Rep Shay Schual-Berke muni league candidate questionnaire - responses 2006From: Shay Schual Berke: Comcast [shayschualberke@comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, July 09, 2006 8:40 AM
To: cec@munileague.org
Cc: Shay Schual-Berke
Subject: Rep Shay Schual-Berke muni league candidate questionnaire - responses 2006
Here is my questionnaire with responses; please send an email to confirm receipt, thank you.
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:
X Candidate Questionnaire
Sent by: X 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 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
Shay Schual-Berke
2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
State representative 33rd legislative district position one
3. Are you the incumbent? X Yes No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
~20 years
5. How long have you resided in King County?
~20 years
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? X Partisan Nonpartisan
7. If partisan, please indicate party: Democrat
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
Campaign Name: Committee to Re-Elect Shay Schual-Berke
Address: 604 SW 206th St
Seattle, WA 98166-4136
Campaign Phone: 206.795.6089
Campaign Fax:
Campaign E-mail: shay@shayschualberke.com
Campaign Website: www.shayschualberke.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)
State representative elected 1999-current Chair public health financing committee, former chair financial institutions and insurance committee
Highline school board elected 1995-1999 Legislative chair
Washington council for the prevention of child abuse and neglect Legislative appointment 2001-current
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:
a.. 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?
a.. Effectiveness: Has the candidate demonstrated promise of being productive in the office sought? Has the candidate shown the ability to work with other people?
a.. 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?
a.. 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 I have made a difference for the eight years I have served thus far and can continue to do so. As the only medical doctor I bring a unique perspective on health care policy and budget issues. As a former school board member and parent of children in both public and private schools I also have insights that are useful. Because I don’t need to do this I am able to maintain more independence in my decision-making than some. I also become interested in, and am able to work on, a wide variety of policy issues. The public would benefit from more legislators who are able to separate campaign activities from legislative, and be independent of special interests. That is why I have become so interested in campaign finance reform and led HB 1226 to the Governor’s desk but there is much more to be done. It is also why I have been a leader in consumer protection reform, focused previously on pay day and other predatory lending, which unfortunately has not yet passed, but which is one reason I wish to remain in the legislature. This coming year may well the Year of Healthcare and I look forward to helping polish whatever the final product may be. Being Chair of the Public Health Financing Committee will help ensure that public health is a vital component of overall healthcare legislation.
2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
Independence, integrity, intellect, compassion, experience.
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.
First and foremost will most likely always be my family. I am proud of my husband and two sons who are the focus of my life. I could go into great detail….but would not likely be useful here! Legislatively several of the bills I have carried have made a large difference in the lives of many Washingtonians, like the Patients Bill of Rights or Mental Health Parity, but the legislation that is truly a standout for me personally occurred during my first term of office. The day after first being elected a Kent High School student contacted me to explain that their ASB wanted to do charitable fundraising to help an alum of the high school pay her medical bills – she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had no insurance. It took two years and an amazing amount of cooperation from the Attorney General’s office, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, etc but also the students themselves – ultimately from around the state – who worked collectively and collaboratively with me so that we changed the law to permit ASBs to do charitable fundraising. The bill passed unanimously in 2000 and was a stellar example of civics that I found rewarding and remarkable. As a physician there is little that can compare to the privilege of being trained to help patients, sometimes save their lives or improve the quality of their 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.
Previously, my private practice in cardiology in the community, followed by appointments to such things as the Normandy Park Board of Adjustments, the King County Teen Clinic Oversight Panel, and finally the Highline School Board. I volunteered for many activities after closing my medical practice like being the soccer league’s coach and player recruiter. Currently as state representative I have most of my meetings in local coffee houses, and spend much of my time interacting with constituents on both formal and informal bases. I still have a public school students at home and am very involved with our local schools. In the community I serve on the Mt Rainier High School Foundation Board and the Wesley Homes and Gardens Retirement Facility as well more globally being a member of the Washington Council for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. Most recently (in 2005 and 2006) my local activities led to my receiving the Highline Council PTSA Advocacy for Youth Award for Dedication to the Children of Our Highline Community and our State and the Adult Family Home Association’s Legislator of the Year award for Unwavering Support of our Residents, Families and Homes (I had pursued policies important to local long-term care facilities that were also helpful statewide).
1.. Please describe the duties of the office you seek. Which are the most important duties and why?
I think it is most important that I be involved with, and listen to, the perspectives of any and all of my constituents and then that I educate myself on those issues and internalize and process all the information so that I could move forward with efforts to address their concerns and meet their needs. This is really not too different than practicing medicine where it was most important to listen carefully to the patient, work it through all the data/knowledge I had so that I could make my best recommendation for their care.
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.
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 was initially introduced to my community through my cardiology (medical) practice. After retirement, I volunteered for things ranging from the local soccer league (coach and player recruiter) to the Normandy Park Board of Adjustments. In 1994 I was elected to the Highline School Board, where I was the Legislative Chair and appointed to the King County Teen Health Clinic Oversight Panel. I am a longstanding member of the Board of Wesley Homes and Gardens, and also the Mount Rainier High School Foundation Board. I am extremely active with the community through my responsibilities as their state representative. Last year I was honored to receive the Highline Council PTSA Advocacy for Youth Award for “Dedication to the Children of Our Highline Community and our State”. Because of my involvement with healthcare and long term care issues I was also honored to receive the Adult Family Home Association’s Legislator of the Year award for “Unwavering Support of our Residents, Families and Homes”. I had worked closely with some facilities in Kent that needed help with our state agencies that regulate them. Seatac airport has had important impacts on the western half of my legislative district. Concerns about governance of the Port of Seattle and the role of special interests in policy making that I heard from constituents led me to sponsor a bill to place Port of Seattle commission candidates under campaign contribution limits comparable to those of legislative and state-wide office candidates. As the bill evolved over the years, it was expanded to include judicial candidates and others, and was signed by the Governor into law this past year (HB 1226). The King County Bar Association reflected their belief in the importance of this new law by honoring me with their President’s Award two weeks ago. Another example of my community involvement spearheading my legislative efforts was my observation that pay day lenders had proliferated unbelievably in my community, and then learning about the devastation that such financial burdens placed on the borrowers. Those borrowers are not simply the conventional “poor”, but include more and more teachers and other middle income Americans. I led efforts, thus far unsuccessful, to bring predatory lending under better control. The Navy, which recognizes how harmful this is to our military servicemen and women, awarded me their Friend of The Navy award for my work in 2005.
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