Council Candidate Interviews & COLA Endorsements

TO All COLA LO Members,

The Oregonian published our 2014 City Council Endorsements in early  October.  Their article also provided explanatory information on COLA and background information regarding the endorsements.

Board member Dave Berg was interviewed by Oregonian reporter Michael Bamesberger regarding COLA's activities, its perspective, and the COLA endorsement process.

The article in the Oregonian can be viewed at:  COLA Endorses

Videos of candidate interviews can be found at:
Jackie Manz
Matt Keenen
Jeff Gudman

And Our COLA Channel COLA Interviews

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.

A Major Conflict Of Interest in The City Council Race?

To All COLA LO Members,

Our board was recently advised that some of the endorsements for candidates in LO may include significantly undisclosed conflicts of interest.

Its a shocking revelation that may surprise many residents if verified.

It appears that one local blogger has discovered a significant issue:

 In for a Wild Ride discloses major conflicts of interest in an endorsement of candidate Joe Buck.  

COLA has no idea if the details in the bloggers post are true but we refer our readers to the link above.   Usually organizations must disclose their conflicts with any endorsement.    If this was not done it may be of concern to voters.

Once again we refer our members to the post on their blog for their own evaluation.

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

Ballots Begin to Trickle In to County Clerks Offices!

To All COLA LO Members,

As the November election ballots arrive there are two sites that are important for citizens to observe:

Multnomah County Election Returns  and Clackamas County Election Returns

These two counties make up 99.99% of Voters in the city of Lake Oswego.  

Clackamas is by far the most representing well over 90% of  residents.    So its returns are critical to the candidates.

But Multnomah may decide which candidates are elected in close races..  

As of Yesterday both counties are showing 10-11% of ballots have been returned by voters.  

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

Taxpayer Association of Oregon Endorses COLA Approved Candidates!

To All COLA Members,

This week the Taxpayers Association of Oregon (TAO) announced their endorsements for LO City Council.

 Both COLA endorsed candidates Jackie Manz and Matt Keenen were endorsed by the organization.  

They also endorsed incumbent councilor Jeff Gudman for his fiscal positions as an existing city councilor.

All endorsements in local races can be found here Taxpayer Voter Guide 

Residents throughout Lake Oswego will be receiving a mailer with the organizations endorsed candidates.

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.

COLA Teams Fan Out Across Lake Oswego.

To All COLA LO Members,

This weekend COLA crews began distributing our endorsed candidate flyer.  COLA members volunteered to distribute the flyers throughout Lake Oswego as we do every election.

Members were warmly greeted by residents eagerly looking for answers on the candidates.    More as the COLA effort proceeds through the election.

Any members who desire to volunteer their time should contact an existing board member for training and assignments.  COLA has been enormously successful in the past several elections with a well defined strategy for reaching voters throughout Lake Oswego.

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.

Other Endorsements are Now Out!

To All COLA Members,

This week rather late in the cycle several groups announced endorsements.

COLA board members attended several of the candidate forums throughout the cycle to observe candidates including last night at the Lake Grove Neighborhood Association forum.

Listed below is a summary of endorsements from local groups:

COLA has Endorsed Matt Keenen and Jackie Manz.

The remaining endorsements released this week fall into a pattern consistent with the historical views of each organization.

1. LOCAL this week endorsed Matt Keenen, Jackie Manz and Jeff Gudman (with conditions).
2. The LO Review Endorsed Jackie Manz, Jeff Gudman, and Joe Buck.
3. The LO Chamber of Commerce endorsed Jeff Gudman and Joe Buck.   

Its an interesting mix of endorsements but many are now saying that Matt Keenen, Jackie Manz, and Jeff Gudman appear to be the most qualified candidates.    

At the candidate forum last night the overwhelming support was for those candidates that wanted to retain Lake Oswego's community character and were against high-density development.    It became apparent that two candidates were well aware of the pitfalls this direction could produce in Lake Oswego.  

Let's see if this view of preserving community character translates into votes in November's election.    

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends. 

COLA Introduces Candidate Ed Brockman

The COLA board would like all members to become familiar with City Council Candidate Ed Brockman.  

Board members and guests interviewed Ed during our endorsement process.

The videotape of this endorsement interview can be found at:  Ed Brockman Interview

Board members believed Ed answered our detailed questions with the perspective of an interested resident running for city councilor.    

The questions asked by our board members were difficult, driven by our core values,  and we believe we received answers from Candidate Ed Brockman.    

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.

COLA Introduces Candidate Jeff Gudman

The COLA board would like all members to become familiar with City Council Candidate Jeff Gudman.  

Board members and guests interviewed Jeff during our endorsement process.

The videotape of this endorsement interview can be found at:  Jeff Gudman Introduction

Board members believed Jeff answered our detailed questions with the perspective of an incumbent city councilor.    

The questions asked by our board members were difficult, driven by our core values,  and we believe we received direct answers from Candidate Jeff Gudman.    He was endorsed by COLA in the 2010 election. 

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.

COLA Introduces Candidate Jackie Manz

The COLA board would like all members to become familiar with Endorsed City Council Candidate Jackie Manz.  

Board members and guests interviewed Jackie during our endorsement process.

The videotape of this endorsement interview can be found at:  Jackie Manz Introduction Interview

Board members believed Jackie answered our detailed questions with a unique perspective.  

The questions asked by our board members were difficult, driven by our core values,  and we believe we received direct answers from Candidate Jackie Manz.  

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.

COLA Introduces Candidate Matt Keenen.

To All COLA LO Members,

The COLA board would like all members to become familiar with Endorsed City Council Candidate Matt Keenen.  

Board members and guests interviewed Matt during our endorsement process.

The videotape of this endorsement interview can be found at:  Matt Keenen Interview

Board members believed Matt Keenen answered our detailed questions with well prepared values driven answers.  

The questions asked by our board members were difficult, driven by our core values,  and we believe we received very direct answers from Candidate Matt Keenen.  

It was exciting to find a youthful candidate that was so familiar with the issues in our city and driven by the values required for leadership.

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.

Oregonian Releases COLA Endorsement & Board Details

TO All COLA LO Members,

This week the Oregonian published our 2014 City Council Endorsements.  

The article also provided explanatory information on COLA and background information regarding the endorsements.

Board member Dave Berg was interviewed by Oregonian reporter Michael Bamesberger regarding COLA's activities, its perspective, and the COLA endorsement process.

Thee article in the Oregonian can be viewed at:

COLA Endorses

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.