When John Marchione first ran for election as Redmond mayor back in 2007, he used his campaign to demonstrate he had the experience and leadership necessary to serve as the city's chief executive.
This time around, Marchione said he plans to use his campaign to promote a more forward-thinking vision for the city.
"Now that I'm an incumbent, I'm focusing more on the vision of what we're going to keep Redmond moving toward," he said. "And the short answer is that strong neighborhoods, strong business and a strong environment lead to a strong city."
Marchione, 46, will kickoff his reelection campaign Wednesday morning with a fundraising breakfast at the . As of last week, no one else has announced plans to contest Marchione's position. Election day is Nov. 8.
Byron Shutz, a past president of the Lake Washington Schools Foundation, said he has decided to get involved in Marchione's campaign because he believes the mayor does a good job of bring different interests and stakeholders together.
“I think John's a creative, pragmatic and insightful community leader,” Shutz said. “He has a really nice and productive approach to solving problems and doing that in a transparent and engaged manner.”
Others involved in Marchione's campaign include his wife, Debbie Marchione; Kitty Vache, wife of Councilman Pat Vache; and Sherry Stilin, wife of Councilman John Stilin.
Marchione grew up in Redmond and has lived here for all of his adult life. Prior to winning election in 2007, he worked for 10 years as the director of finance and administration at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. He also served on the Redmond City Council from 2003 to 2007.
If reelected, Marchione said one of his priorities will be furthering the city's efforts to establish a sense of neighborhood throughout Redmond. In Overlake, for example, the city plans to break up some of the longer street blocks, or "super-blocks," to make the neighborhood more pedestrian-friendly.
"We're planning to make the neighborhood more dense and more transit-oriented," Marchione said of Overlake. "A functional neighborhood needs to be a livable neighborhood."
Marchione said he also wants the city to continue to prioritize business and environmental concerns. If reelected, he said he would like to explore the possibility of extending Willows Road toward Woodinville to make it a more attractive route for industrial users.
Redmond's status as an epicenter for technology business is another priority for Marchione, and he said he would like the city to consider building the infrastructure for faster, professional-grade Internet service throughout Redmond.
"We shouldn't predict what the next business will be, but we should be a place where the next business would want to come because of the high quality of life and want to thrive," he said.
ABOUT JOHN MARCHIONE
- Family: Wife, Debbie; son, Andrew, 21; daughter, Maria, 18
- Education: Master's degree in public administration, University of Washington; bachelor's degree in humanities, Seattle University
- Leadership positions: Mayor of Redmond, Cascade Water Alliance, Sound Transit Board of Directors, Eastside Public Safety Communication Association
- Campaign website: marchioneformayor.com (launches April 6)
- Email: jfmarchione@gmail.com
- Phone: 425-890-9373
Franz Wiechers-GRegory REdmond