Editor’s note: All candidates for Redmond mayor were given the same questions at the same time and asked to keep their answers to 150 words for each. Their answers are included here with minimal editing. The order was drawn randomly.

Ed Fitch

Age: 71

Time in Redmond: 43 years

Political experience: Redmond city attorney, mayor, Redmond economic development commission, South Highway 97 committee and city councilor

Work experience: Attorney, 44 years

Education: Marquette University: bachelors and masters degrees in history. Juris Doctor from Willamette University

Family: Married to Susan for 39 years. Two sons: Andrew, 36, and Alex, 32.

Why did you choose to run for mayor?

I chose to run for mayor to have more transparency and open discussion with the community on all issues that impact the community.

What in your background gives you the skills to succeed in this position?

I have more than 40 years of experience representing both public entities as well as private individuals and businesses here in Central Oregon. That experience not only provides a depth of knowledge but also a better understanding of the needs and objectives of both the government and its citizens. It also makes it easier to “think outside of the box” to explore solutions. I have also had experience in leading a council and collaborating with the members to best achieve the best results for the community.

What is the city of Redmond doing well and what does it need to improve?

The city provides its basic services — streets, sewer, water and parks very well. We also have an excellent police department. Overall we have an outstanding city staff who are dedicated to providing those services as best they can.

Besides public safety, which is always any community’s number one priority, there are two areas in particular the council needs to address. The first is catching up in planning because of our rapid rate of growth. This is particularly important in the areas of transportation and providing new commercial centers in areas removed from the center of town. Addressing traffic congestion and safety will be a key topic for the new council along with better planning and eventual implementation for an eastside alternative to Highway 97 and better connectivity between the east and west sides of Redmond.

The second is housing which encompasses a number of challenging factors: affordable housing, homelessness, child care, etc.

There are other discussions the council should address with the community as well such as whether or not to allow a couple of marijuana dispensaries in Redmond, whether or not open carry of loaded firearms should be permitted in public parks and buildings and how we can best achieve a family activity center downtown.

Other issues will come up that are now not on our immediate radar. The key, however, will be the willingness of the Council to address these more challenging issues openly with public involvement with the goal of achieving an overall community consensus on the way to best move forward.

How will you measure the success of the council during your term?

The best metrics for measuring the success of the next council will be feedback from the community that a more transparent council with community input on all issues is making a difference and what did we get done.

Ben Schimmoller

Age: 29

Neighborhood of residence: Northwest

Time in Redmond: 2 years

Political experience: Precinct committee person (2016 — present), campaign manager (various, 2014 — 2022), State Representative candidate (2018)

Work experience: Legislative director for Senator Tim Knopp, real estate and development, restaurant server and bartender

Education: Bachelor’s in political science from Oregon State University

Family: Wife, Jessica

Why did you choose to run for mayor?

Redmond is at a crossroads because of considerable growth over the past few years. Population estimates suggest that over the past two years, seven people have moved to Redmond per day. We need to be ready to face the challenges and seize the opportunities that come with that growth.

My wife and I want to raise our family here in Central Oregon where we grew up. We want our children to have that same opportunity. Rising housing costs, not enough family wage jobs and higher taxes have put this dream on hold for too many. I want to create more public-private partnerships to develop meaningful solutions to the challenges we face in city government. We need elected officials who truly understand what everyday residents of Redmond are facing.

What in your background gives you the skills to succeed in this position?

As a legislative staffer in Salem, I helped redirect resources from Salem back to local communities like Redmond. This can help with major projects that will save taxpayers money and build needed infrastructure that will benefit Redmond for generations. My years of work with Mayor George Endicott have kept me current on issues facing Redmond. I’ll put my experience in real estate, development and housing policy to work immediately to address housing and homelessness. These issues are complex and I am willing to work with anyone to solve these problems, our best chance of success will involve partnerships with the public and private sectors.

What is the city of Redmond doing well and what does it need to improve?

Redmond has done a good job funding core services while keeping taxes low. I intend to continue that record. Law enforcement and emergency services are important to me as we see urban areas in Oregon facing crime and drugs. I want the streets of Redmond to be clean and safe.

I’ve already mentioned Redmond has more work to do on housing and homelessness. I will never stop working on economic development, because we will always be in competition for good jobs in this incredible free market system we have. Another place we need to improve is transportation. That is a big challenge that Redmond will need to solve if we want to make this growth manageable.

How will you measure the success of the council during your term?

Finding meaningful paths and partnerships to address the serious issues of housing, homelessness, and infrastructure. We need to show plans to address these challenges facing the city. A council that accomplishes meaningful progress that is achievable and fiscally responsible will be what we should always strive for in local government. This comes from open and frequent engagement with the community. I want to ensure that the people of Redmond know that their council will be accessible, ready to listen and able to work to keep our city the special place we know and love.

Charles Webster Baer

Age: 53

Neighborhood of residence: Northeast

Time in Redmond: 4 years

Political experience: None

Work experience: Security, globalinternetgovernment.com

Education: Graduated from the University of Hawaii at Hilo in 1994

Family: No kids, no wife, no ex wife

Why did you choose to run for mayor?

I chose to run for mayor of Redmond for many reasons. I love Redmond. I love politics. I feel that Redmond can lead the world by example in the two most important political issues of this millennium: 1) environmentalism and 2) transparency.

When I say environmentalism, I’m talking about depopulationism. I have been a depopulationist since 1985 and it has shaped who I am and what I stand for ever since. Depopulationism means that it is illegal for any human to reproduce a second time for the next few centuries. Violators will be fined and have to do community service. I feel that this is the only way to save Earth. I feel the voters of Redmond have the intelligence to realize this and the courage to rise to the occasion and lead the planet now by example.

What in your background gives you the skills to succeed in this position?

My background with the www.globalinternetgovernment.com, which I created in Portland 2000, gives me the ability to create a cybercurrency for the state of Oregon. It’s called KASH. It’s totally transparent, it will be owned and operated by the state of Oregon and it will be available to all people on Earth.

I also created an online voting platform called VOAT. This also will be totally transparent, owned and operated by the Oregon government and be available to all people.

My background as a Buddhist gives me the ability to talk about Buddhism as a philosophy. In my opinion, the correct philosophy. Buddha said: “If the universe does not exist , then you are the soul.” I think that makes a lot of sense and also shows religion to be incorrect. Once one realizes religion is incorrect, then it is easy to see how the little amount of religion that is left in the U.S. government should be removed completely and permanently.

What is the city of Redmond doing well and what does it need to improve?

The city of Redmond is doing everything well. We don’t need to change anything. The only thing missing is a real leader that can go on and lead the state, the nation, the planet. The only Redmond is missing is the vision of our massive potential.

If I’m elected mayor, I will tell everyone that they are doing a great job and keep it up. It will be my responsibility as mayor of Redmond to get Deschutes County and Salem up to speed. That means depopulationism as law. That means removing religion from all government entities, completely and permanently. That means KASH and VOAT. That means putting Oregon in a position to make its own future. That means putting Redmond in a space to create its own destiny. That means giving all of us here in Central Oregon the power and the vision to save Earth now.

How will you measure the success of the council during your term?

I would measure the success of the council by making sure they kept the current excellent standard or improved upon it. I’m sure they will do that. The standard now is one of transparency, logic, common sense, a good sense of humor, fairness, concern, discussion, community participation, compromise, vision, patriotism, pride in Redmond, etc.

Clifford Evelyn is a great example of this code. If (councilor Shannon) Wedding can’t make the meetings, she should resign. She never should have run in the first place. Other than that, the future of Redmond is very bright whoever the mayor is. I think it is time for Oregonians to rise up and take charge — here in Oregon and all over the world. I think it’s what we must do and what we will do and I look forward to being a large part of that. I look forward to the fun, the joy, the adventure and the duty.

Jay Patrick

Age: 65

Neighborhood: Cascade View Estates

Time in Redmond: 59 years

Political experience: 24 years on Redmond City Council

Work experience: Les Schwab (18 years in sales and service, warehouse, home office. JCESD- Network Administrator -23 yrs

Education: COCC, Mt Hood Community College – Associate Degree

Family: Wife Carmen, married 41 years, daughter Morgan and grandkids Jayden, Kaylynn, Kalea.

Why did you choose to run for this seat?

My love for Redmond and our community runs deep. This is why I have served on council for 24 years. The connection I have with our community and the sincere care I take, for how I support our city, and the relationships I have built in this community is why Redmond citizens have chosen me in six consecutive 4-year-term elections.

During most of this time I have served as council president which results in me stepping in for the mayor during times when they were unable to lead council. This has helped prepared me to be Redmond’s next mayor.

Personally, I feel called to run for mayor to ensure the right future and path forward for Redmond during this pivotal time.

What in your background gives you the skills to succeed in this position?

I have a proven track record of how my skills have been utilized to ensure the needs of Redmond are met. These skills come from a wealth of knowledge of Redmond’s history, deep connections with business leaders, first responders, educators, community leaders, county officials, farmers, and the vast expansion of those who contribute to Redmond.

I serve on the budget committee for Redmond which oversees $128,000,000 budget. I have been steadfast in ensuring we are fiscally responsible with that budget. I have also served on the Redmond Airport committee, COIC board, and Deschutes County fair board — giving me the background and skills that only actual working experience can achieve.

I am possibly the longest-serving elected official in Deschutes County. This was only achieved through honest dedication, strong moral fiber, and servitude to our city, that has been reciprocated by continuously being elected by our the Redmond voters.

What is the city of Redmond doing well and what does it need to improve?

Redmond has done a great job in planning for the future. We’ve accomplished major infrastructure enhancements and made plans for others. Looking at the completed well on the SW side of town and our community expected to reach 50,000 people by 2040, this shows us being proactive.

We’ve done a great job in providing water. And it’s quality water, coming from a replicable source like the Geologic Deschutes groundwater formation. Plans are already in place and soon construction is starting to improve how traffic flows through our town. In the future improving how truck traffic bypasses our town. We have done a great job in how we revitalize our downtown and supported small businesses.

We need to do better in working collectively as a council to listen to our community, involve our community and allow discussions to happen. This is something that has been stifled in recent years.

How will you measure the success of the council during your term?

Maintaining our Redmond culture and the way we bring our community together during all seasons of the year. How we listen to our communities needs while including them in the process. Ensuring our city police officers are funded and supported and continue to keep this community safe. The progress we make on our continued urban development master planning and stewardship of the budget. How we grow in a way that positively influences our overall tax base without passing the burden to individual tax payers. The actions we’ve taken to support adequate housing. How we listen, support our staff and partner with them to bring high quality, diversified, living wage industries and jobs to Redmond.

These are the things that make Redmond a place our kids will want to return to as adults. These are all things that make Redmond Redmond!