Great news for the Clackistanis.
But they'll obviously be looking for someone who has been on their side to fill those seats.

I know Jack likes MacPherson.
However, I'm pretty sure Macpherson is a streetcar and light rail supporter who's only appearance in the LO battle was his April testimony in favor of the Streetcar as the LPA-Locally Preferred Alternative.

Then there's the council promised May vote on the streetcar which should not only proceed but be converted to a a binding requirement than when the streetcar resurfaces from the grave it will need voter approval for full revival.

By Jack I meant our host host not Hoffman.

Looks as somebody under-salted the mine.

Glad to see this development. But the issue is still just below the surface for now. Will still be on the Transportation agenda as long as the director has ties to Portland.

This is real progress in local politics. Portland needs to take a lesson from LO.

The last word of this post is "perhaps." I may or may not think having Macpherson as mayor would be good for Lake Oswego. At this point I have a lot of questions.

Run, Greg, Run!

I know this blog has spent some time pointing out the opposition to Mayor Jack and the Council majority regarding their streetcar and redevelopment plans, both of which were misguided at best. But another large pot of opposition to the Council majority had to do with a much less admirable wish by individual property owners to be allowed to dump whatever they wanted to into drainageways leading to Lake Oswego and the Willamette River, and not be constrained by city ordinances designed to protect said waterways.

Greg McPherson is the only incumbent who ever knocked on my door: I lived in the same SW Portland home (near L&C) for 15 years.

He caught me in my grubbies and I asked him a few pointed questions about PERS and he answered them without flinching.

Too bad he's a lawyer. Better than a condo developer anyway.

Jack,

Most of Lake Oswego agrees with you.

Macpherson has been unseen in LO politics and supported the streetcar. Many believe he is a stealth candidate for the streetcar group and Judy Hammerstad and has little ownership in local politics.

Similar to Dudley and others that focus away from the local level and then show up for a single meeting trying to provide an ill defined position.

He has much more to prove than just a label as a former state rep. It will be very interesting to see what happens as the community is very wary of "outsiders" that have not participated in the "revolt" in the past few years.

He stood up to PERS -- and it cost him the attorney general's job, which he would have been good at. That sacrifice is much to his credit.

"much less admirable wish by individual property owners to be allowed to dump whatever they wanted to into drainageways leading to Lake Oswego and the Willamette River, and not be constrained by city ordinances designed to protect said waterways."

Benjamin that is complete bunk. The city's sensitive lands dispute was nothing like how you are portraying it.

Furthermore there was a scheme to needlessly extend stream setbacks on city residents' property for the purpose of environmental midigation in the Foothills UR plan area.

The Streetcar plot was obviously a despicable and conniving attempt to roll over the public without regard for any complaints or respect for the public will at all.

Please tell me what kind of excuse or justification is there for anyone siding with that light rail/streetcar racket?

Because the battles are far from being over and I can't even imagine
giving anyone on that side another chance to take the wrong side.

Doesn't the LO URD now need approval from all of Clackistan before it can proceed?

In any event, the Trib folks are diverting attention back to PNLR at the moment: Clackamas County residents are using the light-rail crime wave and previous statistics to argue that Milwaukie light rail will bring with it a huge public safety issue. They expect to see scenes such as the 14-year-old assaulted Dec. 26 on YouTube video replayed on Milwaukie’s line.

http://www.clackamasreview.com/news/story.php?story_id=132691491989197800

Max,

No the county measure only requires effects county UR. Not any of the cities. However, I happen to know Clackistanis will certainly intervene in any attempt LO makes to avoid a public vote.

The Trib folks and PMLR supporters are trying to argue for PMLR when the initiatives only require public votes. They prefer to argue the case for light rail to avoid looking brazenly anti-voter.

Many of the proponents are seeking votes for public office and it's just a little sleazy to be at the same time advocating against public votes.

Tough spot they are in. :)
Cry me a river.

Thanks for the clarification, Ben - I'd forgotten some of the fine print in that vote, but hey, I live in PDX. That explains the move to target City of Milwaukie's commitment, then - if I recall correctly, $5 million. Chump change, compared to what the cabal seeks, but worth pursuing; to paraphrase the late, great Senator Everett Dirksen (IL): "A million here and a million there, and pretty soon you're talking real money."

Benjamin J, that is the biggest crock I have ever read on this site. You know your B.S. about the arbitrary and discriminatory "sensitive lands" program is a lie. Bet you don't know (unless you are Hoffman using a fake name) is that our lame duck mayor helped Metro write Title 13 after he made sure LO's ordinance was tougher than any other in the region, and then wrote a "no rollback" provision into Metro's regulations. He's a slimy land use/condemnation attorney and our town will be better off without him. It will take us years to un-do his damage.

And yes, MacPherson is Hammerstad's shill. He testified in favor of the streetcar project.

If anyone doubts MacPhearson is a Hoffman stand-in, just look at the timing of the news that he is thinking about running for mayor. Mac would have had to be informed or involved in Hoffman's decision not to run in order to get his photo and interview in the paper the same day. Something about that I don't trust. Where has he been for the last few years? No one has seen him anywhere in local politics. Not a good sign. Any friend of Hoffman's....

And thanks Ben, for keeping us all straight on what is happening behind the scenes. LO Resident too. Even when I think I know what is going on, the spiderweb of slimy players and motivations still surprises me.

And Benjamin J. -- whoever you are, you couldn't be more wrong, or you are intentionally spreading false rumors about the people with Sensitive Lands. These are outrageous regulations that should be abolished forthwith. That anyone, let alone a lawyer, thinks it is OK to take away one's property rights with threats and punishment is beyond deplorable. That they can get away with it is worse. This country is in real trouble, and thieves and liars are in charge.

Nolo & Jack,

Nolo I think your post hits the nail on the head for many of us who have known that Macpherson has been in play for months.

"Where has he been for the last few years? No one has seen him anywhere in local politics. Not a good sign. Any friend of Hoffman's...."

Much of the community now is saying the same thing and realizes he hasnt participated at all in supporting the community effort to right the ship in LO. Most beleive what he has going for him is a certain affiliation politically and a "be nice" approach.

Jack - well said and the stand was admirable on pers reform but that doesnt qualify him to be Mayor in a city where he may live, but doesnt participate. That's the feeling from community leaders here in LO.

We have had one very bad administration (some argue two) that has cost the community and we dont need another stand in with a "backdoor agenda".

Most of us arent so sure LO city is going to be an easy "shoe in" ride to get a political career started again. Especially when there is no defined position on the core issues here with this candidate.

The days of being able to walk into the city hall with a pass from a certain political viewpoint and affiliation are now over.

just what people are saying on the streets of LO....

Wow, lots said here day in, day out, but Benjamin J. takes the prize for most scurrilous post in, well, ever?

To back up the post one only need answer the following: which of the properties subject to the LO regulations "dump whatever they [want] to into drainageways" before the regulation came into being? What is dumped? Being generous, what does Benjamin J. forsee being dumped? With such a damning charge there *must* be facts to back it up, right?

All specific properties subject to the sensitive lands regs are known, who owns them is public knowledge.

So enlighten us Benjamin! Who are these sinister wanna-be polluters, only held in check by the valiant efforts of the Sensitive Lands backers?

On OregonLive today, MacPherson is said to have announced that he is "being encouraged to run." Funny, if he has to mnake an announcement like that, why on earth can't he cite his encouragers? And, the AG seat is open again. If he believes he is truly the man for that post, as he argued last time around, why doesn't he man up and run for it again??

Calling BS,

Everybody in LO knows hes being called on by Hammerstad and the Streetcar Group to save the day and restore the "old guard" so they can bring back all the projects after the election. This has been the rumor including a very detailed description of his "platform" discussed amongst community leaders more than a month ago.

Things have gone astray, I am a nice guy, trust me to fix them. Rememeber me I am a nice guy, forget I support streetcar, sensitive lands and government control of your property.

He hasnt taken one position on any local issue other than pro streetcar. He hasnt even attended Council meeetings in the past 4 years.

If he's smart he needs to step outside a bit and get involved with the community leaders or fold. That may take too much effort and expose him to many that disagree with his core philosophy.

This election in LO will be a battle for survival with many different groups willing to step up and save our city. We have had enough of Portland, Land Use controls, and overbearing governnment spending our tax dollars despite our testimony.

I can't speak for the claims that the riparian buffers were made wider in L.O. to mitigate Foothills - if that was done, then it is wrong. But don't try to claim that the opponents to the sensitive lands ordinance would have been happier with slightly less wide stream setbacks. They wanted no setbacks. And then they would claim that they were great "stewards," and I'm sure many of them are - but there's always the rogue element, and there's always the ignorant element, who don't even connect the dots between what they do on their property and the incremental impacts to salmon and other wildlife habitat and healthy water quality in our lakes, rivers and creeks.

For those of you actually interested in facts, here's how the EPA defines the problem: http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/whatis.cfm

And here's one of many scholarly papers on the subject:
http://water.washington.edu/Theses/leavitt.pdf

To me, the only argument against such facts would be a claim that private property rights, including the right to exercise them to diminish our public resources, trumps all else. I don't agree with that claim.

Benjamin,
You obviously don't know what you are talking about so why are you criticizing?

There is no one advocating "no setbacks".
The current ones were fine and opposition was to the necessary and unreasonable excessive expansion.

No none is building up to any stream banks or dumping anything into them.
Despite you EPA theoretical runoff "facts" that I didn't need to see yet again.

This all played out with the Portland Healthy Streams sham that was rejected by a massive citizen uprising.

I remember the same accusations flew then about neighbors supposedly poisoning the landscape and streams.

But when those accusers were asked for names and addresses they had none.

They were lying to advance their setback agenda.
Are you lying now and is this tactic taught somewhere?