BEND, OR -- Bend Mayor Casey Roats has announced that he is running for a second term on the Bend City Council, but he isn't seeking to become Bend's first elected Mayor. "It's been a real pleasure to serve, and I'm looking forward to continuing on." Roats says he knows he can still be effective on the Council, and doesn't need the top dog position. "I'm going to work really hard to stay on and I have a lot of unfinished business I'd like to see through and be a part of."
Roats was elected to the Bend City Council in 2014, and during his tenure, he's most proud of his opposition to the gas tax, that was voted down by Bend Residents 2-to-1, and his spearheading of the effort to economize City operations to find funds for street repairs that didn't require raising taxes.
Roats says he wants to continue his work on the Council, and is asking voters to elect him to a four year term. "We can move ahead on things like public safety, we can move ahead on relieving traffic conditions and our transportation systems planning and construction work, we can continue to make improvements in making our streets in better shape as we have for the last couple years, all within our existing resources and revenues."
Roats was elected to the Bend City Council in 2014, and was appointed by the Council to serve a 2 year term as Mayor in early 2017. "Personally and professionally, I think it would be a good thing for me to not be as busy in my role in civic life, but I can still continue to advocate for all of my highest priorities as a member of the Council just the same, and just as effectively."
The current candidates for Bend City Mayor are Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Sally Russell, Councilor Bill Moseley, Chief Advocate for Disabled Americans, Brian Douglass, Bend resident Charles Baer, who wants to legalize psychedelic mushrooms and ban cars Downtown, and a 5-year-old cat named Leonard.
