2006 Candidate Questionnaire
SECTION I
BASIC CANDIDATE INFORMATION
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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55 Years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Citizens to Elect Chris Eggen |
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Address: |
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City/State/Zip: |
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Campaign Phone: |
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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.
Public Office |
Elective or Appointive? |
Dates Held |
Leadership Role (if any) |
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Democratic Precinct Committee Officer
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2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
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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:
- 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?
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 have long been interested in public policy and have a number of causes I believe in passionately. However, what brought me into this race was an indication that that an undemocratic procedure might be used to bypass the electoral process. By state law if an unopposed candidate of either party withdraws in the first four days after filing, the state party names the replacement. This procedure potentially allows the state party to interfere in races where an incumbant is retiring and name the candidate of his or her party without vetting by local voters. (A much fairer and more democratic procedure would be to reopen the filing for a short time.) So I filed opposing the Democratice incumbant to block any possibility that this might happen. Now I want to use my candidacy to advocate for three issues in which I am very interested. First is campaign reform. I wish to make voters aware of the law that allows the state party the opportunity to plug favorite son or daughter candidates into unopposed races without vetting by the local voters. I also wish to advocate for public funding of elections. Although I hate to see an additional cost instituted for elections, it is beneficial to our democracy to publicly fund elections for candidates who can demonstrate considerable community support. This will allow candidates to be elected who are not beholden to well-healed contributers and will also allow less prosperous candidates to bring their ideas to the citizens. The second issue is renewable energy policy. Peak production of oil will likely occur in the near future. Furthermore, most oil sources are controlled by peoples and groups which have dubious motives at best and the need to buy large quantities of oil forces us to be involved in unsavory political and military endeavors. Finally, the release of additional carbon dioxide into the air that was previously locked up in fossil fuels is greatly increasing the Greenhouse Effect and increasing mean global temperatures. So renewable sources of energy that do not release additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere are necessary. This should be a major state initiative. The third issue is the need to maintain a state DD Adult Facility at Fircrest in Shoreline. Some DD leaders want to close Fircrest and move all DD adults to private group homes in the community. The thought is to free up money for all DD programs and give more freedom to DD adults. However, the low-functioning DD adults at Fircrest require constant care that cannot be reliably provided in private group homes employing lower paid, less qualified people to provide patient care than Fircrest. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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I have excellent analytical ability and technical knowledge. I am energetic and hardworking. I am persistent and determined. I believe in giving back to the community. I am focused on building a better future. I am proactive and engaged. I truly value diversity. I recognize that I do not have all the answers and value input from others. I share information without reservation (unless it was obtained confidentially.) I am able to work with opponents to get jobs done that we both agree on. I do not take opposition personnally. I can work with difficult people. I can laugh at my own foibles. I passionately believe in democracy.
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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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I am the son of a union waitress and a cab driver, neither of whom had a high school degree. However, I discovered an interest in math and science as a child. Without encouragement I developed that interest, obtained a scholarship, and managed to be admitted to the physics program at the University of Washington and then to be admitted to a very competitive graduate program at the same school. I graduated cum laude from that program. I worked as a professional in acoustical physics for years but when I became interested in hardware design, I enrolled in the Electrical Engineering Graduate Program at the University of Washington and completed that part time while continuing to work full time. In spite of a reticent and shy personality, I developed the skills to formulate, sell, and manage programs in my field.
I had no family tradition of involvement in politics, but have been interested in politics of the environment for years. In the year 2000 my children had graduated and no longer needed my time and I decided it was time to get involved more heavily. I have since joined several local groups and been very effective in my involvement. I am treasurer of the Paramount Park neighborhood group and was insturmental in writing a grant for restoration of a wetland. I am a member of the 32 LD Democrats and have been King County Rep, webmaster, and Endorsement Committee Chair. I am treasurer of the Shoreline Solar organization which provides information to Shoreline residents on renewable energy. I am a founding member of Sustainable Shoreline, which advocates for sustainable environmental and economic policies in Shoreline and supports candidates who support such policy. I was a member of the Shoreline Parks Bond Campaign Committee and felt I contributed heavily to the bond's eventual passage. |
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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I married Donna Kenney in 1967 (and we are still married). In 1973 we adopted our first child Brian, then 6 months old, and in 1978 we adopted our second child, Kristy, then 3 years old. Both children had had unstable backgrounds and although sweet, were difficult to raise. Both graduated from high school on time and attended college, and Kristy graduated with a Master of Social Work in 2005 and is now working in Shoreline. I graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Physics from the University of Washington in 1966. I was selected to be a member of the Air Force ROTC in 1964. I served in the US Air Force from 1969 - 1974 as a Radar Officer and was promoted to Captain. I served as training officer in two assignments. I graduated Cum Laude with a Masters of Science in Physics from the University of Washington in 1975. I worked as Physicist at the Applied Physics Laboratory from 1974 to 1995 and as an electrical engineer from 1995 to the present. I have written a simulation of logging with diregibles, developed software models of false acoustic detections from fish schools and bottoms, managed projects in acoustic detection and classification, proposed a project in rule-based classification and managed it for three years, proposed a project in high frequency detection and classification that lasted three years, Wrote a simulation showing propagation of low frequency sound at megameter ranges. Developed procedures for using neural nets for fast acoustic simulation. Authored numerous papers on underwater acoustics and artificial intelligence. In 2000 I was elected PCO of the 32 LD Democrats. In 2002 I was elected Alternate King County Representative of the 32 LD Democrats. In 2004 I was selected to be on the board of Shoreline Solar and elected treasurer. In 2005 I cofounded Sustainable Shoreline and was elected treasurer.
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- Please describe the duties of the office you seek. Which are the most important duties and why?
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State senators are representatives of citizens in legislative districts whos responsibilities include: 1. Work with state representatives to write laws of the State of Washington. 2. The senate tries impeachments. 3. The senate advises and consents on appointment of regents, trustees, or commissioners for educational, reformatory, and penal institutions.
In a broader sense, senators are responsible for representating their constituent interests to to the governmenta and for writing wise forward-looking laws that, quoting Jeffereson, "preserve the peace of our fellow citizens, promote their prosperity and happiness, reunite opinion, cultivate a spirit of candor, moderation, charity and forbearance toward one another". I believe this requires legislators to consult with citizens as often as possible, because (again quoting Jefferson) "the laws... which must effect [a people's happiness] must flow from their own habits, their own feelings, and the resources of their own minds."
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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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1969 B.S. Physics, University of Washington 1975 M.S. Physics, University of Washington 1997 M.S. Electrical Engineering, University of Washington |
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.
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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1964, Married Donna Kenney, 1964-1969, Volunteer tutor in Seattle's Central District 1969-1975, Served in the US Air Force overseas (Volunteered for SE Asia but didn't serve there) 1973-1979, Adopted two children 1974-2006, Employed as physicist and electrical engineer at the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington. Proposed and Managed several projects, including final report. Wrote numerous papers. Managed teams of up to 5 people 1980-1992, Coached North Seattle Little League, Shorelake Soccer, YMCA Basketball, Volunteer Referee, Shorelake Soccer League Referee Coordinator 1990, Member of Friends of Science at Shorecrest High School (FOSS) 1998, Joined Paramount Park Neighborhood Group, eventually becoming Treasurer 1999, Helped write Grant Application to King County to save wetland in Paramount Park 2000, Coordinated work for grant and coordinated final report 2000, Elected PCO of 32 LD Democrats. 2003, Served as Endorsement Committee Chairman for the 32 LD Democrats 2004, Selected to be on the board of Shoreline Solar and elected treasurer. 2004, Elected Alternate King County Representative of the 32 LD Democrats 2004-2006, Served as Web Master for the 32 LD Democrats 2005, Co founded Sustainable Shoreline and was elected treasurer. 2006, Member, Shoreline Parks Bond Campaign Committee
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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 newsletter 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: Jennifer DiGiacomo
Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: 425-671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org