|
|
The Municipal League of King County 810 Third Avenue, Suite 224 Seattle, WA 98104
|
|
|
2006 CANDIDATE BACKGROUND QUESTIONNAIRE FOR NON-JUDICIAL CANDIDATES
The Municipal League of King County requests every candidate who participates in the candidate evaluation process to submit background information prior to his/her interview with a candidate evaluation committee. The questionnaire is the basis of the League’s research and interview process. The League’s ratings are non-partisan; they are based on standards of Involvement, Effectiveness, Character, and Knowledge, all of which have been developed and refined over the past 90 years.
A printed version of the questionnaire is available for candidates who prefer to use the traditional format. To obtain a hard copy, please contact the League office. A copy of this questionnaire will be provided to Candidate Evaluation Committee members to help them prepare for your interview. Candidate responses, except the confidential section, will be available to the general public at the League website.
The Municipal League requests the following materials from candidates. Please check to make certain you have sent in your:
Candidate Questionnaire Sent by: Email US Mail Fax Not Sending Resume (education, employment, and professional activities) Sent by: Email US Mail Fax Not Sending Check here if you DO NOT want your resume posted on the Municipal League website Campaign Materials Sent by: Email US Mail Fax Not Sending Constituent Newsletters and other publications Sent by: Email US Mail Fax Not Sending Photograph Sent by: Email US Mail Fax Not Sending
Note: Electronically submitted questionnaires are strongly preferred. All materials can be emailed to cec@munileague.org. They can be processed and made available on-line far more rapidly than handwritten or typed submissions.
For non-electronic submissions, please print clearly and legibly and return the application as soon as possible in order to allow the committee the greatest amount of time to prepare a complete report on your skills and experience.
If you have not yet been contacted to schedule an interview, or if you have questions about the candidate evaluation program, please contact the League office at 206-264-1070.
If you have a disability and require accommodation to participate in the candidate evaluation process, please contact Jennifer DiGiacomo at the League office. |
2006 Board of Trustees
Steve Marshall, Chair
Tami Ritoch, Secretary Fireside Homes
Albert Israel, Treasurer Mass Mutual Financial Group
Beth Arman, Renton Technical College
Angela Avery, community volunteer
Putnam Barber, Executive Alliance
Dan Berger, municipal attorney
Jill D. Bowman, Stoel Rives LLP
Bill Breitenstein, Financial Executive (ret.)
David Brentlinger, Weyerhaeuser
Bruce Carter, judge pro tem, Seattle Municipal Court
Kevin Carter, Safeco
Paul Demitriades, Medina City Council (ret.)
Sandra Driscoll, City Attorney (ret.)
Mary Gates, consultant
Norma Jean Hanson, Norma Jean Hanson Paralegal Services
Robert Klein, McNaul, Ebel, Nawrot, and Helgren
Jack Jolley
Eric Laschever, Stoel Rives LLP
Eric B. Martin, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Kent McKinney, Keycenter Manager, KeyBank
Ramsey Ramerman, Foster Pepper
R. Todd Slind, CH2MHill
Norman Z. Sigler, Mobile Partners
Will Smith, T-Mobile
John Spady, Dick’s Drive-In
Ara Swanson, community volunteer
Harold Taniguchi, King County Department of Transportation
Rashelle Tanner, CRISTA Ministries
Wes Uhlman, Wes Uhlman & Associates
Jason Van Nort, Puget Sound Energy
Rich White, Boeing
2006 Candidate Questionnaire
SECTION I
BASIC CANDIDATE INFORMATION
1. Name as it will appear on the ballot
|
First Name |
Middle Initial or Nick Name |
Last Name |
|
Jeffrey |
|
Possinger |
2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
|
State House of Representatives 45th District (Pos. 1) |
3. Are you the incumbent? Yes No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
|
I am a life-long resident of Washington; I have lived in what is the 45th District since I as 18 Months Old, when parents moved to Kirkland in 1971. |
5. How long have you resided in King County?
|
Same Time Period |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
7. If partisan, please indicate party: GOP
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
|
Campaign Name: |
Friends to Elect Jeffrey Possinger |
|
Address: |
PO Box 5000 – PMB 187 |
|
City/State/Zip: |
Duvall, Washington 98019 |
|
Campaign Phone: |
(425) 223-3552 |
|
Campaign Fax: |
(425) 788-8320 |
|
Campaign E-mail: |
|
|
Campaign Website: |
www.JeffreyPossinger.com |
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) |
|
Duvall City Council, Pos. 2
|
Elected1
|
Feb. 03 – Present (Term ends 12/31/07)
|
Mayor Pro Tem; Chair, Committee of the Whole; past chair, Public Safety Committee; finance and other committee work.
|
|
Acting Mayor of Duvall
|
Appointed by City Council
|
Feb 05-Dec 05
|
Performed role of Mayor for 10 month period following the resignation of elected mayor; finished unexpired term, and then went back to role on council.
|
|
Committee to End Homelessness in King County (10 Year Plan)
|
Appointed (SCA)
|
Autumn 2005 - Present
|
Representative for SCA
|
|
Suburban Cities Association (SCA); Public Issues Committee – Represent City of Duvall
|
Appointed
|
December 2004 - Present
|
Representative for City of Duvall
|
|
Jail Advisory Group (JAG)
|
Appointed
|
Jan 2004-Present
|
Duvall Delegate
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 I was initially appointed by the Duvall City Council to fill the unexpired term of long-time city councilwoman Jeannie Baldwin, who passed away while in office. I was elected and retained the seat in November 2003 for a four-year term.
2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:
|
Office Title |
Year of Run |
|
State House of Representatives 45th District (Pos. 2)
|
2004
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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 that we need new vision in Olympia in order to solve our state’s issues, and to insure a successful future for Washington and its citizens. I ran two years ago for state representative because I believed that our state government was out of touch with the needs to the people in my district, and in many of our smaller local communities. I still believe this is true, yet over the course of the last two years, continuing to serve as a councilman, and during a 10 month tenure as mayor, my understanding of government processes has continued to deepen, while my perspective on certain issues have broadened. I still believe that we need to have more options at the local level to solve our local needs, yet I see this now in a broader context.
We need to invest in critical infrastructure, such as roads and other transportation options; we must do this in an intelligent way that has significant returns on this investment. But for this to happen, we need support from our citizens. It is my view that the only way we can see this kind of support is to make government more transparent, make government and its institutions more accountable; and more importantly, get tangible results for our citizens’ tax dollars.
We need to make intelligent investments in our education system; in order for us to compete globally, we need to improve our outcomes. Through funding and through structural change; we solve problems by focusing first on the results we need to achieve, and not on the organization chart of government. I have found at the local level, during my time as mayor, that the right leadership, with the ability to bring various departments on board, we can make structural changes, where small things can make a significant difference. Although it is a much bigger problem, and a much bigger set of institutions, the principles apply to state government as well.
Local control of land use decisions is crucial to maintain the unique identity of our various cities, towns, and communities. Each town and its community are unique, and the structure of our state’s growth management planning should go back to it’s bottom-up approach to land use planning, and cease from the course of centralized planning that is currently being pushed forward. The homogenization of our communities into master-planned cities is not in the best interests of our citizens, in the short run, and especially in the long run. I will work on changes to the GMA that address these issues as a state representative. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
|
As I said in my last questionnaire to the Municipal League two years ago, hard work and the willingness to persevere is a prerequisite to success and effectiveness in any endeavor. It is also important to work smart and to be flexible enough in your thinking to see opportunities that present themselves from unusual places, whether from a different field or from a political opponent. As I have matured in my public service roles, I have also come to see the importance of vision and the ability to look ahead as a critical element of leadership.
In my professional life, I look for ways to solve problems and to confront and deal with conflicts. At the end of the day, resolution of the conflict in a way that is mutually agreeable to all sides is the goal. Some of this is skill, and training, yet to work in my field of law, one must be predisposed to thinking on their feet, problem solving, and being able to see things from many different angles, from the view point of the client, from the view point of view of the other side, and sometimes from a completely different point of view; as it has been my experience that the solution to many problems is found in a path not seen by either party.
In my personal, professional, and public life, I have found that being able to truly listen and striving to understand others is the key to being effective. It is a source of true learning, but it is also a means by which we can find solutions that are acceptable to those in our life that we must work with – by understanding where they are coming from, we can work on proposals that are consistent with their deeper needs and objectives. As a representative, on a city council or in a state legislature; representing your constituents requires that you understand what they need, so that you can represent them. |
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.
|
Since I last wrote this section of your questionnaire, a great deal of life has passed by, as well as new experiences. As a result, I have grown to appreciate other accomplishments.
Shortly after my last legislative race, Duvall’s mayor resigned abruptly. There was a great deal of stress that surrounded this event; and even in the best of times, this kind of change is difficult on any organization – practically, as well as politically. During a meeting of our city council to deal with this situation, I was appointed by the council to step into the role of mayor. It was a major challenge to simultaneously try to keep together a staff, a council, that were fragmented; learn the job of mayor, which is much different than that of a city councilman, and bring our city back together. There were a number of challenges, and none of them were easy. Yet, we set a new course, agreed on objectives, and worked together – mayor and staff; administration and council to set our town back on course. I could not have done this alone, yet I am confident that my skills and talents were needed for this crisis, and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve my community for the 10 month period that I did. |
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.
|
A commitment to service, in personal ways, or in the community at large has always been a part of my family’s life, as well as my own.
In my profession, I have volunteered many hours of pro-bono work for nonprofit organizations as well as the King County Family Law Mentorship Program, which aids low income families with legal needs related to domestic relations and domestic violence. I have regularly made myself a resource to those needing legal advice or assistance, includng pro bono work I have done for community groups and youth sports teams.
In Duvall, I have participated in various community events, including community clean up days, fundraisers for local groups, and most recently, coordinating relief efforts for a family that was rendered homeless because of a barn fire that also burned their home. I have become a member of the Duvall Rotary, which has as its motto “service above self,” a motto in keeping with my values a citizen-leader. Early last year, I became a member of the 10 Year Committee to End Homelessness in King County, and issue that has always had a special place in my heart.
My commitment to my family is a top priority. In addition to spending time with my wife and children generally; I particpate in my daughter's sports events as well as school. I have volunteered time at my daughers school, putting on a program teaching basic economic principles and also volunteering time for writing awareness day, where I spoke to 4th, 5th, and 6th Graders about the use of writing in the legal profession. I have continued to use my role as an elected leader to talk to young people about the importance of civic involment and leadership.
I believe that communites are made better as a result of informal volunteer work like this.
|
5. Please describe the duties of the office you seek. Which are the most important duties and why?
|
The legislative branch of government is responsible for drafting and changing the law and policy of the State of Washington. Although the Governor carries this out, it is the duty of the legislature to make the laws that will ultimately govern the state. It is a critical duty that as legislators we make the right choices not only in the laws that we sponsor and pass, but also those laws that we do not pass.
As a related matter, the state's budget and the ability to tax and spend are the purview of the state legislature. Decisions made in the budget affect every citizen either positively or negatively. I consider it critical that legislators pass budgets that are affordable to their citizens; and pass budgets that live within the means of the state. Being sure that the maximum value is being purchased with the taxpayer's money is something that I believe every legislator should consider as having a top priority.
We are the representatives of our district, of our constituents. We are the voice of our families, friends, and neighbors; it is important to remember that there are many voices in our state, and being able to communicate their needs to the rest of the state is a critical skill. Yet, representation is a dialogue, not a monologue; and often we must communicate the needs of the state as a whole to our constituents as well to find the right compromises and solutions for all of us. |
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.
|
Diploma - Juanita High School (1987) Kirkland, WA Bachelor of Arts - Economics, Univeristy of Washington (1997) Juris Doctor (Cum Laude), Seattle University School of Law (2000)
|
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.
|
|
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
810 Third Avenue, Suite 224 Phone: 206-264-1070 Email: cec@munileague.org
Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: 425-671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org