The Redmond City Council has a new member: local general contractor Albert Calderon.

Calderon was appointed last week by Mayor George Endicott to fill the seat of Joe Centanni, who resigned his position on the council because of his move to Boise, Idaho. Centanni had served on the Redmond City Council in two stints: 2006-11, and 2012-20.

The council approved Calderon’s appointment during its remotely held night council meeting May 26.

Calderon, the owner of the Calderon Enterprises LLC property maintenance company, was born and raised in Redmond and graduated from Redmond High School in 2001, according to a city press release.

“A lot of my hardships and a lot of my success were all right here, in this town,” Calderon told the City Council last week. “I have the time and the interest right now, and I plan on being in Redmond for a while.”

During the meeting, Endicott and Calderon said the two have known each other for a few years through a mutual friend. Calderon had recently asked Endicott about how he could run for a City Council seat, the new councilor said.

“It was one thing I brought up to him one day when we were talking, just out of curiosity,” Calderon said at the council meeting. “One thing led to another, and we were discussing it more and more, and here I am.”

When Centanni informed Endicott of his impending move and resignation, Endicott set up a meeting with Calderon, himself, Centanni and fellow Councilor Jay Patrick. After that meeting, Endicott decided to nominate Calderon for the seat, the mayor said.

“Albert is a lifetime member of this community (and) loves Redmond,” Endicott said at last week’s meeting.

Calderon reassured the City Council that his career in construction wouldn’t cause ethical conflicts with his duties as a councilor, and even hoped his experience in the field would help the city.

“I’d like to utilize what I know … more than make a couple extra bucks, and get a bad name,” he said at the meeting. “That’s just not what I’m about.”

Because Centanni’s term was set to expire in 2020, Calderon will have to run for reelection during the November general election to keep his new seat.

Neither Calderon nor Endicott responded to calls for comment Monday.