of Federal Way, 2003-2004; Marketing/Tourism Committee, City of Federal Way, 2006-present; Tourism Enhancement Grant Committee Chair, City of Federal Way, 2006-present; Citizen's Group to Build a Performing Arts Center, Federal Way, WA 2007; Active member of a Federal Way Kiwanis Club, 2007 |
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