LO City Council Candidate Neil Tunmore Visits Our Old Town Neighborhood
- Derrith Schmidt
- 23 hours ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
Several OTNA Board members—myself, Jim Perris, Ann Garcia, and Michael Schmidt—recently had an opportunity to meet Lake Oswego City Council candidate Neil Tunmore and introduce him to our Old Town neighborhood.
We had invited Neil for a walk-about on September 2 and with rain coming we adjusted to “Candidate Carpool with Neil.” Jim, Michael, and I drove around Old Town with Neil, sharing some of our neighborhood's history, concerns, and the issues we've been working on with the City. It turned out to be a great way to introduce Neil to Old Town—and for us to get to know him.
Neil told us that he has lived in Lake Oswego for 27 years. He and his wife have visited Old Town and George Rogers Park to walk their dogs, and he has eaten at Nicoletta's, so our neighborhood wasn't entirely new to him.
Who is Neil Tunmore?
One of the first things you notice about Neil is his English accent. But more important than his accent is the breadth of his professional experience.
His campaign website describes his Intel experience this way:
“Finance Controller in Germany and eventually to Intel Vice President, he has managed an annual expense budget, a capital budget of around $10B per year, and a workforce far exceeding that of the city of Lake Oswego.”
Neil told us about his career and relevant experience from when he worked at Intel where he said he managed major construction projects and Intel facilities around the world and, at one point, was also responsible for Human Resources.
He clarified more specifically in email following our walk-about to me, "After Europe finance I was in hr for 7 years. Then, in 2006 I was vice president of corporate services, responsible for all building operations and construction globally. This included environmental health and safety, security and sustainability."
Neil told us that current City Councilor Ali Afghan worked for him at Intel many years ago. Ali could be a great mentor to Neil if he is elected.
Neil also told us about his experience after Intel, including consulting for a company that builds wastewater treatment plants, advising a construction company involved in solar-powered energy projects, and managing the construction of four houses.
He retired from Intel in 2018 and told us that he now has the time to devote to public service. He has children and grandchildren in Lake Oswego and said he is prepared to make a substantial commitment of his time to serving on the City Council.
What would Neil prioritize as a City Councilor?
During our drive around Old Town, we talked about what he would focus on if elected. His priorities are also outlined on his campaign website. They include:
Schools and neighborhood safety, including safer walking routes and intersections around schools.
Maintaining and improving infrastructure so Lake Oswego remains attractive to families and businesses.
Parks, arts and recreation, including improving the usability of sports fields.
Managing the impact of state housing mandates while maintaining Lake Oswego's neighborhood character.
Financial stability and careful management of taxpayer money, particularly for major projects such as the North Anchor, South Shore fire station, wastewater treatment facility, and new library.
Planning ahead for population growth, transportation changes, and other future impacts rather than waiting until problems arise.
He has a strong focus on managing projects and costs
One of the most interesting parts of our conversation was hearing how Neil approached large construction projects during his career.
He talked about managing contractors, balancing competing internal priorities, controlling costs, and making sure projects were completed on time. He also described continually reviewing the smaller maintenance and facility needs that can easily get overlooked when an organization is focused on big projects.
That approach struck us as particularly relevant to Lake Oswego, where the City is simultaneously dealing with major capital projects while also trying to maintain existing infrastructure and facilities.
Neil repeatedly emphasized agility, accountability, transparency, and constantly reassessing priorities rather than simply following a plan because it was the plan.
He also offered some memorable observations about construction:
“Contractors love change and changes cost money.”
“If they miss one milestone, they'll miss the next ones too and won't catch up.”
“Auditors are helpful...they find stuff you can fix.”
He explained that contractors need to make a fair profit, but that contracts can also be structured with incentives for contractors to identify ways to save money.
And when we talked about managing a major construction project, he summed up his experience: “You don't come in on budget on time if it's your first rodeo managing a construction project.” Jim Perris added: “First rodeos also get people hurt.”
Could Neil's experience be useful to Lake Oswego?
This was particularly interesting given the City's upcoming $369.6 million wastewater treatment plant project, whose contract was presented to City Council on September 1.
Mayor Buck described it as “the biggest check the City will write.”
Neil told us he would like to use his experience to help the City manage a project of this magnitude. As City Councilors are volunteers, his construction and financial management experience with waste water treatment plants and other large construction projects could provide the City and taxpayers with a very valuable expert.
Of course, being an experienced corporate executive and being an effective City Councilor are not the same thing. But his ability to understand large budgets, construction contracts, project schedules, and financial tradeoffs certainly seems relevant as Lake Oswego takes on some very large projects.
Maintenance and upgrading facilities matters to Neil, too
Another thing that stood out was Neil's emphasis on maintaining and improving existing facilities—not simply building new ones.
As we drove around George Rogers Park, he had some practical observations about improvements that could make the park more accessible. For example, we talked about the current stairs and dirt slopes leading to the playground. Neil immediately observed that people using wheelchairs and parents pushing strollers should be able to access the playground without navigating those obstacles. He described this as a relatively straightforward improvement.
His philosophy about Parks and existing aging facilities like LORAC was summed up in a comment: “Many times the needs for a facility outgrow what it was built for and things need to be done to make upgrades.”
He expressed a similar priority for paving roads and adding sidewalks to improve pedestrian safety when we drove him down Ladd Street.
Neighborhood safety
We also talked about neighborhood safety, including the challenges created by people sleeping in vehicles on Old Town streets.
Neil was surprised to learn that, under current City rules, someone can sleep in a vehicle on a neighborhood street for up to 72 hours before the City can issue a citation, while overnight sleeping in George Rogers Park is not permitted.
We explained some of the concerns neighbors have raised about vehicles remaining near their homes. Neil said he had not been aware of this situation and appeared to understand why neighbors are asking whether the current ordinance adequately protects neighborhood safety.
Neil wants to streamline City bureaucracy
Neil was outspoken about his personal frustrations with the City's permitting and planning process. He told us that he has built two homes in Lake Oswego and two at the beach and believes the City's permit process needs improvement.
His observation: “The inspections are done the next day after you call but everything else takes months...”
Reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and making City processes more efficient is clearly another area where he believes his private-sector experience could be useful.
Neil said he plans to make a serious commitment to the job
One thing we heard repeatedly from Neil was that he understands that serving on City Council is a significant commitment.
When we talked about the time involved, he said: “If you volunteer, you need to take it seriously.”
He went on to say: “I'm retired now. I am prepared to spend half my time on this City Council job. It could be a full-time job.”
That level of commitment is noteworthy. City Councilors are volunteers, but they are also responsible for making decisions that affect the entire community.
What did our OTNA Board members think?
After Neil left, we regrouped and I asked the other Board members to describe their impressions of him.
Here are some of the words they used:
“Neil seems to have a lot of vitality.”
“He's a polished guy with a lot of really valuable experience in construction and water treatment plants. Might be the right guy at the right time.”
“He's got a lot of energy and experience in budget management and construction projects and he's willing to apply all that expertise to helping us contain costs and keep projects on budget.”
“He has a lot of expertise, confidence and energy to get things done. He'll be a powerful change agent in working with the City staff and addressing neighborhood concerns."
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