John Stilin announced on Monday, March 16, his campaign for Redmond City Council, Position 6.

“Local government has the biggest impact on our daily lives,” said Stilin. “I want to work with the citizens of Redmond to ensure that we are making the best decisions when addressing the needs of our community for today and the future. Change is inevitable. However, we need to preserve the uniqueness of Redmond while managing change.

“I want to make sure that Redmond is a safe, culturally rich, and economically vibrant city that we can proudly call ‘home,’” Stilin said. “I envision a Redmond where its citizens are actively involved in the community and its governance, and where a tradition of pride in our city makes Redmond a great place to live.”

Stilin has served on the Redmond Arts Commission since 2006, and is currently the chair. He also serves as co-chair of the Viewpoint Citizens Advisory Committee that is formulating neighborhood planning recommendations for inclusion in Redmond’s Comprehensive Plan.

In 2008, Stilin participated in Redmond’s Budgeting by Priorities process, when Mayor John Marchione appointed him as a citizen representative on the Business Priority Team. He is also actively involved in the community.

For the past nine years, Stilin has volunteered daily at Rockwell Elementary School where he assists with teaching orchestra and supervising morning arrival. He has been involved in the Rockwell PTA, the Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association, where he coached youth soccer teams for eight years, and has served on the board of Springboard Alliance, now part of Hopelink, which provides innovative housing solutions to the homeless.

Stilin holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Business Administration. His business career has included product development, marketing, sales, and finance responsibilities.

Stilin, a native of Milwaukee, Wis., moved to Redmond in late 1991 to work for Microsoft. He and his wife Sherry and their three sons, Matt, Nick, and Ben, have lived on Education Hill for the past 17 years.