Mayor Rosemarie M. Ives Biography

 Mayor Rosemarie M. Ives Biography 

First elected as Mayor of Redmond, Washington in 1991, Rosemarie M. Ives served an unprecedented four terms of this economically vibrant and naturally beautiful Northwest city, 16 miles east of Seattle.  The community of 51,000 residents serves as home to corporate headquarters for Nintendo of America and Microsoft as well as several thousand small businesses where over 90,000 people are employed.  Mayor Ives served as the full-time CEO, responsible for seven departments with over 500 employees and a biennial $368 million budget.  In addition to the oversight for day-to-day operations, Mayor Ives was a founding member of consortia on regional emergency communications, housing, and water and represented both Redmond and 39 suburban cities on regional committees on multi-modal transportation, emergency preparedness, youth, regional justice, environmental protection, and growth management. 

While Mayor Ives presided over a period of significant economic development in Redmond, she devoted much of her efforts to preserving residential neighborhoods, open space and other elements of Redmond’s unique quality of life.  Her vision statement for the City was and still is “Together, We Create a Community of Good Neighbors,” which reflects her approach to building civic partnerships that draw on the strengths of neighborhoods, schools, faith communities, and businesses.  Her priority issues included enhancing communications especially with the increasing culturally diverse residents, stewardship of the environment, commitment to youth, and improving mobility. 

Before her election as Mayor, Ives served on the City Council for four years and on the Planning Commission for five years.  Prior to public service, her professional experience included financial planning, media and public relations and secondary education.  While she and her husband, an environmental consultant, and their 44-year-old son have lived in Redmond since 1980, Rosemarie is originally from Stamford, Connecticut.  She received a B.A. in history from Annhurst College, an M.S. in secondary education/social sciences from the University of Bridgeport, and in 2007 was awarded an Honorary M.S. in computer science from DigiPen Institute of Technology. 

Mayor Ives was an active member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, serving on its Advisory Board for two years, chairing the Taskforce on Sustainability and participating in committees on Urban Economic Policy, Homeland Security, E-Governance, Arts, Culture and Recreation, and Urban Water.  Mayor Ives served on the executive board of the Mayors Innovation Project.  She participated in the historic Sundance Summits I and II on Global Warming, the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, and the 22^nd Jerusalem Conference of Mayors.  

Mayor Ives has been a panelist and speaker on many topics including the U.S. Conference of Mayors National Conference on Global Warming and was an initial signatory of the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.   She was honored to serve as a jurist for the American Institute of Architects’ 2005 Award for Regional and Urban Design and the U.S. Conference of Mayors 2008 City Livability Awards. She served for three years on the National League of Cities Leadership Institute Council and is a lifetime member of the American Association of University Women.

Since leaving office Rosemarie  served on the Boards of Redmond Historical Society and Redmond Saturday Market.  She's an original Board member of "Sound Action," a regional group that is focused on the nearshore environment of Puget Sound.  In 2019 she started the "Wind Beneath My Wings Scholarship" at Redmond High School.  In 2022 she awarded two scholarships.  

4/24/2023