Five in the Running for Three Redmond Council Seats

Ahead of the election, the Source Weekly sat down with three of the five Redmond locals running for three open seats on the City Council. With three openings on the council, the three candidates with the highest number of votes will win.

Current Councilors Tobias Colvin, Clifford Evelyn and Shannon Wedding agreed to meet with the Source Weekly last week to talk about why they want to remain on the council. Candidates Jay Patrick and Alan Laywer declined interview requests.

Wedding is a civil engineer by trade but has served on the council for the last four years. Initially, she ran for the council because she saw the need for a technical perspective. When looking at growth, she said, her expertise can help inform decisions about infrastructure, transportation and water.

When asked about the most important issues in Redmond, Wedding talked about growth and affordable housing. Wedding, a self-proclaimed “water nerd,” also knows a lot about aquifers and hopes to help address problems with depleting groundwater.

“Growth is inevitable, nobody likes it,” she said. On the council, Wedding wants to work with other members to ensure Redmond is growing responsibly – incorporating affordable housing while increasing access to services.

As the general manager of downtown Redmond hotel SCP Redmond, Colvin has seen a lot of growth in the downtown core, and believes he’s uniquely qualified as a downtown business operator.

As Redmond grows, Colvin sees challenges with the housing continuum and wants to add more housing supply, making it possible for people of all income levels to own homes.

“There has to be a continuum of people that, as they grow in their careers and make more money, they can get into better houses,” he said. “There are some gaps in that system and that’s what we need to work on.”

To keep Redmond’s small-town feel while managing growth, Colvin emphasized protecting the downtown core, and making sure development aligns with city values, keeping Redmond “family friendly.”

Evelyn was a Sheriff’s Office Commander who loves working for and with people, he said. When asked why he wants to run for the City Council again, Evelyn noted his love for his colleagues.

On the council, Evelyn hopes to work with members to establish more housing and encourage livable wages to help prevent homelessness. He applauded the City’s current progress and success with expanding shelter capacity.

“We’re doing our due diligence and keeping a handle on homelessness, trying to manage it the best that we can. I think we’re doing a great job, actually,” he said. “I think we’re a model for Central Oregon.”

When talking about growth, Evelyn said that residents need to be close to services, and that the City needs to bolster its current public transportation to help people get around.

When asked what sets them apart from their opponents, Evelyn talked about his time in leadership positions, adding the unique experiences and skills he’ll bring to the table. While everyone on the council has different skills, Evelyn said, they are an effective council.

“We work together as a team, and we get things done,” he said.

Wedding said she brings a different background to the council, and sees experience as critical, whether that be on local committees or in city government.

“When you have someone that’s an outlier, that comes in and runs and hasn’t had any experience dealing in city government, that’s where I think we differentiate ourselves from other candidates,” she said. Candidate Jay Patrick has lived in Redmond for 61 years and served on the Redmond City Council from 1999 to 2022. Candidate Alan Lawyer is a lifelong Oregonian who served in the Navy and worked as a mechanic.

Colvin also noted the harmonious relationship among the current council and believes they will continue to work effectively together.

“We have a business operator, a marketer and community activist, an engineer and police officer, ex-military, a banker, a lawyer and a real estate professional. So, you can’t have more diverse experience on our Council currently,” said Colvin. “Every issue that comes up, one of us is going to have some kind of experience around that, and have a point of view.”

This article appears in Source Weekly October 24, 2024.