Elected in 2020 amidst the tumult of the pandemic, the four of us took our oath of office in an unprecedented way: online. While all deeply involved in the community, we had never before worked together. We realized immediately that our local economic recovery, the health of our residents and the future success of Lake Oswego would depend heavily on a focused, unified and competent City Council.
All four of us bring unique and varied personal and professional backgrounds. We are a veteran, an immigrant, a lifelong Oswegan, a local business owner, an educator, a parent of local school age children and so much more. Together, we reflect the wide variety of perspectives held by community members. When we took office we formed the youngest, most diverse City Council in Lake Oswego history. We’ve governed with integrity by holding true to our different perspectives and policy priorities while allowing our love for the community and its well-being to guide final decisions. And we’ve worked efficiently through constructive and trusting relationships with one another and with the community itself.
As a result our city exhibits an exponentially higher level of trust and satisfaction with its local government than peer cities nationwide. We’re grateful for the confidence you’ve placed in our judgment and leadership. Today we remain as dedicated as ever to continuing our work on your behalf and ask for your vote for another focused term on the city council.
Several years ago, with your feedback, we developed a united vision for the future of L.O. This framework focuses on everything we love about the natural beauty of our surroundings. It creates a thriving living and working environment for people and families of all backgrounds. It ensures a strong local business community, top tier schools, cultural and educational opportunities with exceptionally engaged residents. In all our decisions we carefully watch how we allocate our shared resources, making sure investments reflect the values and priorities of the community and promote our long-standing financial health and stability.
Together we’ve made that vision come to life. In the past several years we’ve created the first fund dedicated to safe pathways connecting neighborhoods to schools, parks and business districts and a plan to improve important corridors like McVey. We’ve invested in a behavioral health specialist and several new police officer positions to make sure we have both the resources and the appropriate responses to keep every community member safe. We’ve invested in our parks to reflect the mix of ways community members recreate, from the Rassekh skate park to the brand-new municipal golf course and Recreation and Aquatic facility. We performed the first update to our Urban Forest Plan in nearly two decades and advanced our Climate Action Plan. We committed to high performance building standards and electrifying the City’s vehicle and equipment fleet. We added hundreds of units of family affordable housing — the first developments of their kind in Lake Oswego. And we’re creating a strategy around housing types for all, to make sure seniors have more options to remain in our community. We also formed a new partnership with our Chamber of Commerce so local businesses have the support they need not just to exist but to grow and thrive. In a cost-effective way, we are advancing a critically important new wastewater treatment plant to provide energy efficient and clean processing for future decades.
All this work and the many other projects underway take a collaborative approach. Calm heads, critical thinking, and partnership with residents produce positive results. We need not look far for examples of governments plagued by toxic personality disputes and legislative gridlock. The four of us take our responsibility to effectively govern very seriously, and we’ve fostered strong relationships with one another and our fellow colleagues built on trust and mutual respect. It is not typical in Lake Oswego for four incumbents to run for reelection in a united way, but we came on board during the pandemic — a most atypical time. Together with you and City professionals we’ve successfully carried the community forward and now embrace an even brighter future.
We hope we’ve earned your trust and your vote in what will be a second and final term for the four of us. We cannot do it without your engagement and support. Together let us all continue to work to make Lake Oswego the exceptional community we love and are all proud to call home.
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