The Municipal League of King County

810 Third Avenue, Suite 224

Seattle, WA 98104

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 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: xx Email US Mail Fax Not Sending

Resume (education, employment, and professional activities)

Sent by: Email US Mail x 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 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
Ruth	L.	Kagi

2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):

State Representative 32^nd District Position #2 King and Snohomish Counties

3. Are you the incumbent? xx Yes No

4. How long have you resided in this district/city?

56 years

5. How long have you resided in King County?

56 years

6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? xx Partisan Nonpartisan

7. If partisan, please indicate party: Democrat

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

Campaign Name:	Citizens for Ruth Kagi
Address:	19553 35^th NE
City/State/Zip:	Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
Campaign Phone:	(206) 365-1137
Campaign Fax:	Same
Campaign E-mail:	kagi@seanet.com
Campaign Website:	Ruthkagi.org

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)

State Representative

Elective

1998-present

Chair, Children and Family Services Committee

Washington council for Prevention of child abuse and neglect

Appointed by Governor

1991-96

Chair, 1995-6

Seattle Commission on Children and Youth

Appointed

1990-93

Chair, 1992-3

King County Children and Families Commission

Appointed

1993-98

2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:

Office Title

Year of Run

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 began my involvement with the legislature as a citizen volunteer for the League of Women Voters of Washington, lobbying on children and family issues. After years of trying to influence legislative decisions from the outside, I decided that the best way to effectively change state policies affecting foster care, child care and family support would be as a state representative. That is why I ran for office, sought appointment to the Children and Family Services Committee, and now serve as the chair of that committee.

During eight years in the legislature, I have taken on a number of issues that were controversial, and needed change. While on the Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee, I sponsored and passed two major bills to change our drug laws, lowering penalties for non-violent offenders, and providing more funding to drug courts for treatment and recovery. Last year I passed another bill that gives judges the authority to sentence non-violent drug offenders to long-term residential treatment in the community, and a suspended sentence, rather than sending these individuals to prison.

Over the past four years, as Chair of the Children and Family Services Committee, I have initiated legislation to strengthen our child welfare system by lowering child welfare caseloads; improve social work practice by requiring use of evidence based practice; and improve educational outcomes for foster children.

Over the past two years, two bills that I sponsored to improve child care and early childhood education in the state passed with strong bi-partisan majorities. One major reason I am running for re-election is to build on that bi-partisan support to restructure and strengthen early learning in Washington. It will take a major effort to accomplish that goal.

2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.

I am very direct but respectful, and strive to work well with people. I try to listen to the opinions of others and find common ground – a characteristic that I have found invaluable in negotiating with the Senate on bills in dispute. I have a lot of energy and am a workaholic which is very helpful in this role.

My professional background is policy analysis. I have found this skill valuable in my role as a committee member and chair, trying to determine the best alternatives in policy choices.

A sense of humor is essential to working effectively in the legislature. The comraderie and laughter in our caucus is a tremendous benefit to being a state representative.

Finally, over the past eight years, I have learned a great deal about how the legislative process works and am better able to achieve my legislative goals.

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.

Over the past two years, I have worked with the private sector, foundations, community organizations, advocates, providers, researchers, legislators and the Governor to develop policies and governance structures that support quality early learning in Washington. After eight years of working on this issue in the legislature, it has been totally amazing to see so many community partners come together to form a common agenda, and move forward.

Two years ago, with the help of many partners, I developed a bill to create an Early Learning Council to develop early learning policy, and make recommendations to the legislature. The bill was supported by the Gates Foundation, Chambers of Commerce, The Boeing Company, child care providers, parents, and many others and passed with bi-partisan support. One of their first recommendations of the Council was to create a new Department of Early Learning, and a public-private partnership. Last session I was able to shepherd the bill to create this new Department through both the House and the Senate, overcoming strong partisan objections to the creation of a new department.

The new partnership, Thrive by Five, has been formed, with Bill Gates Sr. and Governor Gregoire as co-chairs. I am vice chair of the Thrive by Five Board. Washington State is being watched by the nation as we move forward with this partnership to make major improvements in parent education and support, and in the quality of child care and pre-school, across the state.

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.

Before running for office, I served as vice president of the League of Women Voters of Washington, and worked with a broad spectrum of organizations on issues under consideration by the legislature, or being proposed for the ballot. I learned the importance of working with stakeholders to reach agreement on an issue, and then moving that issue forward through public education and advocacy.

As a citizen lobbyist for the League, I personally experienced the difficulties of trying to impact the legislative process form the outside. It is a confusing and complex system to understand and influence. That experience has been very valuable in working with individuals and organizations interested in proposing legislation, and getting it through the legislative process.

My extensive involvement in a variety of volunteer community activities related to children and families, child abuse and neglect, child care and family support --from community non-profit boards to state, city and county commissions --has provided insight and an on-going connection to people and issues in the community. I rely heavily on child advocates, parents and human service professionals working in the community to inform my work in the legislature.

Please describe the duties of the office you seek. Which are the most important duties and why?

The two most important responsibilities I have as a legislator are to represent my constituents in my district, and to develop and move forward policies that benefit the public and will improve the future for its citizens. As my education and background are in public policy, I devote most of my energy and time to legislative policy development and implementation, both during session and in the interim.

As Chair of the Children and Family Services Committee, I am responsible for dealing with problems and policy concerns that arise in the interim, involving legislative leadership if needed, and/or recommending action or a change in policy to the Governor.

I view my primary responsibility as Chair as assuring that the committee provides strong leadership and direction to public policy in child welfare, child care and early learning, welfare reform, drug and alcohol treatment, and services for individuals with developmental disabilities. I work with committee members to develop a clear idea of the issues to be addressed before session convenes, and what our policy goals are for the session in each of these areas.

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.

BA Political Science University of Washington

Masters in Public Administration The Maxwell School Syracuse University

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.

I will send resume as soon as I get my computer back.

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