Three incumbents on the Redmond City Council are running to keep their seats in November, but two challengers have other ideas.

The five candidates are Tobias Colvin, Clifford Evelyn, Alan Lawyer, Jay Patrick and Shannon Wedding. All are competing for three at-large seats, meaning Redmond voters have the opportunity to select three candidates on their ballots. The top three vote-getters will earn a four-year term on council.

Colvin, Evelyn and Wedding are the incumbents.

Tobias Colvin

Colvin was appointed to the council in January 2023 to fill Ed Fitch’s remaining term after Fitch was elected mayor. Since 2019 he has been the general manager of the SCP Redmond Hotel and has been on the Downtown Urban Renewal Advisory Committee since 2020.

Colvin said he was looking forward to winning his first election and finishing what the council has started. He noted 800-plus units of affordable housing the council has approved just since he arrived.

Colvin said starting a tourism committee has “been a fun endeavor” that has sharpened the focus on what makes Redmond stand apart from other regional tourism destinations. He said, if elected, he wants to oversee Redmond progress with a longterm vision.

“Managing all that growth takes a steady hand,” Colvin said.

Clifford Evelyn

Evelyn has lived in Redmond for seven years after he retired from a career in law enforcement. Originally from New York City, he is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and spent 20 years in Vancouver, Washington, as commander for the Clark County Sheriff’s Department.

Evelyn has been on the Redmond City Council since 2020 and said he has worked to make the body more transparent and inclusive of citizen concerns.

“I’m most proud of changing the dynamics of council because before the people didn’t have a voice,” he said. “The (former) mayor and his wife ran a dictatorship … I wanted to see change and give people a voice.”

He said that, if elected, he wants to further address housing, homelessness, the CORE3 regional emergency center under development, wildfire prevention and water conservation.

Shannon Wedding

Wedding is an engineer by trade.

She is originally from Texas and won a seat on council four years ago, but campaigned during COVID. She said this year’s experience attending forums and knocking on doors has been a new experience.

Wedding said she is running for re-election to keep together a “functional city council that works together well.” She said she brings a “technical mind” to council meetings and can cut through politics to identify what will and won’t work for a fast-growing city making decisions about its future.

“Infrastructure doesn’t have an opinion, but Redmond is growing.” she said. “We need to grow responsibly and focus on … how we can accommodate that growth without growing too rapidly.”

She said being a water engineer makes her well equipped to help the city navigate a future that will be increasingly dependent on efficient water use.

Alan Lawyer

Lawyer is running for elected office for the first time. Lawyer, a U.S. Navy Veteran and former city water department employee, said he has been frustrated by the city’s lack of progress on homelessness and creation of affordable housing.

He said the city should cut costs to get housing up more quickly and bring down prices for consumers. He also said the city is being too lenient with homeless people in the city, not holding them responsible for improving their situations.

“The government has more restrictions on my 5 year old then they do with the homeless people,” he said. “People are out there lighting fires and jeopardizing our safety and security and it’s government’s job to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

He said he is not in favor of a permanent shelter in Redmond.

Jay Patrick

Jay Patrick has lived in Redmond since he was a child. He spent 24 years as a city councilor before losing a race for mayor in 2022.

Patrick said his two years outside of city government made him appreciate the work. He said after being left out of council discussions for the first time in decades, he felt the current council has been too focused on their pet projects and did not let citizens direct their work.

Patrick said if elected, he will organize four public forums a year at which citizens could raise concerns, which would then drive city business.

“It would help us figure out where we’re going and how we’re going to get there,” he said.

Patrick said he, too, wants to tackle homelessness, but said the state and federal government should shoulder the cost of doing so. He said the city should focus elsewhere.

“I want to have transparency, accountability, fiscal responsibility,” he said.