Up Sucker Creek

Up Sucker Creek
Photo Courtesy of the Lake Oswego Library

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

KLOG/Chamber endorse candidates


Lake Oswego Review, October 17, 2014  By (none)

Chamber, PAC endorse Gudman and Buck for Lake Oswego City Council 

The Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce and the Keep Lake Oswego Great political action committee have endorsed Jeff Gudman and Joe Buck in the race for City Council.
Chamber (of Commerce) President Doug Cushing said his organization’s board determined that Gudman and Buck “have the proven capabilities to represent business interests, promote continued infrastructure improvements and improve the commercial climate for success in Lake Oswego.”
Keep Lake Oswego Great, a political action committee that claims membership across a broad cross-section of the community, said it chose candidates who “listen respectfully, approach decision-making without a preconceived point of view and are independent thinkers unafraid to take a stand on an issue that may not be popular with the more vocal segments of our community.”
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The Chamber of Commerce and the Keep Lake Oswego Great (KLOG) PAC have virtually the same key members, so it's no coincidence the groups are in sync with their endorsements.  Their positions have been in support of continued growth and density of the commercial areas, specifically favoring the streetcar, Foothills Development, Wizer Block Development, Urban Renewal districts in Foothills and Lake Grove, and keeping public agencies downtown.  

To be fair, there is a lot of crossover of members in LONAC and LOCAL, though some LONAC members do not want to be involved with anything political.  LONAC is nonpartisan and  nonpolitical, and supports neighborhood associations with regard to city affairs.   Within the LOCAL PAC, members' beliefs are spread across the political spectrum.  Their mission statement is online on their website. (See links at left.)

The statements made by the Chamber and KLOG are clear about what their priorities are for the city.  Unfortunately, neither entity mentions anything about supporting citizens or protecting neighborhoods.  Their platforms seem singularly focused on development of the Smart Growth model of "vibrant" town centers and the density they require. Developers and Metro policies are their partners in the growth and evolution of Lake Oswego.  

I find KLOG's statement about "the more vocal
segment of our community" to be particularly disturbing and contrary to the tenets of a participatory, democratic government.  Being vocal about one's concerns is hard 
 work!  It means lhours of research into the background and facts surrounding a multitude of issues which are important to the quality of life in Lake Oswego.  It can be exhausting to attend meetings, speak up at hearings, write letters, and demonstrate the courage to be public about our beliefs.  

Does KLOG think City Cpuncil is a popularity contest, and that citizens' hard work and testimony is nothing more than an Applause-O-Meter that tells The Mayor and Council which issues they got right?   That doesn't say much much about who we elect to represent us.  KLOG is a well-connected group and they know that vocal citizen involvement is the common man's way to overcome the advantage of insider influence.  

It may be out of fashion and it may be naive, but the the vocal segments of the population believe in a fair government in which leaders understand where their power and authority to govern comes from, and in the peoples' right to petition their government and be heard.  


We are vocal because our freedoms and future depend on it

2 comments:

  1. Everyone should know that the Chamber committee to interview candidates included MIKE BUCK, Joe Buck's father. Is this fair?

    ReplyDelete