7/31/07, John Marchione's Letter to the Neighborhood Blog

All mayoral candidates were invited to write a Letter to the Neighborhood Blog and all responded and all are posted in order of submission.

To the Citizens of Redmond,

Hello, I am John Marchione and I am running for Mayor of Redmond.

When I was four years old, my parents chose Redmond to raise their family. Since then, Redmond and I have grown up together.

When I was 5, I started kindergarten at the brand new Ben Rush Elementary.

When I was 8, I played baseball on the newly improved Hartman Park fields.

When I was 13, McDonald’s and Wendy’s opened in town.

When I was 16, SR 520 came all the way to downtown Redmond.

Debbie and I married at St. Jude’s in Redmond and chose to raise our family here.

Coaching my son in baseball and daughter in soccer taught me the value of well maintained and safe parks.

As the founding Treasurer of the Lake Washington Schools Foundation, I have worked to support our public schools, which my two children attend.

Currently, I serve on the Redmond City Council and have worked to improve fire service, obtain a clean, safe water supply, and to manage our financial resources wisely.

Redmond is a great city, but it cannot rest on its laurels. We need to create an identity for downtown where people want to go to, not just go through. We need to connect our transportation and trails systems so we can move within our city. And we need to manage our financial resources wisely so we know what services we are buying with our tax dollars.

Redmond is no longer a bedroom community. We must shape the growth around us instead of allowing the growth to shape us. A proactive vision of the city and services we want will help ensure we enhance our quality of life. This is not a vision to encourage growth, but a plan to manage inevitable growth to keep Redmond great.

My top level management experience will make me an effective Mayor immediately. My ten years in local government and ten years as CFO of Meydenbauer Center have taught me the strong leadership skills needed to bring us together and move Redmond forward.

Our next Mayor must be a diplomat to work with our neighbors on regional issues. Our next Mayor must be dedicated and know the City like a childhood friend. Our next Mayor must have solid leadership and management skills.

I am that person. I bring the dedication, education and experience to move Redmond forward. I ask for your vote.

John Marchione

p.s. For more information on my vision for Redmond, or to contact me with any questions you might have, please visit my website: http://www.johnmarchione.com/