My name is Charles Webster Baer and I would like to ask the voters of Redmond to hire me for the job of mayor.

Here is my platform. Number 1, the homeless issue. Homeless people receive aid and assistance from the government. There are two sides to this issue: Side A: Increase the aid and assistance. Side B: Decrease the aid and assistance. I am on Side B.

Also, the other topic here is where they can receive this aid and assistance. Deschutes County has decided that the main location will be Redmond. I have a better idea: Make the main location Millican. Millican is a small town 15 miles east of Bend. I will open a facility in Millican where homeless people can go to receive aid and assistance.

Number 2: Drugs. I think, and the voters of Redmond will decide in November, that people in Redmond should be able grow, buy, sell, and consume as much marijuana and mushrooms as they want. This will be a major financial industry in Redmond. Marijuana is about to go legal nationwide and internationally and the online sales will be massive. The same for mushrooms.

Number 3: Infrastructure. I want a major transportation hub east of the airport. I want a bypass highway, six lanes, with light rail from Terrebonne, completely east of Redmond and Bend all the way to Sunriver. We are going to need this a decade before we can have it.

Number 4: Fire. Not much I can do about this one, however I will phase out toxic fire retardant drops and eventually have zero toxic drops. We have poisoned our groundwater forever with this stuff and that’s a bad thing. Our water is our greatest resource.

Number 5: Parks. We need more of them. We need to use eminent domain to create a huge parking lot at Cline Falls on the north side of the highway so we can all enjoy Cline Falls.

Number 6: Separation of church and state. We should not have a prayer before city council meetings, period. Its the law. It is the job of the mayor and Redmond city councilors to enforce the law. They are not doing their job. There should be no religious stuff in any government building, ever.

Number 7: Open door policy. If I am mayor of Redmond in 2025 and 2026 I will be at Centennial Park every Tuesday at 10 a.m. to talk to anyone about anything. Redmond residents will move to the front of the line. This will not happen if there is any snow or ice on the ground anywhere in the city.

Number 8: Public comments. All residents can talk at the end of city council. They can talk about whatever they want. City business is whatever the people say it is. If you go over three minutes then you will be proving to everyone that you are not smart enough to know when its time to stop talking and I will personally inform you of this when it happens.

Ed Fitch is a great mayor. Cat Zwicker is a great city councilor. They have both done fantastic work and Redmond is lucky to have them to represent the greatest city in the history of the universe and would keep that title if a rock chuck was mayor. I say lets go for it.