2004 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):
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House of Representatives - 48th Legislative District - Position 1 |
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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23 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Partisan Nonpartisan
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Friends of Ross Hunter |
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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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Vice-Chair Finance Committee
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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 am running for re-election because I know I can continue to make a difference for our schools and our community. I believe that we can build a new coalition of moderate legislators from both parties to make substantial changes to the way we do business as a state. I have a handful of core beliefs about the role of government here in Washington. We must:
Adequately invest in our education system, from early learning through K12 and higher education. Our children must be prepared to compete in the new economy, and our economy must have educated workers to help attract the kind of businesses we want as a state. This year we have an opportunity to either succeed spectularly with WA Learns, or fail equally spectacularly. It is important that we do one or the other, and not try incremental solutions.
Expand our transportation system so that it catches up with the population growth we have experienced over the last few decades. We have made progress here in the last 4 years, but must still build consensus for the regional package and pass it at the polls.
Create a business climate that makes it reasonable for companies to locate and expand here.
Budget for the long-term, making prudent decisions about both revenue and expenses. I am fighting to increase the transparency and accountability of how we both raise revenue and spend it.
In short, I am a fiscally conservative Democrat who is generally thoughtful.
I'm a moderate. |
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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I'm smart, assertive, goal-oriented, and hardworking. I provide leadership. I also am old enough to have developed the ability to listen to other people and figure out their needs and desires.
The legislature deals with a wide variety of issues, most of which are very complicated. It is hard to develop the expertise to understand the implications of proposed changes. I am a quick learner, and have developed a relatively deep understanding of the budget and revenue system for the state more quickly than most other members.
To make a difference in the legislature you have to be willing to make decisions and push an agenda. Balancing the difference between assertive and aggressive is important, and I try very hard to come down on the assertive side. Without the willingness to make change and take risks nothing happens.
I have a deep interest in making sure the state lives up to its constitutional requirement to amply provide for the education of all students, and am willing to push forward to make this happen. I am able to keep this goal foremost in my mind, and adapt all my energies in this direction, with minimal distractions.
I work hard. I read countless documents. I attend endless meetings. I listen to people for hours. I knock on thousands of doors. I answer constituent correspondence in the middle of the night.
I am able to provide leadership. I can bring groups of people together to accomplish things they could not do individually. This requires listening to their goals and desires and shaping an agenda that works for everyone. For example, this year I am driving the House Democratic education agenda, and trying very hard to bring the K-12 part of Washington Learns along with me to match my vision of where we should go, with some success. |
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.
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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1997-2002 Cub Scout Pack 435 - Den Leader, Cubmaster. I substantially improved a Cub Scout pack over the 5 years I was involved in it, and handed off leadership to the next generation of leaders.
1999-2002 Cascade District Boy Scouts of America. I was Vice-Chair of the district council for the scouts while my son was involved in Cub scouting. I helped develop several activities including a Bike Rodeo and a Scout Expo at Bellevue Square Mall.
2000-2004 Bellevue Schools Foundation Trustee. I helped with program design and fundraising for "Project Discovery," the Bellevue Schools Foundation effort to improve science education in Elementary and Middle Schools in Bellevue. As a trustee I help set the strategic direction for the foundation and with fundraising. I serve on the strategic priorities and marketing committees.
2002 and 2006 Steering Committee, Bellevue Quality Schools. I worked with the committee that managed the election campaign for the Bellevue School District levies in both 2002 and 2006. This year I managed the messages for the campaign in addition to managing the speaker bureau, during the legislative session. We passed with over 75% of the vote.
2004-Now Hopelink board of directors. I have been asked to serve as a board member for the Eastside's largest human services organization. My role as a governmental representative on the board is to provide information about state budget process, and to learn how human services can be delivered effectively. I find this invaluable in my role on the Appropriations committee.
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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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The Legislature creates laws for the state, sets the biennial budget, and oversees the executive branch's implementation of the laws and budget. Individual legislators also serve a crucial role in lubricating the system by helping individual constituents navigate the system.
The longest-lasting impact is creating new laws or modifying old ones. Making major changes requires extensive knowledge of the impact your decision is likely to have, plus the ability to think about possible alternatives. It is humbling to think about the long-term impact you can have, and it causes me to be very thoughtful about what I do.
The most important duty I have for an individual constituent is the kind of help I and my office provide unblocking needed services or permits, or just making something that should happen actually do so.
The most ephemeral, but the most important is our ability to change the pattern of thought of the electorate. We can use the "bully pulpit" to cause major changes in how people think about government, and this can change what is possible. |
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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BS Computer Science - Yale University - 1983 |
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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I am running for re-election because I know I can continue to make a difference for our schools and our community. Over the past 4 years we have successfully built a bi-partisan coalition of moderate legislators representing the Eastside and other parts of the state. THis is critical to effective governance of Washington. We must:
Adequately invest in our education system.
Rebuild our transportation system.
Improve our business climate.
Budget for the long-term, making prudent decisions about both revenue and expenses.
In short, I am a fiscally conservative Democrat who is generally thoughtful.
I'm a moderate. |
Finished!
If at all possible, send your response to the Municipal League electronically as an attachment, or insert it into an e-mail message (rebecca@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.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND GOOD LUCK IN YOUR CAMPAIGN!
THE MUNICIPAL LEAGUE OF KING COUNTY
Candidate Evaluation Coordinator: Rebecca Cooper
Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: 425-671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org