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 |
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Ed |
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Murray |
2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
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State Senate 43rd LD |
3. Are you the incumbent? Yes x No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
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22 years in district/ 31 years in Seattle |
5. How long have you resided in King County?
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32 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? X Partisan Nonpartisan
7. If partisan, please indicate party: Democratic
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Friends of Ed Murray |
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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: |
www.edmurrayforsenate.com |
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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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Chair, House Transportation Committee Chair, Capital Budget Committee |
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City of Seattle Police Chief Selection Committee
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SEE ADDITIONAL POLITICAL BACKGROUND UNDER SECTION III, QUESTION #4 |
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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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1995
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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 am running for the state senate because I believe the future of this state and that of our political institutions, based on representative democracy, are at a turning point in our history. We have over the last several years restored some of the faith citizens had lost in their political institutions. The coming years will determine if that faith will continue to grow and as a result improve the well being of the entire or if we will be torn apart by an out of control initiative process.
My father’s family, Irish immigrants, helped to settle Grays Harbor County, making incredible sacrifices to settle and build the state we live in today. If leaders like me are not willing to take similar risks and make our own sacrifices, we can not hope to leave behind - to future generations - the same rich contributions earlier generations left us. I am running because I care deeply about the future.
I am running for the state senate because of the issues I care about, issues we have made progress on over the last several years. Those issues have been, and continue to be, transportation, civil rights, and providing for those who are most in need. I am running because I believe we have only begun to make progress on education and I want to use the skill I have gained over my years in the legislature and focus on expanding our reforms and funding for all levels of education.
I believe I have shown I know how to stand up for the values of my district and I believe I have shown that I can work collaboratively with other legislators, despite differences of ideology and geography, making compromises for the good of the whole state.
I am running for the state senate because I want to be more then a vote for my constituents, I want to lead on the issues I care about and work with my fellow legislators on the issues they care about, to improve the our state and strengthen the institution of representative democracy.
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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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My ability to work with others on difficult issues, in an often contenstious atmosphere. This is partly based on my ability to listen, and understand the concerns and needs of my fellow members of the legislature. This is also bases on the ability to communicate in a variety of mediums. Whether it is communicating with constituents, fellow members, or the media, the ability to be understood enhances a legislator's ability to pull diverse interests together in order to generate support for the goal I hope to achieve as a legislator.
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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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First: As Chair of the House Transportation Committee in 2005, we built on the nickel gas tax increase of 2003, and increase the gas tax again, this time by nine and half cents. I led the effort in the House to accomplish this, standing up to my own leadership’s initial resistance, negotiating with the senate and with republicans in both the house and senate to pass what now is the largest transportation program in our state’s history and the largest transportation construction program in the nation. Second: Whit the passage of the 2005 transportation package we faced an initiative challenge at the ballot. Against the advice of numerous political consultants that politicians should not defend the package, I debated John Carlson again and again on TV and the radio. Because I believe as politicians we must stand up and lead on the issues we care about. Third: This session after a twenty-nine year struggle we passed civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender citizens of this state. I have worked on this issue for eighteen years, the last eleven as a legislator. I have spent years speaking with groups across the state, religious leaders, business leaders, editorial boards to build a coalition to pass this legislation. As a legislator I reached out to conservative democrats and moderate republicans to pass this bill. Last year when the bill failed to pass by a single vote I turned around and doubled my efforts to make this legislation a reality.
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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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Civic Activities in the Community: - Greater Seattle Business Association - Plymouth Housing Capital Campaign - Downtown Seattle YMCA, Board Member - Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce - Privacy Board, Past President; Past President
Political Background: Continued from Section I - Public Defense Advisory Board - Governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation Financing - WSDOT Trans-Lake Washington Project; Executive Committee - Puget Sound Regional Council; Transportation Policy Board - City of Seattle Commission for Lesbiansand Gays; Past Co-Chair
Recent Awards:
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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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a.) Serving my District: Understanding the concerns and interests of my constituents and using my own judgment, to represent those interests and concerns to the legislature, the Governor and state agencies.
b.) Serving the State: Understanding the issues that face the whole state and working towards solutions that benefit the whole state, even if my constituents might disagree.
b.) Participating in the parliamentary process: To further the interests and concerns of my constituents, I must understand how the legislative process works and how to move a bill from introduction, through committee onto the floors of both Houses and to the Governor's desk.
c.) When in the majority, governing well and taking the difficult votes that are necessary to ensure the proper function of government. When in the minority, offering constructive challenges to the majority party.
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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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B.A. Sociology University of Portland Additional Education; St. Thomas Roman Catholic Seminary |
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.
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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