The same thing is happening all over.

Everywhere the ruling class's "plans" are being stopped the smear machine rolls out one attack after another.
Clark County, Clackamas County, Lake Oswego, Canby, Gladstone and Damascus it's all the same story.

How dare the people reject the plans being imposed upon them.

This quick LO city manager replacement is a really good sign that Lake Oswego means business and they will be moving quickly to undo the previous regime's plans.

With a 5-2 majority against her councilor Donna Jordan will be throwing an adolescent tantrum all along the way.

Hopefully she will grow weary of not having any fun and just leave.

She should have done so a year ago.

http://bojack.org/2012/01/streetcar_whiners_and_the_news.html

Journalism has nothing to do with Pamplin's print and broadcast outlets. Concrete? yeah that's important.

William Randolph Hearst would be proud.

So if i understand this correctly, the complaint is that the lack of transparency in the previous LO City management was a problem that was overlooked by the press but corrected by the voters. How does continuing with the same lack of transparency solve that problem?

The behavior of Jordan and Gustafson is duplicitous to say the least. They knew the week before this meeting that Donaldson would be replaced by Tom Coffee. Furthermore if one watches the last City Council meeting that took place on December 18th when the Budget Committee choices were reversed by Hoffman and company I don't know how Donna Jordan can refer to a "Palace Coup" with a straight face. Frankly this new City Council is a welcome relief compared to the runaway spending Councils that we have had in Lake Oswego for the past 12 years. There is a lot of damage control that needs to be done and I think the citizens of Lake Oswego have elected just the right people to get our city back on track. And I don't mean the streetcar track.
Furthermore- the Lake Oswego Review needs to keep their Opinions on the Editorial page and NOT the front page.

The voters told the old city council they don't want "urban renewal" and light rail crap, transparent or no. There was a big substantive problem as well as procedural ones.

And whatever procedural issues there were, the media gave the old regime a pass. Not this time.

What'd you expect? If you are going to strike the king you must kill him.

They have this whole social club set-up in local govt and developers and they look at the new blood like they were Rodney Dangerfield.

I'm reminded of one of Thomas Nast's famed political cartoons on Archibald "Boss" Tweed. It featured Tweed resplendent in Roman toga, lying among the remains of New York City, with this shocked expression on his face and a caption reading "But to the LOSER belong the spoils!"

Apologies: I seriously misremembered that cartoon from not having reread it in the past 35 years or so. The correct version: http://www.goldposters.com/item-4233594/to-the-victor-belong-the-spoils-thomas-nast-cartoon-about-boss-tweed.html

Along that line, anybody else notice the similarities between Archibald Tweed and Sam Adams?

Sounds like the old set of criminals has been replaced by a new set of criminals. Whatever the case, it certainly doesn't sound like progress. Maybe the LO council will be the new N Clackamas Water Board.

No Drewbob you don't "understand this correctly".

There was no lack of transparency and will be no continuation of the previous council's conniving which was extensive.

The work by the transition team prior to taking office was entirely
appropriate.

Donna Jordan's hypocrisy is off the charts.

The new LO council majority is of the highest quality, will provide much fresh air and more importantly be sure to give the public what they want versus what they do not want.

That's the rub here. Jordan and the previous shadow government regime did everything they could to force upon the community their unwanted plans.

They got thrown out of office for doing so.

Congratulations to Lake Oswego and citizens who worked to make the change!
Too bad Portland community is having to deal with unwanted plans.
We needed fresh air instead we got additional stench with less garbage pickup. . . .
and who knows what else is being planned for us.

Answer: vibrancy.

Pacnwjay and Drewbob:

Nothing illegal or unethical occurred except the new minority lying about this all being a surprise to them. They both received a phone call and an email from the mayor about this previously. They floated ridiculous rumors and told bald faced lies from the dias to the point the citizens were laughing at them.
The old majority appointed the interim city manager a year ago in the exact same way! In fact, the minority then floated Coffee's name as a possibility, but were outvoted.

It's not what is being done or even how it's being done. It's that the old ruling elite does not like who is doing it. They can't cope with losing the election and their decade of power over the city.

"You don't challenge the machine in Portland without taking a lot of heat. If the new guard in L.O. didn't already know that, they're finding it out now." Oh yes, Jack we knew and are prepared. You don't win an election like the one we just went through without taking heat. And we know they are already gearing up for 2014. So are we.....

Thank you LO Citizen for reminding everyone that vigilance is necessary for anyone who values freedom. Having an honest and dedicated government in place in LO is certainly a relief. And witnessing change in LO was the point of the last 2 elections. Donna and Jon should learn to pick their battles, but their lies will be obvious since everyone will know what the rest of council is doing because the council members will make it public.

I feel like we are all in some kind of Frank Capra movie with the townsfolk fighting against monied developers to save their town using only their grit, determination and heart. Will greed and a master plan for the future of the world dominate a people in love with their small town and who want to preserve their way of life? If this were oil or timber companies destroying villages in South America, these same planners would be singing a different tune. Unfortunately, this movie doesn't have an ending and we Suburbanites will have to continue to push back. That is one aspect of our old way of life that I miss the most. The feeling that the government was there for us, not against us.

This blog is doing an incredible service by keeping those that want to be informed what is up in places like Lake Oswego. No thanks to Pamplin media. And even though citizens can breathe a sigh of relief with a more transparent and deliberative city government there, one should be reminded that places like the LO Review is rife with grifters advocating budget-breaking "economic development" using taxpayer dollars. And if the past is any indicator, that paper's editorial staff (some of the worst for a small town paper) will lie about backgrounds and motives of people that the paper uses to advance their agenda.

Too bad Pamplin has either become a part of the greedy cabal of the Green Lie, or turned his business over to the monied left of Portland's suburbs. Either way, we've lost another paper that should be fighting to inform it's citizens about government excess and corruption.