Dennis Wick

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Dennis Wick

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 4, 2020

Education

Associate

Skagit Valley Community College, 1980

Bachelor's

University of Washington, Seattle, 1982

Graduate

City University of Seattle, 2003

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Years of service

1974 - 1980

Personal

Religion

Presbyterian

Profession

Integrated support planning and management specialist

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign X

Dennis Wick ran for election for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction. He lost in the primary on August 4, 2020.

Wick completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Dennis Wick earned an associate degree from Skagit Valley Community College in 1980, a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1982, and a master's degree from the City University of Seattle in 2003. His professional experience includes working as an integrated support planning and management specialist at Boeing and as adjunct faculty for Gonzaga University. Wick served in the U.S. Navy from 1974 to 1980.

Elections

2020

See also: Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2020

General election

General election for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction

Incumbent Chris Reykdal defeated Maia Espinoza in the general election for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Reykdal (Nonpartisan)	54.6	1,955,365
		Maia Espinoza (Nonpartisan)	44.9	1,609,643
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	17,957

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,582,965
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction

The following candidates ran in the primary for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Reykdal (Nonpartisan)	40.2	898,951
✔		Maia Espinoza (Nonpartisan)	25.3	564,674
		Ronald Higgins (Nonpartisan)	20.5	456,879
		Dennis Wick (Nonpartisan)	5.4	121,425
	Submit photo	David Spring (Nonpartisan)	5.0	111,176
		Stan Lippmann (Nonpartisan)	3.2	71,395
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	9,571

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,234,071
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Dennis Wick completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Wick's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Why pick Wick for Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction?

I was elected twice to the Snohomish School Board. I retired from Boeing, having worked on the aerospace side. I am currently adjunct faculty at Gonzaga University, teaching in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (online). I have proudly served in the US Navy in Aviation Electronics.

Education: MS, Project Management, City University of Seattle; BA, Business Administration, University Of Washington, Seattle, WA; AA , Skagit Valley College, Mt. Vernon, WA; various technical and leadership classes.

Other: Active in schools as a volunteer (the best job!), Parent Teacher Organization President, active church member. My wife and I have two grown children raising families and getting their children ready to enter the public-school system.

I want the best that life has to offer for everyone. I passionately believe that education is a key to unlock that happiness. I believe that we can do a better job supporting our students. Without a fresh change of leadership at the top, nothing will change for our students. I bring a blend of industry experience combined with actual decision-making experience in one of our state's school systems. I know what it takes to teach.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• From the top down, the focus of education should be the student-teacher relationship.
• We need to think outside of the classroom box. Education needs to be more flexible and responsive to the needs of the individual student.
• Education is best served at the community level. The state needs to nurture the relationship it has with its educational community, not smother it.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

1) I am personally passionate about Education policy. The political class gets hung up on getting taxpayer money and then passing it out with strings attached. Almost by accident, some of it actually makes it to the student. More emphasis needs to be given helping teachers integrate new curriculum and new proven ideas into their classrooms. This may include moving master teachers and other skilled adults into focused coaching or mentoring relationships with students and teachers. The state can support that without burdening the district's budgets.

2) While the political class argues, the coronavirus has forced parents to look at other ways of educating their students. The Superintendent's office should be an incubator for changes, not a roadblock. The policies developed by the Superintendent should actively support alternate means of learning.

3) Top-down, one-size-fits-all policy does not work well with a state as diverse as Washington. While the things that are learned may be the same, the learning environments across the state are very different. The state needs to remove bureaucracy and mandates that drain district resources without adding much (if any) value.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The founders of this state thought education important enough that they explicitly mention education in the state constitution and also provided for the position I am running for today. There is a large body of state legislation that governs the operation of the public school system.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My father and mother. We started out without much, but they were able to create a life for our family that was filled with blessings through hard work and sacrifice.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

"The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization" by Peter M. Senge.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Someone who is responsive to the constituents they serve. Be respectful and appreciative of the people who are stakeholders. Be honest and open when communicating. There is no quicker way to lose the trust of the people than to come short on these qualities.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Being Superintendent for the public schools in the State of Washington is a high honor and should be treated with respect. It means respecting that there are many perspectives that have to be taken into account. Often, if we listen, we will find that there is much we can do together. I am an empathetic listener who will always have the learning that a student receives be the highest priority and the source from which all decisions will be made.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Be an advocate for the parents and the students with state and government officials.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want the citizens of this state to be proud of their schools. I want employers and colleges to actively seek our students because they are valued for what they have learned.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

John Glenn's trip around the earth. I was in around 6 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Salesman and stock clerk in a men's clothing store; for two years during high school.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

In the Mood - Glenn Miller

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

My family never had a lot of money when I was young, and I had to struggle to find a way to pay for my education. I made them proud when I became the first in my family to graduate from college.

What responsibilities of this office do you personally consider the most important?

Making sure that the pubic school system is effectively using taxpayer dollars to educate our students.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

Works with the State Board of Education to establish curriculum standards

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

No, but there has to be some domain knowledge in order to be effective.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Being an empathic listener and a critical thinker.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

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