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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Frank |
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Chopp |
2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
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State Representative, Position #2, 43rd Legislative District |
3. Are you the incumbent? Yes
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
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25 years at least |
5. How long have you resided in King County?
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30 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan
7. If partisan, please indicate party: Democrat
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Frank Chopp Campaign |
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Address: |
4209 Sunnyside North |
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City/State/Zip: |
Seattle, WA 98103 |
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Campaign Phone: |
206-380-5424 |
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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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State Representative
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Elective
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1/1995 - present
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Speaker of the House, 1/2002 - present Co-Speaker, 1/1999 - 12/2001 Minority Floor Leader 1/1997 – 12/1998
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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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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.)
I believe in Working Together for One Washington, bringing people together to address the challenges before us as a community. I am working hard to carry out a progressive agenda for the people, focused on the issues of education, health care, and jobs. For example:
In education, there is an urgent need to increase funding at all levels, from early learning to higher education. That includes support for all-day kindergarten in our public schools, investment in school construction and renovation, and provision of Opportunity Grants to help community college students acquire the needed skills and connect to specific jobs in our changing economy.
In health care, the highest priority is to make sure that all children are covered in a universal and efficient system, with a medical home for each child. This is a moral imperative and economic necessity. In order for a student to succeed in school, they must be healthy and ready to learn.
In job creation, energy independence is a tremendous opportunity. We can create a great many jobs by producing bio-diesel with agricultural crops grown in Washington. That will help our farmers survive in the global marketplace, make the air cleaner, and recycle the energy dollars here in our own economy. I’d rather have our money go to Eastern Washington than the Middle East.
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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A dedication to public service, a creative mind, a positive vision for the future, a lot of hard work, a set of organizational skills, and a record of accomplishment. |
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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Expanding health care for children in Washington.
I initiated the legislative effort to set the goal of covering all children in Washington State by 2010, starting with over 50,000 children being covered during this current state biennial budget.
Increasing the state investment in school construction.
I made sure that state funding to local school districts was increased in this current budget, by 50% over historic levels.
Helping those in poverty.
I believe in Freedom from Poverty through Action. Over the course of 30 years, in both the non-profit sector and in legislative session, I have worked to hard to help the poor. For example: funding for the Housing Trust Fund, better wages for home care and child care workers, increasing the minimum wage, and protecting the vulnerable by preventing budget cuts for lifeline programs such as GA-U (General Assistance for the Unemployable). |
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 list is long, but here’s a few highlights:
Co-Chair for Low-income Housing, Capital Forum Coalition (state capital budget), 1989-1993
Founding Board member, Low-Income Housing Institute, 1991-1998
Board member and founder, Office of PortJOBS, 1990-1994
Co-chairperson, Committee for Economic Opportunity, 1989-1992
Chairperson, Seattle Housing Levy Campaign, and member of Citizens for a Better Seattle (Housing Levy and Art Museum Levy Joint Campaign), 1986
Founder and Board member, Seattle Personal Transit (for the disabled), 1984-1986
Co-Chairperson and organizer, Health Care for the Homeless Coalition, 1984-1985
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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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This answer has not changed since my last questionnaire for your organization.
The role of Speaker is to provide leadership for the House Democrats in cooperation with committee chairs and other members of leadership, communicate this direction to the public and constituents, serve as the institutional head of the House of Representatives, and work closely with Senate and Governor.
The most important duties of my position are leadership and coalition building. Being a state representative, and particularly being the Speaker of the House, requires a clear sense of where our state needs to go, how to get there and how to involve people in the process, whether that is the general public, members of the caucus or other elected officials. I have a strong vision for this state that is built on the fundamentals – strong schools, good jobs, responsive government, secure families, and a healthy environment.
I have shown that I can lead in very difficult times and I have an ability to bring people together, even those who have traditionally been on opposite sides. |
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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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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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