KING COUNTY DEMOCRATS 2012 CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE – CONGRESS, SENATE, LEGISLATURE Candidate Name Stephanie Bowman Position sought State House of Representatives Residence Legislative, 11, 8, 7 County Council and Congressional district Do you publicly YES declare to be a Democrat? Campaign Information Campaign Name People for Stephanie Bowman Web page Campaign Email [email protected] address Manager Campaign mailing PO Box 84415, Seattle WA 98124 address Campaign phone 206-898-3043 number Campaign FAX Campaign Christian Sinderman Consultant(s) Candidate Background: Community service, education, employment and other relevant experience. Describe your qualifications, education, employment, community and civic activity, Union affiliation and other relevant experience. I will bring to the Legislature more than fifteen years of public policy experience in the non-profit, public and private sector, community leadership and personal experiences as a single, professional female from a working-class background who understands the struggles of the middle class. In my job as the Executive Director of the statewide non-profit Washington Asset Building Coalition (WABC), I work every day on progressive state policies and programs to help Washington families build an economic safety net: investing in education, build savings and creating opportunities to own a home or start a business. Specifically, issues on which we work are foreclosure prevention; providing access to safe financial services (i.e., helping un-banked residents and eliminating practices such as predatory lending); Working Families Tax Credit and EITC campaigns, and microenterprise development, particularly for women and minority populations. The opportunity to build these sorts of assets not only helps citizens move out of poverty but is fundamental to maintaining and growing the middle class. As the leader of our state organization, I KC Dems – 2012 Questionnaire Page 2 of 8 provide the guidance to our 21 local coalitions around the state and represent our organization on the national level. Prior to my current job, I worked for the Port of Tacoma as their liaison with the federal government, specifically on issues with federal agencies such the EPA, the Department of Transportation and Army Corps of Engineers. I also served as the Port’s main contact with our Congressional representatives (Congressmen Norm Dicks & Adam Smith and U.S. Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell). In this leadership role, I worked daily with other Washington State ports and our union partners (ILWU Local 23) on issues of economic development and job creation: investments in transportation and Port facilities that increased family-wage jobs; Harbor Maintenance Tax and other competiveness issues; and environmental safeguards such as diesel emission reduction strategies. My community and public service experience is a direct reflection of my personal values: I have served on the Boards of Plymouth Housing Group; Rainier Valley Food Bank; Northwest Harvest Capital Campaign; Beacon Hill Community Council and the P-Patch Trust. I have Executive Leadership MBA from the nationally-renowned program at Seattle University, and an undergraduate degree (B.S.) from the University of Idaho. I was one of 100 citizens nation-wide to be awarded an American Marshall Fellowship in 2007, and I was named a “40 Under 40 Emerging Leader” in 2007 (PSBJ). I was raised in Hilo, Hawaii where I attended public schools (Keaukaha Elementary, Hilo Intermediate and Hilo High). I came to the mainland for college in Idaho, and moved to Seattle directly after (1991). I live on Beacon Hill with my 14 year old rescue dog, three blocks from the light rail line and Beacon Hill library. KC Dems – 2012 Questionnaire Page 3 of 8 What ratings and endorsements have you received? Democratic None as of yet; I am a first-time candidate Organizations Labor None as of yet; I am a first-time candidate Municipal League None as of yet; I am a first-time candidate Other None as of yet; I am a first-time candidate Endorsements (LGBT, Women, Chambers, Ethnic, Environmental, etc.) Which groups do you plan to ask for an endorsement? Democratic organizations (11th LD; KDCC, Progressive Majority, etc) Labor Organizations (WSLC; WEA; ILWU; AFSCME; IAM, etc) Women’s organizations (NARAL, National Women’s Political Caucus, etc) Local ethnic organizations (FAPAGOW, etc) Please answer the following questions* Yes No Qualified 1 Do you support the King County Democratic Platform? x 2 Do you support the right of workers (excluding military) to bargain x and strike? 3 Do you support government funding of family planning services, x including abortion and contraception? 4 Do you support super majorities (i.e. 2/3 majorities) for revenue x increases at the legislative level? 5 Do you support area standards of wages and benefits? x 6 Do you support a woman’s right to choose? x 7 Do you support Federal and State regulation of greenhouse gases? x 8 Do you support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens x United? 9 Do you support marriage equality? x 10 Do you support re-enactment of the Glass-Steagall Act? x 11 Do you support Charter Schools and/or School Vouchers? x 12 Do you support equal pay for women? x * If you answered “Qualified” please explain your answer: I support equal or greater pay for women. KC Dems – 2012 Questionnaire Page 4 of 8 Please answer the following questions * Yes No 1 Have you ever failed to pay any taxes or court ordered judgments? x 2 Have you ever been found in violation of a Public Disclosure Commission, x Federal Election Commission or Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission regulation? 3 Have you ever been convicted of a felony? x * If you answered “Yes” please explain your answer: I was fined $25 by the PDC for late filing of lobbying forms. It was not an ethical violation. Have you ever been a member of any other political party? No. Have you ever supported or given money to a candidate from another party in a partisan race? If so, whom and when? No. Are you a member of your local Democratic District Organization? Have you been a Precinct Committee Officer or held a Party position? When/Where? I have been a member of the 11th LD. Have you contributed financially to any Democratic Organization? Yes. What are the top three messages of your campaign? We need to preserve and create family-wage jobs and the opportunities for skills training to support this; We must fully fund education and support teachers so that all students have a chance to learn and grow, regardless of background or family income; I will work to ensure additional resources are available to meet the needs of the diverse population in the 11th district, such as ELL KC Dems – 2012 Questionnaire Page 5 of 8 With respect to how you plan on getting your message to voters: How many doors have you and/or your volunteers knocked to date? Do you have a goal, and, if so, what is it? How much money have you raised to date, and from approximately how many donors? What is your fundraising goal, and how do you plan to reach that goal? I personally have door-belled 435 houses to date, which is keeping with by goal of 15,000 by August 1, 2012. My fundraising goal is $100,000 by August 1, 2012. I intend to focus on small contributions for a wide variety of citizens, with the vast majority from citizens in the 11th district. I started fundraising 6 days ago and have received $3,590 with commitments totaling over $10,000 from approximately 60 donors. If you are running against another Democrat – Why should the County or LD organizations support you over your opponent? (hint: make this about you, not your opponent) I believe the citizens of our state, and in particular the 11th district, would be best served by someone with a breadth of experience who has demonstrated a personal commitment to working on their issues every day. My personal and professional experiences together have provided me with a foundation for coming to Olympia as progressive, experienced strong woman leader ready from the first day to work on policies to help Washington families get back on their feet again. What are the top three most pressing issues facing your jurisdiction? How would you address these issues if elected? Two challenges in particular are unique to the 11th LD faces and are the foundation for my desire to serve: first, the 11th LD has the most diverse population in the state, and second, the expansion of Boeing’s capacity (both current ramp-up & preparation for the 737 MAX production) will have a tremendous impact on the district in terms of education (jobs training & K-12), transportation improvements and affordable housing over the next ten years. My goa in representing the 11th LD would be to ensure our citizens have the opportunity to take benefit from Boeing’s investment, specifically: (1) investment in jobs training (in particular at Renton Technical College); (2) more resources for ELL citizens, and (3) ensuring our local schools, in particular our teachers, have the funding and resources they need to teach such a diverse population. If you are running against another Democrat – If your opponent makes it out of the primary, and you do not, is there any reason you would not be supportive of their candidacy? No. KC Dems – 2012 Questionnaire Page 6 of 8 Explain your positions on affordable housing, low income housing, density, and ending homelessness in your community. As former Board Member of Plymouth Housing Group (PHG), I have direct experience and a demonstrated commitment to working on real-world solutions to ending homelessness and increasing the availability of low-income housing. The PHG model, which provides not only safe, independent living space but also the full range of support services to PHG residents (i.e., on-site care for addiction or mental illnesses; life skills training, etc.) is a proven model not only for addressing homelessness but also the root causes of it for this most vulnerable population.