George Endicott

This is former Mayor George Endicott. I was mayor from Jan 1, 2009 through Dec 31, 2022.

I was elected or re-elected seven times as mayor, sometimes with challengers and other times without. I served a total of 14 years as mayor and chose to “retire” at the end of 2022.

There are three proposed amendments for the Redmond City Charter: 9-168, 9-169 and 9-170. I will address them in order.

9-168 — Qualifications to hold elective office

All mayors and councilors are independently elected, per state law. If two council members are from the same family, they still only have 2 of 7 votes. This is hardly a majority. This amendment implies that one family member has undue influence over the other. I strongly disagree with that sentiment. There are currently councilors who vote with the mayor 100% of the time who are not related. My spouse, a councilor when I was mayor, voted on the opposite side of issues on multiple occasions. Finally, the League of Oregon Cities maintains that no city in Oregon excludes or limits candidates based on marital status or family relations.

9-169 — Changing the mayor’s term from 2 to 4 years, add term limits

I have always held the position that the citizens should have the opportunity to change mayors every 2 years. I considered the proposal to change the election for mayor from 2 years to 4 years. I have discussed this issue with mayors all over the state. Mayors with shorter terms have expressed to me that they feel more directly responsible to the people. More frequent elections prevent mayors from pursuing personal agendas. I want our mayors to be directly responsible to the people! I don’t like personal agendas. My suggestion is to leave the mayor provision as it currently exists.

Another component of this provision is to limit the mayor to two consecutive terms. If we look at Redmond history, since 1979 every mayor except Ed Fitch has served three terms or longer. I served 14 years. Alan Unger served for 9 and Bob Riggs served for 10. I believe these were “golden years” for Redmond. Growth was steady and well managed. We had many major improvements to Redmond that enhanced our livability. Did multiple terms by any one mayor hurt Redmond in any way? The answer is a resounding “No!”. By comparison, Ed Fitch served less that one term and resigned mid-term. No wonder he isn’t concerned with longterm continuity.

9-170 — Term limits for city councilors

We have had many councilors over the years who have served multiple terms and did an outstanding job. Jay Patrick comes to mind. There were others. Political pundits have consistently held that locally elected officials are closest to the people, and this is where local officials are held most accountable to the people. I wholeheartedly agree with this perspective. By comparison, how many citizens get the opportunity to regularly approach elected officials in state and federal offices and influence their votes? I suggest not many. We all certainly know that we are not running for Redmond elected office “for the money!”

Before making your decision on how to vote on these measures, I suggest you review the record for past behavior by Mayor Fitch before he was mayor. Look at the sequence of events. The Deschutes County Commission had the opportunity to appoint a county commissioner in 2006. Susan Fitch was one of the candidates. Bev Clarno was appointed. Subsequent to that, Ed Fitch proposed a Deschutes County Charter, which was defeated by the voters. In 2018, Ed Fitch ran against me for mayor. He lost. He has since proposed changes to the Redmond Charter. Sound familiar? Seem like repetitive behavior?

I strongly encourage you to reject the proposed changes to Redmond’s City Charter.

Keep Redmond, Redmond!

Mayor Ed Fitch argues that the city would operate better with charter changes.