Whatcha Doing, Candidate? Casey Roats for City Council Pos. 6 | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

Whatcha Doing, Candidate? Casey Roats for City Council Pos. 6

Source Weekly: What is your age, occupation and political affiliation?
Casey Roats: 33, owner of Roats Water System, a water utility company that operates in the south end of Bend, registered Republican.

SW: How long have you lived in Bend?
CR: Born and raised

SW: Why do you want to be a City Councilor?
CR: To make Bend a more affordable place for our community’s workforce, put better long range planning measures in place for future Councils and maintain a safe and livable city for our kids to be able to come back to if they choose.

SW: How many City Council meetings have you attended in the past year?
CR: Plus or minus 8 meetings in the past year.

SW: Have you previously held a public office or participated on a civic committee?
CR: Council Appointed: The Infrastructure Advisory Committee, Sewer Infrastructure Advisory Group, Water Treatment Advisory Committee, Building a Better Bend General Obligation Bond Committee (Reed Market Rd improvements, new roundabout at Brookswood/Powers, Empire/18th,Washington/Simpson), Committee to Bridge our Community (Bill Healy Memorial Bridge at the Southern River Crossing community referendum)

SW: Names three things you hope you change if elected.
CR: I would like to provide more affordable housing for the workforce and coming OSU student population, create mandatory annual briefings to future Councils that give specific metrics on the condition and capacity of our existing infrastructure along with proposals to remedy shortfalls, find more money somewhere in the budget that can be dedicated to street maintenance.

SW: What’s your take on Mirror Pond, the UGB and vacation rentals?
CR: I want to preserve the basic outline of Mirror Pond so that it remains iconic and can still be used for recreation in the summer. I would also like to see some sort of dam/earthen retainer that allows for fish passage. The existing UGB hasn’t changed since it was first adopted over 20 years ago. Bend more than quadrupled in population. I want a reasonable mixture of zoning that allows for higher density uses as well as continues to provide single family dwellings for those who prefer that for their families. I like choices myself. I think others do too.

SW: Why are you the best person for the job?
CR: I’d like to see if other communities have found any creative ways to tackle the problem. I don’t blame the neighbors for being irritated with some of the nuisances.

SW: What’s the best and worst thing about Bend?
CR: Best part of Bend—The water. Worst part of Bend—Growing disparity.

SW: What’s your favorite band/musician?
CR: Steve Earle.

SW: What Simpson’s character do you most identify with?
CR: Willie the groundskeeper (I can operate tractors).

Casey Roats is running against Richard Robertson, Lisa Seales, and Ron Boozell.

Erin Rook

Erin was a writer and editor at the Source from 2013 to 2016.
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