OpEd: Marchione meets the qualifications for Mayor, By Sherri Nichols

I met John Marchione in 2004 when he and I were part of a group of volunteers who stepped forward to form the Lake Washington Schools Foundation. John was still working at Meydenbauer and was on the city council, but he still took the time to help do the heavy lifting involved in getting the LWSF started, serving as one of the original officers for the board. Based on my experience working with John on the foundation, I was pleased when he decided to run for mayor eight years ago, and volunteered to work on his campaign. I liked his vision for what Redmond could become, and wanted to help bring it about.  

Eight years later, the vision is not yet complete, but the pieces are coming together, and I still think John Marchione is the best leader for Redmond. John is a man of integrity who is always calm and thoughtful. I have a science and engineering background, so I appreciate that John is a wonk; he’s happy to dig into the technical aspects of city planning, and can always tell me why a certain choice was made, and what the tradeoffs were. Every time I talk to him, I learn more about how a city works.

John is always clear about what he’s going to do, and he accomplishes it. He really believes that the mayor’s office is non-partisan; he works with Democrats and Republicans, and both speak highly of him. He’s endorsed by elected officials of both parties. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with city council members and mayors from cities near Redmond, and all appreciate working with John. In our current political environment where it seems that nobody cooperates and nothing gets done, this is a rare quality.

I want people in government who understand problems, think clearly about them, consider options, and cooperate to implement concrete solutions. I know John Marchione meets those qualifications, and that’s why I’m voting for him.