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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Skip |
Priest |
2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):
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State Representative, 30th District, Position 2 |
3. Are you the incumbent? X Yes No
4. How long have you resided in this district/city?
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18 years |
5. How long have you resided in King County?
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21 years |
6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? X Partisan Nonpartisan
7. If partisan, please indicate party: Republican
CAMPAIGN CONTACTS
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Campaign Name: |
Citizens for Skip Priest |
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Address: |
P.O. Box 23237 |
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City/State/Zip: |
Federal Way, WA 98093 |
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Campaign Phone: |
206-510-7810 |
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Campaign Fax: |
253-661-6628 |
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Campaign E-mail: |
www.skippriestcampaign.com/mspriest@comcast.net |
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Campaign Website: |
www.skippriestcampaign.com |
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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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Federal Way City Council
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Elective
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1/1/92-12/31/97
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Mayor—1996-1997
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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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State Senate—30th District
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1994
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State Representative—30th District
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1998
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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 seeking my third term as State Representative for three related reasons:
First: I care deeply about the people and communities of the 30th District and am honored to serve as their State Representative. For over a decade, I have worked with many groups and individuals in the communities I serve to improve the quality of life of those who live within the District’s boundaries. As a result, I have a personal knowledge of not only the needs but also the goals, dreams, and aspirations of those I represent. This commitment to all the residents of the 30th District—not just a few—is exemplified by my public and community service summarized in Section IV.
Second: We need experienced leaders in the legislature that are able to work across party lines to effectively address our state’s ongoing challenges. When I first went to Olympia four years ago, the state faced its greatest crisis in its long history. Not only did we have our largest projected budget deficit—some $2.6 billion—but we also had the third highest unemployment rate in the country. In addition, many of our state’s most vulnerable citizens faced unacceptable cuts in necessary services provided by the state. Through a bi-partisan effort, we were able to balance the budget without raising taxes while still protecting those citizens who needed our help the most. There is little doubt that this effort helped provide the foundation for the improving economy that the state is experiencing. That’s the good news. Unfortunately, legislatures sometimes have exceedingly short memories. Already new arguably marginal programs are being initiated that threaten to recreate the same spending bow-wave effect that undermined our state’s budget solvency. This is occurring at a time when the state is also facing critical spending increases in such priorities as basic health care for our less fortunate as well as necessary investments in Early Learning, K-12 and higher education. As one who experienced some of our state’s darkest fiscal days, I would like to ensure that there is institutional memory of the painful choices that were necessary to successfully address the last crisis.
Third: As the above suggests, setting effective state priorities is still incredibly important. My priorities are clear and it is a message that I want to continue to take to Olympia. (1) We must continue our review of our K-12 and higher education systems to ensure that our schools get the resources they need to achieve the outcomes we desire—an educated populace prepared to take advantage of the opportunities of the new economy. (2) We must provide sufficient funds to safeguard the environment. Without this commitment, we cannot maintain the quality of life necessary to make neighborhoods livable and attract businesses to our community and state. (3) We must continue to seek ways to improve our business climate to ensure that we create sufficient family jobs and revenues to pay for our state’s needs. |
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2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.
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I believe that I share three basic traits with other effective legislators. These are courage of conviction, integrity of purpose and tenacity. Just as importantly, I also am very aware of the importance of the word—we. Many years ago, I was extremely fortunate to have a mentor who taught me the management skills necessary for success at the highest levels of American business. His message was simple. When you succeed in your goals always share that success with those who work with you through the use of the term we. Only when you fail do you use the word I—because a true leader recognizes that it is his or her responsibility if goals are not achieved. It is an approach that I have found translates equally well in either the business or public arena. |
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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For over a decade, my goals as public servant and community leader have been to (1) improve our public education system, (2) safeguard our local environment and, (3) improve the local business climate. During my tenure as a State Representative, these goals, not surprisingly have continued to be my main priorities. Fortunately, I’ve had accomplishments in all three areas.
(1) Improving Public Education. During my first session, I was asked to serve on the Higher Education Committee. Much to my surprise, at my first committee hearing, witnesses testified that the state did not have a comprehensive plan for higher education. This came at a time when there was a growing awareness of the importance of higher education to the future of the state’s economy. Working with university experts, Representative Fred Jarrett and I developed a comprehensive approach to begin addressing this critical issue. In addition to providing a blueprint for a number of important higher education bills passed by the legislature last session, the approach was also presented at their request to both the Governor’s Washington Learns Higher Education Committee and the Prosperity Partnership. As a result it has also served as an important discussion document to both groups’ initial recommendations. Today, I also currently serve on the Governor’s Washington Learns K-12 Advisory Committee. As this response is drafted, Representative Jarrett and I are drafting a similar strategic plan for K-12 education that hopefully will provide similar guidance and a platform for discussion in this critical area.
(2) Safeguarding the Environment. I am very proud to be part of a group of South King County environmental leaders that are making a difference in restoring the Hylebos Creek watershed. Five years ago, the Friends of the Hylebos was an organization seeking purpose and direction. Today, it is an organization with strong leadership, a clear vision, and a string of accomplishments that led local National Public Radio affiliate KPLU to herald the Friends as an example of successful grassroots environmental activism. As a legislator, I have worked with other government officials, including King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer and State Senator Tracy Eide to assist the group on several major projects. This has included the transfer of the West Hylebos State Park from state management to the City of Federal Way to provide greater local control, securing state capital budget funding to replace the park’s deteriorating boardwalk, and working with the State Department of Transportation in Hylebos Creek buffer acquisition and stream restoration projects. As a result of these efforts, we are very close to achieving our goal of establishing a model for true urban stream restoration.
(3) Improving the Business Climate. In my first session, I also had the honor to serve on the select legislative task force charged with the responsibility of working with the Governor to “land the now 787.” The bi-partisan task force was made up of four House members and four Senate members. Its charge was to put together a plan to make our state competitive in the contest to produce Boeing’s next generation airliner. The final package contained a number of initiatives designed not only to help the aerospace industry but other businesses in our state as well. Together with Representative Eric Pettigrew and the Governor’s office, I was pleased to play a leading role in putting together the legislative tax incentive package—a package we now know as instrumental in Boeing making its decision to site the 787 production facility here in the Puget Sound area. This session I was asked to take on a similarly important task as a Trustee of the Governor’s Life Science Discovery Fund. It will be our responsibility as Trustees to provide a creative leadership role just as prior leaders in our state did when they made the initial investments in the fledgling aerospace industry over a half-century ago. |
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Success in all of the above accomplishments required the type of bi-partisan collaboration that I believe is absolutely critical for our state to meet the challenges it faces. Hopefully, these accomplishments will also give both voters and members of the Municipal League a sense of confidence that I am prepared to continue to deliver on the goals and priorities that I believe will be not only benefit the 30th District but the entire state as well. |
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.
Federal Way Mayor/City Council (1992-1997)
Friends of the Hylebos Board/Advisory Board (2001-present), Member: (1992-present)
Multi-Service Center Board (2003-present)
Pacific Harbors Council, B.S.A. Board (1994-present)
Federal Way School District Construction Oversight Committee (2001-present)
Chamber of Commerce Advancing Leadership Board (2001-present)
St. Francis Hospital Franciscan Fellowship President/Board (1996-present)
Federal Way Kiwanis Board (2000-2003), Member: (1991-present)
Federal Way Kiwanis Foundation Board (2003-present)
- Please describe the duties of the office you seek. Which are the most important duties and why?
The primary duty of the office I seek remains inherent in the name of the office itself—State Representative. It is absolutely imperative that one “represents” the people of the 30th District by clearly understanding their priorities and then working to see that these priorities are achieved. How one actually achieves this goal can be extremely varied. It can be something very simple like giving a young boy or girl a chance to be a page for your office in Olympia. It can be teaching a class on civics to a local junior high school. It can be helping grandparents obtain custody of their grandchildren from rotating foster homes in another state after their daughter tragically falls victim to drugs and alcohol. It can be major policy legislation that helps ensure a high quality job is maintained at Boeing or that all our children will be able to receive an excellent K-12 and higher education experience in our state. Or closer to home it can be ensuring that the state’s attempt to cite a sexual predator facility in a residential neighborhood in your district is redirected to a more a appropriate place in an industrial site closer to health services and employment opportunities. No matter how it is achieved, however, the overriding responsibility of us all is--to represent.
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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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Brewster H.S., Brewster, WA B.A., Political Science, Willamette University J.D. with Honors, National Law Center, George Washington 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.
x 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