The first Tuesday of November is only a few days away and that means the Redmond community will soon learn who will be their mayor beginning in January 2016.

The candidates — incumbent John Marchione and challenger Steve Fields — have been campaigning for months and it all comes to an end Tuesday as ballots are due by 8 p.m.

Throughout the campaign, there have been a few topics that the candidates have focused on as key for the future of Redmond.

As previously reported, during a candidates’ debate on Oct. 14, Marchione’s three issues are growth, traffic and poverty, while Fields’ issues are a lack of confidence in government, affordability, homelessness and growth.

Each candidate has spent time visiting residents and businesses, door to door, to learn about which issues are important to them.

Both Marchione and Fields said they particularly enjoyed this part of the campaigning.

For Fields, doorbelling — listening to and learning from the people in Redmond — was the best part of the whole campaign.

“There is no better way to understand the ‘real’ Redmond than meeting people at their homes and discussing their concerns and getting their ideas,” Fields said. “Everyone was appreciative that I came out to meet them.”

For Marchione, an election provides another forum for the community to examine its values and direction.

“Doorbelling is one of my favorite parts of a campaign,” he said. “My conversations with voters reinforced my belief that Redmond residents passionately love their city and want the best possible leadership to guide us for the next four years.”

Both candidates first ran for office because they saw an issue within the city that they believed needed to be addressed.

As previously reported, Marchione — who first ran for Redmond City Council in 2003 and took office in 2004 — was concerned about the drainage problems at Hartman Park.

If elected, Marchione has said he would bring eight years of experience as mayor, as well as 10 years as CFO, to the job.

According to earlier reports, Fields would like to see more actively engaged citizens, which is why he is running for office. This is the first time he is doing so.

If elected, Fields has said he would bring a fresh and unique perspective to the mayoral position, which he thinks is what citizens want.

City Council candidates

Hank Myers (Position 1), Hank Margeson (Position 3), Angela Birney (Position 5) and David Carson (Position 7) are running unopposed for Redmond City Council seats.

Voters can return their ballots from now until

8 p.m. on Tuesday, election day, at:

Redmond City Hall

15670 N.E. 85th St.