Education Hill Neighborhood Association Candidate Forum 2019
Candidate for Mayor, City of Redmond (Washington)
June 13, 2019, 7 PM First Baptist Church of Redmond Thursday night, with nearly 100 people in the audience, the first Candidate Forum of the 2019 election season was hosted by Education Hill Neighborhood Association. This forum represented candidates for the office of City of Redmond Mayor.
Candidates Andrew Koeppen, Angela Birney and Steve Fields were on the stage and had 3 minutes for opening statements and approximately 3 minutes to answer each question posed.
Below is the list of questions sent by email or hand-written on cards. Two questions were asked from members of the audience by microphone (not listed below, but viewable in video). Not every question posted below was asked during the forum due to time restrictions. Some questions were combined if they were of similar topic.
The recording of the entire forum is available on our website, on Facebook and via YouTube on our channel.
1. How would you encourage better environmental standards in new development?
2. Will you accept PAC donations to your campaign?
3. Will you support removing a minimum parking requirement in the code? (Proven strategy for affordable housing)
4. What are your plans/ideas re: developing Redmond? For or Against?
5. I am concerned about such local treasures as Abby Woods. Our walking woods have been getting VERY dry and I worry about out of control fires in our city.
6. What is your position regarding the city’s involvement in maintaining the location of the Redmond Saturday Farmers Market?
7. Infrastructure has been largely ignored. How do you propose to fix the traffic mess?
8. What is your solution to traffic in the city?
9. Do you believe that Redmond should require new developments to fully pay for new support infrastructure like schools?
10.The use of artificial intelligence-based facial recognition cameras has become a topic of federal, state, and local legislation. In Washington, the use of facial recognition cameras in schools, stores, and airports has become controversial. With regulation efforts failing at the state level, would you support or oppose a Redmond municipal government ban on the use of facial recognition cameras like the one recently passed in San Francisco?
11.Someone once defined leadership as the ability to get other people to exercise their best qualities in the common interest. How do you define leadership? Can you give a few examples of your ability to motivate others in a difficult cause?
12.What is the most important quality of a good mayor?
13.What is your vision? In 5 years?
14.Who/What role will be your first hire as mayor?
15.What is the difference between an income statement and a balance sheet?
16.I’ve lived in Redmond for a long time and I really like the new park, events and activities. What will you do to keep Redmond active & fun?
17.What is your plan to protect our aquifer from the effects of glyphosate (Roundup)?
18. How do you plan to protect the Sammamish River from pollution – to protect our Salmon habitat?
19.With the continue development of downtown Redmond, has any consideration been given to how the development will affect the water wells in Anderson Park?
20.What do you see as the first most important step(s) the city should take in dealing with this climate emergency?
21.Please explain what you have accomplished to far to help Redmond reduce GHG emissions and what should happen next.
22.I would like to know specifically how each candidate is going to address lack of housing for seniors (no one level houses being built anywhere)
23.Why do we continue to destroy our tree canopy so that our native trees are dying not only in our neighborhoods but in our city parks?
24. How specifically are you making our streets safer for pedestrians & seniors, people in wheelchairs.
25.What is your vision for future development of the city? Is there room for any creative changes in direction which would lend more character to Redmond?
Each candidate was allowed a few minutes to refute one discussing point during the evening; the evening closed with a closing statements from candidates.
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