Oregonian Continues to Attack the New LO Council

To all COLA LO Members,

This week the Oregonian continues attacking our new city council in the second week of their tenure.   In a clear mandate the voters brought a new council into Lake Oswego last fall.  

However it seems the Oregonian and its editorial board aren't all that happy with the change and they continue to criticize the council taking decisive action on the issues voters mentioned during the election.    Could this be because the wasted millions in taxpayer funds wont be spent on projects driven by Portland?

The latest article can be found at LO City Council.    Expect much more targeted efforts to be coming form the Oregonian as the Portland political elite try to marginalize the will of the LO voters and get the council to change its direction.   


Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

Blogger Says Media is Biased Against New LO Council!!!

To All COLA LO Members,

This week a local blogger pulled the cover back on the veil of secrecy surrounding local media. 

In several posts they claim that the local media including both the Oregonian and Pamplin papers are very biased against the new city council.    

The posts provide some very insightful reasons for this bias.   It seems that the media is getting revenue form some of the interests that sponsored light rail etc.   Now that's a surprise!

Many residents thought that the local media would embrace the agenda of change brought by the new council as its grass rooots driven.  Unfortuantley that may not be the case when you read the details. 

Articles can be found at They'll Need Helmets  and Like Clockwork   which expose the agenda of the media and their bias in reporting the actions of the new council.    

Lets see how this impacts the perspective of citizens.  


Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.   

New Council Begins to Implement Change

To All COLA LO Members,  

Last night the new council begin to implement the new agenda it is bringing to Lake Oswego.     The council voted 5-2 to hire an interim city manager with strong ties to the city and who is also a Lake Oswego resident.    

The council voted to hire Tom Coffee as interim city manager for the next six months while it conducts a search for a permanent city manager.   

Tom Coffee replaces acting city manager David Donaldson who will return to his role of assistant city manager.     Last night Donaldson who is not a LO resident indicated he would not seek the permanent city managers position during the recruitment effort.  

Immediately counselor Donna Jordan objected to the proposal and claimed that Tom  Coffee's assistance with a PAC that supported the mayor and others was an issue.   This was later picked up by the media.  Her comments about transparency drew negative reactions to her from the audience after the actions taken by the former council in late December.   Councilor Gustafson who also voted against the proposal had a more muted view.   

Tom Coffee has an extensive background including 10 years with eh City of Lake Oswego as Assistant City manager and Planning Director.      His contract can be terminated at any time by the council.   The appointment begins today per the council vote.

Some details can be found at:  Council hires Interim City Manager

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends. 

Your New City Council Overwhelmed by Support

To All COLA LO Members,

Last night the COLA board attended the swearing in of the new council members and mayor.   It was an overwhelming event with standing ovations and cheers for our new mayor Kent Studebaker and the new councilors.

Mayor Studebaker committed to transparency and honesty with the community and that citizens would be heard by his administration.  


  He also stated that his administration had not agreed to our even discussed the $5 million payout neighboring West Linn is asking for to agree to right away for the LO Tigard Water Partnership.     He said anything of that nature would be public and subject to a public vote by our new council.   The crowd gave a standing ovation and applauded what was obviously a statement of core values by our new mayor.

Councilor Mike Kehoe was elected President of the council by unanimous vote last night.    He will lead council meetings when the mayor is away.  

The new council can be found at the following link:  LO City Council.  

The complete ceremony can be found on the 1/8/13 video LO Oath Ceremony

Please notify all members, contacts and friends.  

New Council & County Commisioners Take the Oath of Office

To All COLA LO members,


Change is taking place across Clackamas County and in Lake Oswego this week as the impact of the November 2012 election is finally being implemented.    Many members continued to question why representatives aren't sworn in immediately following the election.  

This was particularly true in Lake Oswego where a lame duck council rammed through fee increases and programs late into the night a week before Christmas continuing the consternation of citizens in the community under the Hoffman administration.   

Last night Board members and many COLA members attended the ceremonies for both Commissioner Tootie Smith and Chair John Ludlow at the oath of office function in Oregon City.    COLA members and board actively assisted both commissioners in their campaign efforts. 

Tonight the new LO City Council will be sworn in at 7pm at City Hall.    All members are invited and the COLA Board will attend to support our endorsed candidates Kent Studebaker (Mayor), Karen Bowerman ( Councilor), and Skip O'Neill (councilor)   as has been our tradition.   Four new members of the council will be sworn in tonight.

Tonight begins the official starting point of the Studebaker administration in Lake Oswego.  All COLA members wish this council immediate success given their new task of unwinding the wasted expenditures of previous administrations and redirecting current resources to core city services.   It will be a difficult task given the past policies.   

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends of the ceremony tonight at 7pm in our City Hall.       

Portland Population Growth the Same as LO?

To All COLA LO Members,


Just another major mistake by the Portland Planners was reported this week by a local blogger.  

Lake Oswego population growth has been reported in the past as a mere 0.38% per year over the decade and yet planners continue to push their Utopian vision of higher density housing.  

Well today it was reported by a local blogger that Portland of all locations now has the same growth rate as Lake Oswego.    Surprise , surprise, now what does the city do with all the high density housing?   Does it start a new affordable housing program like our last administration proposes?  

The details can be found at Portland has low-no growth. Why all the high density Planners?

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.    

LO Review Publishes "Controversial Council Appointments" Article....

To All COLA LO Members,

Last week the LO Review published an article on the controversial council appointments to the LO Budget Committee. 

 In a unique fashion the outgoing councilors holding a majority went outside the interview recommendations committee and appointed three new budget committee members, despite the objections of 3 city councilors, the mayor elect, and one of the interview committee members that is a citizen member of the budget committee. 

In fact not one of the recommendations of the interview committee was followed which is highly unusual and outside the standard process for the council.       

What was this all about?   Only the backroom deal players of the now departed Hoffman administration really know.   

The article and coments can be found at Controversial.

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.