After working collaboratively together for two years, city council president Cat Zwicker and mayor Ed Fitch will square off on the November ballot for Redmond mayor.

Longtime city critic and candidate Charles Baer is also running for the position.

Fitch, 73, and Zwicker, 60, have sat next to one another on the city dais since Zwicker joined the council in 2022. Fitch, a practicing attorney, was elected mayor in 2022 and also served in that position from 1999-2001 and has spent decades in city government.

“I’m pretty confident I can continue to do a good job and get a lot of things done,” Fitch said.

He noted a number of projects the city is currently working on “that I really want to see completed,” ranging from an overhaul of the city’s transportation plan to long-term projects ranging from water conservation and homelessness.

Zwicker, a real estate broker who has lived in Redmond since 2000, agreed on the importance of many of those issues, but said it was unlikely that Fitch will be able to see them through to completion.

“I think he feels like he needs to be here for the next two years to see things finished,” Zwicker said. “(The) reality is the only thing that’s gonna be finished in the next two years is the public safety facility and the new recreation center.”

Zwicker’s plans, if elected, to keep working on areas Fitch mentioned. Zwicker also said she wants to tackle housing and child care costs and increase progress on solutions for homelessness in Redmond.

Both Zwicker and Fitch agree that establishing CORE3, an emergency response center likely to be built in Redmond, is critical for the region and would be an important local amenity. Both said the city needs to prioritize moving that project forward.

Some differencesFitch said in his two years with Zwicker in city government, there has only been “two little votes that we voted differently on.” Last month, Zwicker voted for a maximum transportation system charge on developers that was $2,000 less than Fitch supported. The other time, also last month, Fitch was in the majority in voting to annex 100 northwest townhomes into the city while Zwicker opposed.

Despite being on the same page on the vast majority of issues, Zwicker said their differences boils down to how to run meetings, talk to people and interact with fellow councilors and the public.

“I just see that there’s probably a good time for better transparency and a little bit better improvement on public process,” Zwicker said.

She said “no one should be surprised” during a city council meeting and the agenda should be clear and well-prepared. The “old process” that Mayor Fitch relies on allows for last-minute agenda additions, which Zwicker says the council and mayor aren’t prepared to discuss, making the situation “awkward and unfortunate.”

Zwicker mentioned the annexation she voted against, noting that topic wasn’t on the agenda and she didn’t feel prepared to vote on the issue.

“(Councilors) didn’t have answers about transportation and flow that we thought were necessary for the project,” she said. “We haven’t had a chance to get a filter from our constituents and how they feel. We represent the public so you have to have that opportunity to talk to them.”

If elected mayor, Zwicker hopes to avoid those issues by collaborating, increasing transparency and improving processes, she said.

“I don’t believe we should work in a vacuum or silo information,” Zwicker said. “I have at times felt like that has happened.”

Fitch disagreed with Zwicker’s characterization and said while they may look at many issues similarly, “I just don’t think she has the experience or some of the visions” to carry out major projects as mayor.

“She’s only been in office a couple years. I’ve been doing this for 40 and that’s a big difference,” Fitch said. “It’s not impossible but it’d be more difficult.”

Zwicker was baffled by Fitch thinking she was inexperienced. She said she’s 60 years old, has a political science background and works as a housing advocate and realtor. She feels that work gives her an important perspective into the city’s housing and development issues. She also said she feels comfortable advocating for city needs at both the state and federal levels.

Zwicker said she considered running in 2021 for Jack Zika’s seat in Oregon Legislature seat, but decided against it because ashe wasn’t sure she was ready and instead wanted to focus on her business.

She said she feels ready now.

“I don’t have a problem going to Salem and negotiating for dollars and talking to our legislators or working with our partners,” Zwicker said. “I would imagine for a level of engagement, I think I’m ready.”

If elected, Zwicker would be Redmond’s first female mayor. She said thats about more than just breaking through a glass ceiling — electing a woman could benefit the city.

“I think a woman’s perspective is different,” Zwicker said. “I do think we handle things with a different balance and a different patience or tolerance than what I sometimes see across the board.”

Zwicker said, if she loses, she plans to serve the rest of of her term as city council. If she wins the race for mayor, she would have to resign her council seat and council would appoint someone to fill the rest of her term.

Plans as mayorIf re-elected, Fitch said he will continue to focus his efforts on transportation, water conservation and establishing a managed homeless camp in East Redmond in partnership with Deschutes County.

He said wants to establish a beltway between Ninth Street and Airport Way in East Redmond and Helmholtz Way on the west. Those routes would connect at a new southern interchange, so drivers wouldn’t have to use Highway 97 to get across south Redmond. Fitch estimated this would be $75 million project.

“I do think the beltway will allow us to avoid a lot of problems that you see in Bend. There’s very little good east-west connectivity in Bend and this will make a big difference long term,” Fitch said.

Fitch said it makes sense to look at northeast Redmond as the best direction for the city to expand, noting housing and development projects already in the works.

Zwicker agreed that a longterm transportation plan is key for Redmond. She attended an Oregon Department of Transportation session a few weeks ago and noted that state transportation money is tight. But she said a strong city plan may help secure state dollars for a variety of city roads upgrades.

Fitch said he hopes to continue efforts in water conservation. He hopes to figure out a plan in the Deschutes Basin to implement conservation rules. He hinted that the state may reconsider its recent denial of Redmond’s application for additional groundwater.

“We’re going to get a resolution here shortly that will serve the city well for at least 20 years into the future,” he said. “But we know, given the fact that we have 1,500 acres of manufacturing land on the east side, which is going to require a lot more housing and a lot more commercial (facilities) so ultimately we’re going to need more water in the future.”

Zwicker agreed that the city is going to have to find ways to access more water.

“We’re going to have a good time with the Oregon Water Resource Department over the next 18 months … just looking at their rule-making process and trying to get them to understand that there cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution for water use in the state, because everybody’s access to water is different based on the basin,” Zwicker said.

Zwicker wants to balance out Redmond’s new housing production. She said a number of affordable housing projects are underway, but wants to create a wider variety of home ownership opportunities.

“We need housing across all incomes and spans so that everybody can come here,” Zwicker said. “We need to make sure we’re addressing everyone’s needs.”

She also wants to try to integrate child care facilities around the city.

Both Fitch and Zwicker are heavily involved in establishing a managed homeless camp in east Redmond.

They are competing for the last two-year mayoral term in Redmond. Whoever is elected will take office in January 2025 and serve through January 2027. Since voters approved a city charter change, the 2027 mayoral term will be four years.

But those two are not the only names on the ballot.

A third candidateCharles Baer, 55, said he will promote depopulationism if he’s elected mayor. That philosophy centers around the idea that in order to reduce population size and improve the environment, people will be required to have only one child.

“I think depopulationism is the right way to go for humans on earth, but I also think it’s the right way to go for Redmond because Redmond could lead the world on this,” Baer said. “In my opinion, I think this is the only relevant topic there is because everything else is just whatever.”

Baer has run unsuccessfully for Redmond mayor three times and ran once for mayor of Bend. He works as a housekeeper at Eagle Crest Resort. Baer said his campaign is more about promoting depopulationism than actually winning and becoming mayor.

“Redmond is perfect,” Baer said. “We can either sit back and drink coffee and say ‘Wow, this is great,’ or we can sit back and drink coffee and say, ‘How can we make this better?’”