Hague at the helm

Being a politician is a lot like climbing a mountain – you have to take things one step at a time and constantly look ahead. A certain amount of fearlessness helps, too. As a county councilmember and a mountain climber, Jane Hague knows that better than most.

Since her 1990 election to the Metropolitan King County (Wash.) Council, Hague’s life has consisted of a series of struggles for various summits. Two years ago, she climbed Tanzania’s 19,341-foot Mount Kilimanjaro. This year, she takes over the presidency of the National Association of Counties. The journey has been steady, one step at a time.

Growing up in Elkhart, Ind., Hague learned traditional small-town values. Her parents also nurtured her independent spirit, giving Hague and her two sisters “broad horizons. We were all taught to not just do the traditional, but to think that we could have any kind of a professional career that a man had,” Hague says.

Drawing on that background, Hague has built her political career differently from the way some of her male colleagues – who practice what she calls “testosterone politics” – have risen through the ranks. In fact, like many elected women, Hague prefers to work in the background. “Like a lot of women, I do better behind the scenes, talking with people and bringing groups together and looking at ways to forge consensus,” Hague says. “I’m not a real in-your-face person.”

Building consensus depends on communication, and that is one area in which Hague excels. “She’s an excellent communicator,” says Metropolitan King County Councilmember David Irons. “Communication is 80 percent listening, and she listens to every viewpoint. She takes all sides into consideration.”

The Ascent

Hague gradually eased into politics, starting behind the scenes. From 1986 to 1993, she served as manager of the King County Records and Elections Division, where she became acquainted with several local politicians, including Pete von Reichbauer, current chair of the Metropolitan King County Council.

During her tenure in that position, Hague initiated election reform legislation and introduced technology into the voting and records-keeping processes. “She put King County on the cutting edge of technology for records and elections,” von Reichbauer says.

She also served on the Bellevue City Planning Commission. Working with local legislators inspired Hague to run for a spot on the Bellevue City Council – a position she held for four years before moving into the Metropolitan King County Council. She is now serving her third term in local government.

And that is where she plans to stay. “I love local government,” she says. “It seems that at the federal level, things go on and on, inch by inch. At the local level, we can do things in our lifetime to make a difference.”

“She is a tireless advocate for the community,” von Reichbauer says. “She really understands how federal decisions, especially fiscal decisions, [affect] local governments. I doubt if anyone has had as much training as she has had. No one could match her as a leader in local government.”

According to Irons, she also has an ability to cut to the chase by separating important ideas from trivial ones. “She does a very good job of looking past the rhetoric and getting to the point,” he says. “She has an excellent ability to get to the meat of the issue.”

That ability helped when King County was negotiating an Internet wiring agreement with AT&T. The contract was heldup because the company had filed a lawsuit against Portland, which was requiring AT&T to open its cable lines to competitors. (The city won the suit, but the company is appealing the decision.)

Hague and Irons wrote the agreement to allow the council to renegotiate the contract if a review panel were to find that AT&T was monopolizing the market. The council passed the agreement unanimously, despite predictions of failure, according to Irons. “Jane’s people skills prevailed,” he says.

The peaks

Like many other local government officials, Hague has worked to implement e-government into county operations. Last year, the Council launched a new web site that allows residents to view live council and committee meetings, obtain county information and complete application forms. The site also features “e-testimony” in which residents can enter official public testimony regarding the county’s budget and growth management plan. The county soon will be able to allow online payments for county fees and services, such as court fines and transit passes.

Improved public access to local governments also tops Hague’s agenda at NACo. Last year, she helped launch “Cyber-Democracy at Work,” a program designed to promote the growth of Internet access for all counties; focus attention on e-commerce and its implications for county government; encourage citizen access to local government; encourage citizen participation in local government; and integrate more technology into NACo activities and policies.

To further that program, Hague plans to host a NACo technology summit at the Microsoft headquarters in Washington, in October. That will be a time for NACo leaders to learn more about its members’ technology needs and establish partnerships with private companies, says Larry Naake, executive director of NACo.

“Partnerships are very essential for technology,” he says. “Jane has a very strong agenda regarding technology.”

That agenda is shared by NACo President-elect Javier Gonzales (commissioner for Santa Fe County, N.M.) and First Vice President Ken Mayfield (commissioner for Dallas County, Texas). With Hague, they have crafted a three-year vision that will provide continuity, Naake says.

“We feel that, with this collective ongoing vision for the next three years, we will be able to give the staff a sense of permanency and bring the members of NACo a stronger organization,” Hague says. Growth management – a key issue in King County as well as many counties around the nation – is another of Hague’s priorities. Having served as chair of a committee on growth management in King County and of NACo’s Environment, Energy and Land Use Steering Committee, she is concerned about a lack of growth planning across the nation.

“[Some] middle-sized and small counties facing growth don’t even know about comprehensive planning,” Hague says. “Many of the counties don’t even have planners on staff, and so they’re lacking the tools to deal with changing economies, rezoning of land and pressure from developers. Over the past seven years, I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly of growth management, and I would like to share some of the strategies that have worked in King County with the country.”

Hague also plans a crusade to increase NACo’s membership through her “2000 by 2000” campaign – that is, 2,000 members by the end of 2000. “I feel that with a collective voice, we’ve got a stronger voice in front of Congress and the White House,” she says.

“I am really blessed to be taking the helm at this point, and to be coming from King County,” Hague says. “The chance to showcase my great county nationally and learn from other counties is an awesome experience.”