Are the Gloves Coming Off In the Race for Mayor of Lake Oswego?

To All COLA LO Members,


This past week members  and friends were surprised to receive the first negative mailer we have seen in the local election.   It seems the race must be very close and both candidates are now changing their tactics. 

Members received the following mailer last week and found it very interesting.   At the same time it came with more details differentiating the candidates for mayor on the backside of the direct mail piece.

The additional details are listed in the photo to the left.    Residents must be asking themselves "does this portend of a new era in LO politics?"    Only time will tell and lets see what happens over the next week.  

During this week COLA LO members also  received an email letter from Mayoral candidate Greg Macpherson which provided some unique insights into the race.   The letter is reproduced below.  

While members reviewed the text they noticed that the contact to assist Greg Macpherson had a (202)  area code.    The location of this code is Washington DC.

Are candidates for mayor now receiving partisan professional political advice and support?    More details are sure to be forthcoming as the election proceeds toward the final outcome.  Stay tuned as the city awaits additional efforts by the candidates and the community decides.    

October 29, 2012     Friends,   Ballots are due a week from tomorrow! I can't believe the we're finally this close.   It's been 9 months since I announced my candidacy for Mayor, and because of all the hard work we've done together, we are now in a position to win this election. To ensure victory, we need to join together once again and push through the finish line.   78 percent of Lake Oswegans have yet to cast their ballots and with so much of the media's attention focused on national politics, many people are just tuning into the mayoral race now. That means most of the crucial persuasion of voters in this race will happen in the next week, and we need your help to spread the word.   Here's what you can to help us win:   Phone Banking: On Tuesday 10/30, Thursday 11/1, and Monday 11/5 we are going to be phone banking from 6:00pm to 8:30pm at a location in Lake Oswego. We will have snacks, refreshments, and a lively atmosphere with other likeminded politically engaged folks.       Sign Waiving: On several mornings, starting Tuesday 10/30, we're going to be waving signs at busy intersections from 7:30am to 8:30am as people are making their morning commute.      Let us Know: If you'll be joining us for phone banking and/or sign waiving, please contact Peter Gorman to get details at 202-506-0044 or peter.a.gorman@gmail.com. Grassroots Advocacy With Your Network: The other thing that will really make a difference is if you can reach out to your own network of friends and acquaintances in Lake Oswego and tell them why you are supporting my campaign. Send them an email, reach out to them on social media, give them a call, or even knock on their door. Your personal story will mean a lot more to them than any other sort of message from the campaign. I am very proud of the team of supporters and friends that have joined me in this effort over these past 9 months. Together we have created a movement that will bring civility back to the political discourse in Lake Oswego at a time when it has become more polarized than ever before. My deepest thanks go out to each and every one of you for all of the help that you have provided to my campaign. I wouldn't be in the position I am today if it weren't for you.       Greg   _______________________________________________________________________

LO PAC's - Race For Your Contributions to Influence the LO Election!

 To All COLA LO Members,

LO has had a significant increase in the number of Political Action Committees (PAC). Its surprising how many of these groups there are for a city of only 37, 000 residents.

 

Yet the momentum has shifted over the past two years as more groups formed and competed for taxpayer contributions.  The impact of the efforts of these LO based political action committees is still to be determined but they have clearly been active in the local 2012 elections.  

 

Lets take a look at the details:
  
The clear winner in terms of PAC fundraising is LOCAL. LOCAL Summary.   They raised over $27K in donations and now have $10K in cash to spend during the remaining days of the election. Contributions to LOCAL are a whopping 55% of all contributions to PAC's in LO.   They also hold 52% of all the remaining cash of the core PAC's.   

The next winner seems to be YES LOPL Yes LO Public Library ID 15888. They have raised $13K with $2K to spend in cash. Contributions have come mostly from the Friends of the LO Library Fund and two other PACs. So an argument can be made that the fundraising isn't as broad as LOCAL. Mayor Jack Hoffman's PAC ID 13151 and the Oregon First PAC ID 151 have both donated to YES LOPL.

  KLOG - Keep Lake Oswego Great ID 13290  has raised over $8K and has $3K in cash remaining to spend on the election while  LO Stewards -Lake Oswego Stewards ID 14366 has raised $1K and has $4K to spend.

We will continue to update members on the fundraising activities of the PAC's in the future.

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.

Lake Oswego Mayors Race - Who is Donating and How Much?

  .

To All COLA LO Members,

There are now only 9 days before the election.  The race for Mayor of Lake Oswego is generating large contributions and its time to update ourselves on the supporters for the two candidates for Mayor.  Is a limited group of supporters and special interests supporting candidates in an attempt to influence the outcome?   Lets look at the details:

 Greg Macpherson Committee ID 15485 has raised an incredible $52K with contributions mainly from attorneys, consultants, state elected officials (Democrats), political consultants, former Mayor Judie Hammerstad and individuals.   Donations also include several PACs related to utilities and Realtors.  

He currently has $41K in cash available for the final weeks of the campaign.  Many in the community are wondering if he plans to spend this cash hoard on additional direct mail and advertising.  
 

 

A recent Oregonian Article summarized his contributors Mayoral Campaign fundraising.    In the article the Oregonian states: "Most of Macpherson’s biggest donations come from outside Lake Oswego, such as $2,012 and $1,000 from Portland lawyers Phil Walsh and Tom Kramer, respectively. Wilsonville resident Danton Wagner also donated $1,000. Lake Oswego resident Caroline Borduin, who is the president of organization Democracy Talking, also topped the giving list with $1,000. Several Democratic politicians donated, including Clackamas County commissioner Ann Lininger, the campaigns of state Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Lake Oswego, state Rep. Tobias Read, D-Beaverton, and state Rep. Chris Garrett, D-Lake Oswego. Denise Frisbee, former Lake Oswego planning director who retired at the end of 2011, donated $600 to Macpherson’s campaign and $150 to Councilor Bill Tierney’s re-election campaign."



Kent Studebaker Committee id 15861 for mayor has raised $31K from Physicians, attorneys, and one city councilor. Most of his donations continue to come from He has approximately $7K in cash to spend in the final weeks of the election.


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

 

Fundraising Report for City Council Canddiates

 

To All COLA LO Members,

There are now only 9+ days before the election.

It appears a very narrow group of candidates continues to run away with the fundraising race in this election.   There is a very clear winner and runner up.  

City Council:

Skip O'Neill ID 15855 has raised $17k. He also now has a whopping $13K cash balance to spend on the final week of the race. Cash contributions from individuals have been kicking in for some time and he has clearly out raised all the council candidates.

His effort is followed closely by Dan Williams ID 14655 who has now raised nearly $11k from a variety of sources including the fireman's local PAC, a business executive, and individuals. He has a cash balance of  only $3k for the final week of the race.


Incumbent Bill Tierney ID 13233 has raised only $8K from contributions mainly from utilities, developers, a political party, and local business owners has $5k remaining in cash.  This balance hasn't changed much in the past 4 weeks.  Its ironic hes been unable to raise contributions similar to the newcomers O'Neill and Williams,  despite declaring his candidacy much earlier int eh race.  

 

Tierney is followed closely by another newcomer   Jon Gustafson ID 15868 follows closely behind with $7K in contributions and $3k remaining in cash.  His campaign finances havent changed much either in the past few weeks but his ability to generate contributions has matched him closely with an incumbent city councilor.  

 

This group is followed closely by  Karen Bowerman ID 15921 who has raised $5k in contributions but now has expended her funds the final week of the race.

 

Other candidates:
The remaining candidates have very limited or no finance activity and can be found at: Terry Jordan ID 15933 who has raised $3k in contributions with $<1k remaining to spend.

We will continue to update members on the fundraising activities of both candidates and PAC's.

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.

 

 

Track County & City Election results

To All COLA LO members,

Preliminary information on voter participation is available online and is being updated daily by our County Clerk.    Voters can track actual voter participation online and will be able to review election results.

The countywide voter participation rate is available here:   Clackamas County Voter participation Rate and the Lake Oswego rate is available here:   Lake Oswego Voter Participation Rate.

Preliminary results show that our city will once again have a very high voter participation rate as it did in 2010 (LO had the highest participation rate in the county).  This election represents a very real choice for residents in Lake Oswego and we encourage all members, contacts and friends to review our video page of interviews of all candidates and to:

Vote for Dan Williams (website),  Karen Bowerman (website),  and Skip O'Neill (website) for city council.   We have also endorsed Kent Studebaker (website) for mayor.  


Please notify all members, and forward to your contacts and friends....

YOUR VOTE CAN MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY....... 

 

Video Page of All Candidate Interviews Released by COLA Board

To All COLA LO Members,

Today the board is releasing the Internet location of our video page to all members and voters for an easy review of all the council and mayoral candidates.     This release is designed to allow voters to review the board interviews in the privacy of their own homes and become more informed citizens.  

The video page with COLA interviews can be found at: COLA Candidate Interviews.

We believe releasing video access over the Internet will promote greater accountability and easier access for citizens within our community.    We are encouraging all citizens to vote in this critical election which may change the course of our community over the next decade.

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.   

COLA LO Board Releases Candidate Interviews For Member & Public Review

To All COLA LO Members,


Today the board is releasing all candidate interviews for public review over the Internet. 

 This release of interviews is designed to allow all members and the voting public to review the responses of individual candidates prior to the election.  

Members and the voting public now have the opportunity to review the candidates in the privacy of their own homes.    This is an essential element in COLA's strategy to increase accountability and continue to assist the voting public in their efforts to become informed citizens.  

Please look to the 2012 candidate interview bar on the right of this blog for immediate access to HD videos of each candidate as they are released.   The board will also follow up with another announcement on video options.  

Please also notify all members, contacts, and friends.   

Status On Fundraising For Your City Council.

To All COLA LO Members,

Big changes continue in the race for your campaign contributions to win election to our city council.  Its time to update ourselves on the supporters for the various candidates for City Council and Mayor.

There are now only 19+ days before the election.

Is a limited group of candidates running away with the election at an early stage in the race?

Its a question residents should be asking themselves as we evaluate the efforts of all candidates. So far the council and Mayoral fundraising races are clearly being won by three candidates.

City Council:

Skip O'Neill ID 15855 has raised $16k.  He also now has a whopping $12K cash balance to spend on the final three weeks of the race. Cash contributions from individuals are now kicking in and he has clearly out raised all the council candidates. He continues to employ a strategy of early self financing his campaign with long term support from individual residents and the fireman's local PAC.

His effort is followed closely by Dan Williams ID 14655 who has now raised nearly $15k from the fireman's local PAC, a business executive, and individuals. He has a cash balance of $2k for the final weeks of the race.


Bill Tierney Summary ID 13233 Who has raised $8K from contributions mainly from utilities, developers, a political party, and local business owners has $5k remaining in cash. Jon Gustafson ID 15868 follows closely behind with $7K in contributions and $3k remaining in cash. Karen Bowerman ID 15921 has raised $5k in contributions and has $4k in cash to spend in the final weeks of the race.    

Mayor:

Mayor: Greg Macpherson Committee ID 15485 has raised an incredible $52K with contributions mainly from attorneys, consultants, state elected officials (Democrats), political consultants, and individuals. He currently has $41K in cash available for the final weeks of the campaign. A recent Oregonian Article summarized his contributors Mayoral Campaign fundraising.

In the article the Oregonian states: "Most of Macpherson’s biggest donations come from outside Lake Oswego, such as $2,012 and $1,000 from Portland lawyers Phil Walsh and Tom Kramer, respectively. Wilsonville resident Danton Wagner also donated $1,000. Lake Oswego resident Caroline Borduin, who is the president of organization Democracy Talking, also topped the giving list with $1,000. Several Democratic politicians donated, including Clackamas County commissioner Ann Lininger, the campaigns of state Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Lake Oswego, state Rep. Tobias Read, D-Beaverton, and state Rep. Chris Garrett, D-Lake Oswego. Denise Frisbee, former Lake Oswego planning director who retired at the end of 2011, donated $600 to Macpherson’s campaign and $150 to Councilor Bill Tierney’s re-election campaign."

Kent Studebaker Committee id 15861 for mayor has raised $26k from Physicians, attorneys, and one city councilor. He has approximately $12K in cash to spend in the final weeks of the election.

Other candidates:

The remaining candidates have very limited or no finance activity and can be found at: Terry Jordan ID 15933 has raised $3k in contributions with $2k remaining to spend. 

 

We will continue to update members on the fundraising activities of both candidates and PAC's.

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.

COLA Board Releases Endorsement In Oregonian Commentary & Board Member Releases Article to the LO Review

To All COLA LO Members,

Today the COLA board released its endorsement and rationale in a commentary to the Oregonian.  

Board member Dave Berg was interviewed last week regarding the board's endorsement decision by local reporter Molly Harbarger. 

However this week a commentary was released describing the view of the board and the need for change on the council.    In the commentary Lake Oswego Requires Well Managed Change  board member Dave Berg provides additional detail on the boards decision.  

Board Member Gary Gipson provided insightful comment on the different candidates and their views in an article last week in the LO review A Different View.  


Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.   

Clackamas County Leaning Conservative?

To All COLA LO members,

Recent articles in the Oregonian and other blog posts are strongly suggesting that Clackamas County is leaning conservative for a variety of reasons.   

Its an ongoing trend that's been exhibited by overwhelming support of recent initiatives limiting government spending and efforts.   

The Oregonian article can be found at Clackamas Voters Shift Right.  The Clackastani Rebellion has been well documented on this blog but ti appears that the majority of voters are jumping on board in the 2012 election.    Voters seem to be very dissatisfied with their local government in clackamas county.    It will be very interesting to see the final results of this election.

A local blogger is taking a position that the only option is to throw out the incumbents and change the direction of locla government.  

The blog post can be found at Right Outcome in Clackistan.

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends. 

Oregonian Article Announces COLA Endorsement

To All COLA LO Members,

This week the Board issues its press release on the COLA endorsements for City Council.   

We also had a conversation with our local Oregonian Reporter Molly Harbarger.  In the conversation a COLA board member explained the reasoning behind the endorsement and the feedback the board received from members and the community at large.  

The Oregonian Article can be found at COLA endorsement.

Videos of the COLA interviews of all candidates will be posted soon for the public to review over the Internet.


Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

COLA Board Releases Endorsement

To all COLA LO members,

Today the Board issued the following press release regarding the city council and mayoral election.

For immediate release:

COLA LO is announcing today its endorsement for the Lake Oswego City Council and Mayor.    This endorsement is consistent with and was based upon our values of fiscal responsibility, core services, and property rights.  

We believe the council needs very real change and this decision cannot be made in a vacuum.   The recent history of the council shows the impact of their decisions on the community and that the costs of these decisions can be enormous in terms of livability, affordability, and community character. 

Solid business and decision making skills are vital to the future of our community and a well performing city council.    The community is concerned about our financial situation and debt levels.   While the current council has focused on land use, legal issues, and visionary projects, we believe a greater focus on fiscal responsibility and more efficiency in the direction of the council is necessary for good governance.   Citizens are deeply concerned about the cost of local government, water rates, the condition of our streets, and poorly performing assets like the WEB.  

For these reasons COLA will endorse for council:  Dan Williams, Skip O’Neill, and Karen Bowerman.  

The office of Mayor sets a defined tone for the council and often the agenda.   The Mayor needs to be well grounded in local issues, exhibit a strong level of participation at the city level, and also actively embrace community input while responding to citizens respectfully.  

For these reasons COLA will endorse for Mayor:  Kent Studebaker.   

 

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

COLA Board Meets on Endorsement

To All COLA LO Members,

This week the board met on Tuesday to conduct a preliminary vote on the endorsement for the City Council election.    The board reviewed the video interviews of candidates, comments from guest at the video interviews, and comments from members.  


A second vote was conducted as per policy.     The endorsement will be announced this weekend and released to the media.   

Please notify all members,contacts, and friends.