LO City Campaign Finance Update - The Race for Your Taxpayer Contributions!

To All COLA LO Members,

Time to update ourselves on the supporters of the various candidates as the elections for City Council and Mayor are now only 67+ days away.

Who is winning the fundraising race and who is supporting the candidates?   So far the council fundraising race is clearly being won by two candidates:

  
And the winners are:

City Council: Bill Tierney Summary   ID 13233  Who has raised $3K from contributions mainly from utilities, developers, a political party, and local business owners.  His effort is followed closely by Dan Williams ID 14655.  Who has raised money from the fireman's local PAC, business executive, and individuals.  

While  Skip O'Neill ID 15855 has raised almost $8k, most of this has been in the form of loans and cash contributions from individuals.    Its a different strategy mainly self financing his campaign with some support form individual residents.  


Mayor:  Greg Macpherson Committee ID 15485  Who has raised an incredible $36K with contributions mainly from attorneys, consultants, state elected officials, political consultants, and individuals. 


The remaining candidates have very limited or no finance activity and can be found at:

Kent Studebaker Committee id 15861, Jon Gustafson ID 15868, and
Terry Jordan  ID 15933.


Is a limited group of candidates running away with the election at an early stage in the race?   This may also be due to the influence of Political Action Committees who are also involved in fundraising. PAC's are playing an even wider role in local elections this year in Lake Oswego.  

The details on the campaign finance activity for the major PAC's are below.   

The clear winner in terms of PAC fundraising is LOCAL.   LOCAL Summary, having raised over $13K in donations.  However , they seem to have burned through the majority of their funds before the election even starts?  

Key Political Action Committees in Lake Oswego:
YES LOPL  Yes LO Public Library ID 15888
KLOG - Keep Lake Oswego Great   ID 13290
LOCAL - Lake Oswego Citizens Action League   ID 15492
LO Stewards -Lake Oswego Stewards ID 14366.


We will continue to update members on the fundraising activities of both candidates and PAC's including a detailed analysis of PAC supporters later in the election cycle.    Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

County Ire over Light Rail Expenditures Reaches a New Level

To All COLA LO Members,

A referendum effort is now underway to prevent Clackamas County from issuing bonds in advance of the September 18th light rail vote. 

This reaches a new level in voter frustration over the actions of the county commissioners and their efforts to issue bonds paying for light rail prior to the vote on a new ballot measure.

Ballot measure 3-401 is up for a vote on September 18th.  It would require that all expenditures for light rail be subject to a county wide vote.    The county commissioner voted to issue bonds in advance of this vote to finance the green line to Milwaukie. 

This provoked the ire of citizens and now we have a new referendum measure being approved to prevent this direction.   its a new low in voter confidence with elected officials.   The chief petitioner made the following statement:

"Those county commissioners work at every turn to keep voters out of light rail decisions," Knapp said Tuesday night in an e-mail. "Now that county voters are ready to take away the light rail credit card, commissioners want to rack up $20 million before they lose it. But state law gives voters the right to put these bonds up for a vote if we gather enough signatures, and we intend to exercise that right.

Details can be found in a series of articles including Referendum Against  and local blogger view in Clackastanis Fight.  Overall its a sad statement about the level of support for our representatives and the extent at which the system is taken to resolve issues.   We leave it to the reader to decide their individual views on the matter.  

Please notify all  members, contacts, and friends. 

Portland Leading the Way for LO Again?

To All COLA LO Members,

Is Portland leading the way for Lake Oswego once again?

There has been a strong push to limit the number of parking spaces in downtown LO for the past year.  

 Many residents are wondering why?   Now we may have some insight into the mindset of the current administration.  

A recent blog post on a local blog provides insight into the mindset of local planners.   Its a revenue source for the city!

Did anyone say paying taxes on top of taxes?

The post can be found at Pay to Park in Front of Your House?

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.

Zillow Reports LO Home Values Continue to Decline

To All COLA LO Members,

Zillow recently reported that home values in LO continue to decline but that Homes on the east side of LO are declining while those on the west side are stable.  

 For some time residents have been questioning the value of the policies of the current city administration and their impact on home values.


Could the rising utility rates, plans for Foothills and high density subsidized housing be lowering the value of homes on the east side-downtown area?  

As home values decline, while fees and taxes increase, it will be interesting to see the impact of current policies on the fall election.

Will the candidates address the impact of current policies on home values?   Only time will tell but its clear that they have not increased home values.   

The details can be found in the Lake Oswego Home Prices & Home Values  report by zillow.   

Residents Provide Differing Views on Debt & Bonds

To All COAL LO members,

Last week residents provided several articles on city debt and the proposed bond measures for the fall ballot.

The different views were clearly communicated in several articles in the LO Review.

 The first article questions the current direction of city administration in terms of the level of debt issued so far and future plans.  

The article can be found at Incurring too much debt?  

 The second article supports the proposed new bond measure for a project on Boone's Ferry road.   It can be found at Get behind measure.

   Clearly voters have opposing views on the issue of debt and candidates will need to ensure that all voters are full informed on the facts. 

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

Local Blogger says County Commisioners Deserve to be "Thrown Out"

To All COLA LO Members,

This past week a  local blogger provided some very direct comment on the behavior of incumbent county commissioners.

It may be surprising to many who read the post and discover the details.

The post can be found at Shenanigans in Clackistan.   It provides for a very interesting read on debt and bonds being issued despite a ballot initiative up for a vote in September.

This week the commissioners voted to issue bonds in a 3-1 vote effectively bypassing the results of the citizen driven ballot initiative which will be voted on September 18th.    The details can be found in a recent article in the Oregonian  Commissioners Approve Light Rail Bond.


Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

Pro Library PAC Announces

To All COLA LO Members,

This week another PAC will become active in Lake Oswego. 

 The new YES LOPL PAC was formed to advocate for the passing of the new Library bond measure.    Details can be found at PAC Forms.

The growth of PAC's in Lake Oswego has been enormous in the past year with many now active in a community of only 37,000  residents.     We will continue to report on their financing and supporters so residents are aware of the details.   

Details on the supporters for the new group can be found at  YES LOPL .

Financing and supporters for the group can be found at YES LOPL Financing.


Please notify all members contacts and friends.   

COLA LO Board Member Discusses Good Governance

To ALL COLA LO Members,

Last week board member Dave Berg published an article on the upcoming election.    In the article he discusses the concept of "good governance"  and provides several examples of recent issues in the community.  


The article can be found at Ask Questions.    The article is a call to action asking citizens to be more involved and ask questions of all the candidates this fall.     


Please notify all members, contacts and friends. 

LO Citizens Continue to Comment on Social Issues in the LO Review

To All COLA LO Members,

This week citizens continue to submit articles on social issues such as affordable housing and the foothills development.    They also continued to express concern over the growing debt of the city, given the ongoing municipal bankruptcies and credit rating downgrades of cities throughout the USA.  

It seems citizens are engaging in an open discourse on the current course of the city council and this administration, in preparation for the fall election.  

COLA supports this discourse as a healthy conversation for an informed citizenry.   

The recent articles include Too Much Debt,  Foothills Traffic, and Unorthodox Affordable Housing. In addition to these readers submitted a variety of brief comments on the overall nature of incorporating subsidized affordable housing into a foothills development plan Subsidized Housing in LO?. 


Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

LO Citizens Debate Social Issues in Articles & Comment

To All COLA LO Members,

Last week several citizens submitted opinion articles on a variety of social issues which are the foundation of the efforts of the current administration.   The discussion and points made provide an interesting insight into the debates and views within the community. 

The first article addresses the Foothills development and the social agenda it proposes for "affordable housing".   In it the author indicates that affordable or subsidized housing doesn't have to be vinyl Affordable Housing.    In a second article a citizen suggests that affordable housing is required for Diversity and challenges the view of one city councilor that Lake Oswego should be a community that people aspire to or work hard to earn. 

A third article in Letters to the editor says that the ongoing discussions between residents shows there is a diversity of views and promotes a new indoor tennis center project which will likely be on property which is brought into the urban growth boundary by the city LO prepares.


All of these views and issues will certainly become part of the discussion citizens have with candidates prior to the election.    Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.    

LO Campaign Finance Update

To All COLA LO Members,

Its time to keep an eye on the supporters of the various candidates as the elections for City Council and Mayor are only 80+ days away.  

We often ask who is winning the fundraising race and who is supporting the candidates?   So far the race is clearly being won by two candidates:

 City Council   Bill Tierney Summary   ID 13233
 Mayor  Greg Macpherson Committee ID 15485


Bill Tierney has raised nearly $3K  while Greg Macpherson has raised a whopping $30K even before the deadline for candidates to file has been reached.  The remaining candidates finance activity can be found at:
 
Kent Studebaker Committee id 15861,Dan Williams ID 14655, Jon Gustafson ID 15868, and
Skip O'Neill ID 15855.

 As we stated in our earlier posts PAC's are playing an even wider role in local elections this year in Lake Oswego.   The details on PAC fundraising and operations are very insightful and the COLA board has completed a multi year review of various organizations.   The details on the campaign finance activity for the major PAC's are below.   

The clear winner in terms of fundraising is LOCAL LOCAL Summary, but they seem to have burned through the majority of their funds before the election even starts?  

Key Political Action Committees in Lake Oswego:

KLOG - Keep Lake Oswego Great   ID 13290
LOCAL - Lake Oswego Citizens Action League   ID 15492
LO Stewards -Lake Oswego Stewards ID 14366.


We hope this posting can be used as a reference for supporters throughout the campaign into the fall election and we will update our posting as more candidates announce.  

 Please notify all members, contacts,  and friends.  

Recall of County Commissioner?

To All COLA LO Members,

Last week paperwork was filed to recall Clackamas County Commissioner Jim Bernard.    Its an interesting element in the ongoing voter discontent within the county.   

Residents are claiming that the Commissioner has conflicts with the property he owns and light rail in one specific city.   

An ethics complaint was filed against the commissioner and is under review Ethics Review.    The commissioner strongly disputes any conflict of interest.  

Details of the filing for the recall initiative can be found at:   Recall Initiative Filed.


If successful this recall could change the direction of the county following the 2012 election.   It makes for an interesting dynamic given the success of recent ballot initiatives in Clackamas County.     We leave it to the voters to determine the merits of this effort. 

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends...

Lake Oswego Businessman Makes National News For Political Sign

To All COLA LO Members,

Yesterday the Lake Oswego Businessman threatened for his political sign made the national news.    Kevin the Geek who posted a political sign and received visits from both the LOPD and city enforcement staff seems to be fighting back.   

 It seems Lake Oswego is making the national news.   The video can be found at LO Business Political Sign Draws Attention. 

 In it the business owner claims the thought police are preventing free speech in the community.    He has received hate comments but also an outpouring of support.  

Its an interesting situation and one that is drawing some debate within the community across the political spectrum.     Is this just another example of the "Clackastani rebellion" or is it a more local issue exhibiting another side of the community?  Only time will tell but its certainly having an impact nationwide.  

Please notify all members contacts and friends.   

Karen Bowerman Announces Run for City Council

To All COLA LO Members,

Local resident Karen Bowerman announced today her run for a seat on the City Council.  Her platform was included in her announcement article in the LO review.   The article can be found here Karen Bowerman Announces.  Voters will be interested in her platform as they should with all the candidates for council.  

The article seems to indicate that part of her platform is to preserve the community character and ensure the financial health of the city overall.    It also indicates that she will support the property rights of local homeowners.  

Additional information will follow in the ongoing candidate forums which will take place in September.  At least three candidate forums are planned by a variety of PAC's in Lake Oswego. 

We will post dates and times as they are available. It will be very interesting to see the platforms of each candidate and how they handle the concerns of voters within the community.  

The board has been informed that other candidates will announce soon.   

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.   

Two or More Council Candidates to Announce Tomorrow?

To All COLA LO Members,

The COLA Board has been informed that at least two candidates will announce for council tomorrow. 

That would make our city council race with 3 open positions wide open.   Their are currently Four candidates for council and the addition of two or more candidates would give voters a total of six or more options from which to choose.  

That makes the race for council seats a wide open election.  

Rumors are flying right now as candidates host events to gather the required number of signatures to qualify for the ballot and prepare their voters pamphlet statements.     The Board has been informed of a variety of local gatherings with several new candidates.   

It seems that our local residents are preparing for a wide open battle for the City Council.    That comes as no surprise given the dissatisfaction many residents have expressed at the direction of the current administration with issues like Water rates, Streetcar, Sensitive Lands, and other programs.  

One local blogger has named the Clackamas County wide uprising of disenchanted voters the "clackastani rebellion",  is Lake Oswego on the forefront of this rebellion in 2012?    Only time will tell but the details are getting very interesting.   

In addition to the candidates announcements for the first time it appears that PAC's will play a greater role in the 2012 election.    Two PAC's are vying for influence with one already announcing candidates with their formation announcement.    Who is funding these PAC's and what role will they play? 

Members can look at our previous post on candidate supporters to get the latest details on their funding..

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends of this important information.   

More Council Candidates to Announce this Week

To all COLA LO Members,

 Our board has been informed that more City Council  candidates plan to announce this week.  

Details will be forthcoming later in the week,  but it appears the race for City Council will expand in terms of candidates. 

We expect this will continue through the announcement season at the end of August. 

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.    

COLA LO Blog Post in the Oregonian?

To all COLA LO Members,

This past week our blog post on the sign posting of a local business owner was referenced in an article by our local Oregonian reporter.    The article From the blogs  highlights a variety of community views on the issue.  

It provides a good resource for viewing a variety of blog posts on the issue.   Bloggers are expected to play an increasing role in the upcoming election and it will be interesting to see their views on our candidates and our community issues as we proceed into November.  


Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.

LO Candidates Begin to Outline Their Platforms on Local Issues

To All COLA LO Members,

This past week our local candidates began to release information on their views regarding local issues.   It is the very beginning of the election season and voters are learning more about the candidates. 

Both Greg Macpherson and Kent Studebaker have released opinion pieces discussing their views on the community and its issues.    Greg Macpherson released his article last week discussing the options and need for additional recreational facilities in Lake Oswego in his article  Be active.   This week Kent Studebaker released an article discussing his general views on the city We are.  

We expect the candidates will all begin to release more details about their individual views and platform as the election draws closer.    Additional candidates are likely to announce as the deadline for candidate voters pamphlet approaches at the end of the month.   


Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

Urban Renewal Questioned Again in Clackamas County

To All COLA LO Members,

Just days after the Lake Oswego City Council has approved two new urban renewal districts, a variety of sources continue to question the effect of Urban Renewal in Clackamas County.   

It appears that an Oregon City initiative will qualify for the ballot.  It will require voter approval for all urban renewal bonds on projects within the city of Oregon City.   .

Voter approval of urban renewal bonds is not necessary in Lake Oswego.     It is required for urban renewal  in unincorporated Clackamas county.     The details can be found at Oregon City Urban Renewal Vote.

A local blogger highlights the issues  Fights Urban Renewal and several residents provided comments pertinent to Lake Oswego including  the following from a local resident : 

Lake Oswego passed the Foothills Framework Plan last week by a 4-3 vote.
It's possibly the worst UR plan I've ever seen.
A $20 million gift to Homer.It seeks to borrow with interim financing $7.5 million which staff admits they have no idea how it will be paid. The city justifies the UR plan in part with babble about providing affordable housing.
But there is no money in the plan for affordable housing which their expert stated would be required. Staff then said if money was committed to affordable housing the UR plan they just called "feasible" would blow up.
Then there is the sewage treatment plant. Portland notified LO they would not participate in any mitigation needs and LO said they had no money in the plan for any of the known problems the plant represents.
Staff and city council touted the sustainability objectives in the plan including an eco-district heating/cooling plant.
Yet here again there is no money in the plan for any of it.
Some school board member running for city council gave a moronic praise for the plan as a means to re-populate their schools. A bunch of families are going to move into apartment bunkers in LO?
It goes on and on with stupidity that seems to be getting worse.

   

 Clearly residents in cities within the county are frustrated by the lack of a vote on any urban renewal bonds or projects.    Let's see if this becomes an issue in the fall elections.   
 
Please Notify all members, contacts, and friends...

PAC - Who is Contributing to the Lake Oswego Candidates?

To All COLA LO Members,

Over time COLA looks at the contributors and supporters of those running for elected office.   Its a regular review item for the board as we enter an election year.    

We thought it would be interesting for all members to take a look at the contributors and supporters of the candidates running for office in Lake Oswego.   So here they are:


Mayor
Greg Macpherson Committee id 15485.  
Kent Studebaker Committee id 15861

City Council
 Bill Tierney   ID 13233
Dan Williams ID 14655
Jon Gustafson ID 15868
Skip O'Neill ID 15855

Key Political Action Committees in Lake Oswego:

KLOG - Keep Lake Oswego Great   ID 13290
LOCAL - Lake Oswego Citizens Action League   ID 15492
LO Stewards -Lake Oswego Stewards ID 14366.

It is fairly clear who is winning the fund raising effort in the fall 2012 election but its very early in the race.    What most residents don't know are the details on the supporters behind candidates.

We hope this posting can be used as a reference for supporters throughout the campaign into the fall election and will update our posting as more candidates announce.  

 Please notify all members, friends, and contacts.