Vote Colvin, Osborne, Tate for Redmond City Council ▶ with video

Redmond’s city council elections operate slightly differently than other elected positions in the area, using a “multi-seat contest” format in which a pool of candidates run to fill a certain number of seats. This year, three seats are up for election, with two current City Council candidates not running again.

Five people are in the running for those three seats, including Tobias Colvin, the manager of the SCP Redmond Hotel and a former appointee to the Council; Raven Hansen, a critical care nursing assistant; Kathryn Osborne, who has a background in business and marketing and who’s served on the Council since 2022; Paul Povey, a local business owner with a background in planning; and Barbara Tate, who owned a catering business in Redmond before retiring.

Hansen opted not to take part in our endorsement interview. Among the four who participated, we found a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will serve Redmond well. Osborne has served with distinction during the past four years and should have the opportunity to serve again. Likewise, we found Colvin to be a skilled and intelligent leader during his time on the Council and in his ongoing service on several City committees; he should have the chance to serve on the Council once again.

With the two who’ve formerly served on the Council gaining our support, the decision on who to support for the remaining slot was a tough one. Paul Povey was raised in Redmond and has an obvious commitment to the city, having invested his time in other volunteer efforts while his children were growing up. His father also served on the Redmond City Council in the past, which may at least offer him some insight into the level of commitment he’d be signing up for. Tate, too, grew up in Redmond and returned to run a respected business for decades. Both talked about how permitting times and the code enforcement process can sometimes stand in the way of economic progress — valuable perspective for councilors to have, in the spirit of offering the best city services. Povey discussed the idea of offering varying rates and permitting timelines for individual developers versus large-scale ones, which could help make it easier for local people to develop small-scale housing and develop their properties. We thought that idea was valid. Both Povey and Tate also talked about wanting to spend their newly found free time in service to Redmond. That spirit of community-minded service is always welcome.

Digging into the details of some of Redmond’s most challenging issues, however, brought out some differences. When asked about how Redmond should approach the issue of homelessness, Povey indicated some support for Redmond’s new managed camp, but didn’t offer much in the way of further solutions beyond the desire to “get them out” of public lands and other areas where unhoused people have been illegally camping. Tate, meanwhile, offered the suggestion to pursue eviction diversion grants to help people avoid losing housing. While we don’t expect those running for City Council to have all of the solutions, we are looking for candidates to do some homework to begin approaching thorny problems. Tate indicated more of that during our interview.

Likewise, Tate offered some ideas to address the existential issues Redmond is facing around fire and water, suggesting Redmond could pursue FireWise neighborhood grants to help residents create defensible space and better prepare their homes for the threat of fire. She also suggested offering water rebates for those who demonstrated water conservation efforts on their properties. These are indications of a candidate who’s already working to help Redmond move forward.

This time around, our endorsements for the three open seats on the Redmond City Council go to Tobias Colvin, Kathryn Osborne and Barbara Tate.

WATCH: The Source Editorial Board interviews Tobias Colvin, Kathryn Osborne, Paul Povey and Barbara Tate: