King Conservation District Board of Supervisors, Position 2

Municipal/Other Questionnaire

Candidate Information

Candidate Name: Kirstin Haugen
Position Sought: King Conservation District Board of Supervisors, Position 2 (Incumbent)
Home Legislative District: 36
Democrat: Yes

Campaign Information

Manager or Point of Contact: n/a
Phone:
Address: 715 West Halladay Street
Website: https://www.kirstinhaugen.org
Email: kirstin@kirstinhaugen.org
Facebook:
Twitter:

Part I – Candidate Background

1. Please briefly describe your qualifications, education, employment, community and civic activity, union affiliation, prior political activity, and other relevant experience.

I am a dedicated community volunteer with a background in public policy and board governance. I have served on the boards of King Conservation District, 4Culture, Cascadia Community College, and the King County Charter Review Commission. Previously, I served as an account executive for a public affairs firm and as chief of staff to former King County Councilmember Bob Ferguson. I am currently a PCO for the 36th Legislative District Democrats and served as a PCO for the 1st Legislative District Democrats for many years. I received my Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Art from the University of Washington.

2. What prompted you to run for this office? What are your campaign’s most important themes, issues, or priorities (three to five)?

I was elected to the King Conservation District board in 2019, becoming board chair in 2021. We have worked extensively to find efficiencies, increase financial oversight, and boost transparency to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. But there is still more work to do.

Representation
King Conservation District elections are now managed by King County Elections rather than a private business. But conservation districts are still not using regular ballots sent to all registered voters. I’ve worked hard on this issue, securing support across the state for election reform this coming legislative session.

Equity
Conservation efforts have historically fallen short of serving our entire community. As a first step to achieving lasting organizational change, we are embarking on organization-wide training and outreach to serve all people in King County.

Funding
KCD is funded by a flat fee per property regardless of size or value, placing too much of the burden on working families and people with fixed incomes. I support increased KCD funding and will seek legislation for a less regressive tax base.

Climate
Conservation districts were created 80 years ago in response to dust bowl environmental devastation. Today, climate change poses a truly existential crisis. King Conservation District is uniquely situated to build climate resiliency, support dwindling populations of salmon and orcas, improve forest health, and encourage local food.

3. What steps are you taking to run a successful campaign?

Conservation district campaigns are very unusual with a very short time frame, outside the normal election cycle, and voting is by request only. Most voters are unaware of the election. My plan is to get out the vote using email and other outreach, similar to how I campaigned in 2019 for this position

Part II – Local Issues

1. Would you support the establishment of a safe injection site in your district?

Yes

2. Would you support the administration and police force in your jurisdiction adopting a sanctuary policy, forbidding the sharing of local resources and labor with ICE?

Yes

3. Do you support raising revenue at the city level to expand transit service?

Yes

4. Should transportation policy discourage the use of private automobiles and encourage the use of public-transit?

Yes

5. Do you support building a municipally owned and operated broadband system in your city or jurisdiction?

Yes

6. Do you support requiring police officers in your jurisdiction to wear body cameras?

Yes

7. Do you support repealing Tim Eyman’s I-747, which artificially limits property tax increases to 1% per year, regardless of population growth, inflation, and need?

Yes

8. Should government assist individuals, and families who are without sufficient food, shelter, or basic necessities through no fault of their own?

Yes

9. Should the wages paid to workers in Washington State be raised incrementally towards the goal of living wages?

Yes

10. Will you seek opportunities to mitigate the human activities that are contributing to disastrous climate change?

Yes

Conservation districts were created 80 years ago in response to dust bowl environmental devastation. Today, climate change poses a truly existential crisis. King Conservation District is uniquely situated to build climate resiliency, support dwindling populations of salmon and orcas, improve forest health, and encourage local food.

Conservation districts are non-regulatory special purpose districts that are based on voluntary stewardship. This is a great model to reach our entire community to provide assistance – whether it is education, native plants, riparian buffers on a stream, or access to culturally relevant seed starts.

Part III – Free Response

1. Why are you requesting Democratic endorsement? What aspects of the Democratic platform most resonate with you?

I am a passionate life-long Democrat who cares about people and the future of our planet. I am pursuing Democratic endorsements to help voters know my values. In a little known race like this, endorsements by local legislative districts really matter.

2. What important local issues have you worked on (or taken an interest in) that you feel aren’t getting enough attention from elected leaders and the media?

3. Please list up to three specific, concrete actions you would support to ease the homelessness crisis.

n/a

4. What are the barriers to economic prosperity faced by residents in your jurisdiction, and how do you plan to address them?

n/a

5. What are the transportation/transit challenges which face this jurisdiction and how would you address them? What role does rail play in your proposed solutions?

n/a

6. What are your jurisdiction’s environmental issues, which ones are urgent and what will you do to address them?

Please see part 1, question 2:

Representation
King County voters deserve a real voice in setting local conservation priorities and I believe conservation district elections matter. That is why I have worked hard the past three years to achieve election reform and put this election on the regular ballot.

7. Does your district have a taxing authority or propose levies and what changes, if any, would you seek?

King Conservation District is funded by a flat fee per property regardless of size or value, placing too much of the burden on working families and people with fixed incomes. I support increased KCD funding and will seek legislation for a less regressive tax base.

By typing my name below, I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct.

Printed Name: Kirstin Haugen

Date: 01/09/2022

King Conservation District Board of Supervisors, Position 2 – Kirstin Haugen