The races are shaping up...

...so it's time to start following the money.  

The ballots will be coming out in a couple of weeks, but unfortunately, campaign finance reporting is not designed to catch up to the votes.  In a perfect world, final reporting would be done before ballots are mailed, nevertheless it should be done (or almost done) before Election Day.  As it is, if people vote early, they will not be able to find out who important contributors are to various candidates.

Another huge problem in my book is the legal practice of one political action committee or candidate committee giving money to another.  Under these circumstances, a person could give money to Candidate A, believing their money would benefit his or her campaign.  But A could wind up taking money from his or her campaign pot o' gold and give it to Candidate B or C or even a PAC.   The contributor might reasonably feel duped because the money wasn't being used as he or she had intended.  Or the contributor might be pleased because their money could be transferred to other campaigns with no paper trail of who the money came from except for the first transaction.

But I digress.  From ORESTAR, here's what we know so far:

Ed Brockman "Ed Brockman for Lake Oswego City Council"
       Campaign is self-managed.  Contributions ($153) are self-funded.
Joseph Buck "Joe Buck for L.O."
       Karen Jacobson, Treasurer;  Robert Le Chavellier, Director
       Financial activity shows contribution(s) to date are self-funded ($3,500), though further
       checking shows that "The Friends of Greg Macpherson" committee contributed an
       additional $250 in mid-Sept.
Jeff Gudman  "Jeffrey Gudman for Lake Oswego City Council"
       Michael DeMello, Treasurer and Director; collections are $700 to date, $500 is self-funded.
Matthew Keenen  "Matt Keenen for Council"
        Gerald Good, Treasurer; Timothy Keenen, Correspondent
        No information on financial activity to date.
Jackie Manz  "Jackie Manz for City Council"
         Campaign is self-managed.  Contributions of $1,000 to date.

There are a few candidate and issue forums coming up, two local organizations that interview candidates and endorse favorites (LOCAL and COLA LO), along with newspaper, business and civic organization endorsements.  It is very important for citizens to become informed about candidate positions and vote accordingly.  Do not accept wishy-washy answers to direct questions - find out the self-interests of the organizations and individuals who are endorsing candidates - put the candidates to the test before you vote!  It's our city after all.