The current City of Redmond mayoral race is the first time Steve Fields has run for public office.

The 25-year Redmond resident feels currently, citizens are not actively engaged in the decision-making process, which is one of the main reasons why Fields is running for the city’s top job. He feels citizens are not given a voice in how to build Redmond and the result is an unattractive downtown. Fields also feels things are developer driven when they should be citizen driven.

“Redmond has the potential and should be a great city,” Fields said.

A PLAN

If elected as mayor, he said he would bring a leadership that would re-engage the community.

“The people who live here…they’re the ones with the best ideas,” Fields said.

He also stressed the importance of supporting small businesses rather than just focusing on large businesses. Fields said the former are key to the community’s character.

Fields also plans to bring better fiscal management to the city so they won’t need expensive levies for basic city services.

In addition, he said there is a lack of a strategic structure for what the city will look like in the future. Fields said he will work toward better managing the city’s growth, rather than having growth manage the city and the city having to take reactive measures to growth.

He added in an earlier story that Redmond is starting to become too costly to live here, and if elected mayor, Fields said he wants to maintain the city’s livability as it grows.

“I love Redmond,” Fields said, adding that the city has been a great place for him and his family to live.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Currently, Fields is the co-owner of Down Pour Coffee Bar in Redmond alongside his wife. Prior to this, Fields — who grew up in the Central Valley in California — worked in both the private and public sector.

His initial career path after graduating from San Diego State University was working as a business manager in the aerospace industry. He worked at two companies — the first being in Redmond, the second in Denver. Fields said he ended up leaving the Denver job to return to the Redmond company because he loved Redmond.

Through his work in the aerospace industry, Fields worked with and negotiated with various government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Following his stint in the private sector, Fields moved on to the public sector.

For 10 years, he worked in the Performance, Strategy and Budget division within the King County Executive’s office. Fields managed the budget for the county’s Department of Transportation and Department of National Resources and Parks. He also oversaw information technology investments at the county.

In addition to his time at the county, Fields was recruited by the City of Seattle to develop a citywide budget and performance management system. The job was a special project for Seattle and Fields was there from 2013-14.

Fields has also been involved in the Redmond community.

He said he has coached basketball, soccer and has been a baseball umpire through the City of Redmond’s Parks and Recreation programs for close to eight years.

A FRESH NEW VOICE

Fields acknowledged that his running for Redmond mayor is the first time he has sought public office, but through his work with the county and City of Seattle, he has worked with a broad range of people in government, ranging from staff to elected officials.

“I know government from the inside out,” he said.

Fields added that there are many ways to get to leadership positions in government such as going through city commissions and the council. He is just choosing a different path.

With him being new to public office, Fields said if elected, he would bring a fresh and unique perspective to the mayoral position, which he thinks is what citizens want.

THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

During the campaign trail since he announced his candidacy in May, Fields said he has taken this opportunity to go door to door and meet with Redmond residents.

“The campaign has been great,” he said about his experience so far.

Fields has visited the homes of about 5,000 voters and said it has been fun to meet the people.

Through these visits, he has learned that people go to great lengths to try to get their voices heard. Fields said he also learned that it costs a lot for people to preserve and protect what is important in their communities.

And in discussing the issues people are concerned about, he said a number of communities have actually set up meetings for him to meet and discuss with their entire neighborhoods. Fields said he has learned a lot about how people view the city and the many changes it has undergone in the last few years.

To this date, Fields’ endorsements include the 45th Legislative District Democrats, 48th Legislative District Democrats, King County Young Democrats and King County Democrats.