Meet the 6 Lake Oswego City Council Candidates on Friday, October 23

Lake Oswego will elect four City Councilors on November 3, 2026.

Come Meet the Candidates for City Council

Friday, October 23 | 6:30–8:30 p.m. | Park Academy

The Palisades, First Addition, Evergreen, Old Town, and McVey/South Shore Neighborhood Associations are joining together to host a Lake Oswego City Council Candidate Forum focused on issues that matter to our neighborhoods and the community.

The forum will be moderated by Corey Buchanan, Editor of the Lake Oswego Review.

Candidates will answer questions developed by the five participating Neighborhood Associations and the moderator. The questions will not be provided to the candidates in advance.

All Lake Oswego residents are invited.

These are the City Council candidates:  Bryan Guiney, Suzanne Miles, Heather Ramsey, Peren Tiemann, Neil Tunmore, and Patrick Walsh.

This is a great opportunity to hear directly from the candidates, compare their answers on issues important to Lake Oswego, and learn more before voting.

We've been getting to know the candidates

The OTNA Board has invited the City Council candidates to join us for a walk-about through Old Town. Each candidate brings a different combination of professional experience, community involvement, skills, perspectives and life experiences.

We've written about the candidates who have joined us so far:

• Bryan Guiney, Candidate for LO City Council, Tours Old Town With Us

• Heather Ramsey, Candidate for LO City Council, Visits Old Town

• Peren Tiemann, Candidate for LO City Council, Visits Old Town

• Neil Tunmore, Candidate for LO City Council, Visits Old Town

• Patrick Walsh, Candidate for LO City Council, Visits Old Town

We're meeting with Suzanne Miles on September 9th and will write up a post about our visit with her.

We appreciate that six people have stepped forward to volunteer for this very significant role in Lake Oswego.

Why is this election significant?

The new City Council will be welcoming and working with a new City Manager

The next Council will work with Denzel Maxwell, who was unanimously appointed by the current City Council on September 1 and will begin serving as City Manager on October 5, 2026. The City Manager oversees day-to-day City operations, manages department heads, administers the budget, and works with the Council and community to carry out Council policies and priorities.

He will succeed Lynn Peterson, who is currently serving as City Manager Pro Tem. Lynn is a LO resident and a former LO City Councilor.

• About Lynn Peterson's Collaborative Approach Working with Neighborhoods

  
  

The new Council sets policies and manages the City Manager who manages the City staff. The City Council has an important role in working with a new City Manager and establishing an effective working relationship with him and the City staff and neighborhoods and advisory groups.

The City Council Has Major Investments and Decisions Ahead

The new wastewater treatment plant

Lake Oswego is moving forward with a major investment to replace the aging Tryon Creek wastewater treatment plant. The City currently describes this as a major capital investment, and the contract presented to Council on September 1 was $369.6 million. Mayor Joe Buck described it as the City's "biggest check."

The future of the Library

And determining what to do about our aging Library.

The current City Council has identified a strategy for an expanded and modern library facility as one of its 2026 initiatives, including consideration of a location on the west side of town and potential urban-renewal funding.

If a new site it the option, the Council will need to set direction for how the existing land in First Addition can (and can't) be used. And then figure out how to fund a new library or another branch.

• How Much Might a New Library Cost?

B Street redevelopment

The Council will also continue dealing with redevelopment issues in the B Street area, including how to move forward with property that has remained unfinished.

The Foothills District

Foothills presents significant opportunities—and significant challenges—including transportation access, the railroad crossing, the Tryon Creek culvert, redevelopment planning and the future use of the wastewater treatment plant site.

• About the possibilities and obstacles at Foothills District

Aging infrastructure

The City also needs to plan for and fund infrastructure that residents already depend on. One example particularly important to Old Town is the two Oswego Creek bridges that are nearing the end of their service life, including the Highway 43 bridge at George Rogers Park connecting Lake Oswego and West Linn. OTNA has made funding for their repair and safe continued use one of our neighborhood priorities.

Existing parks, facilities and City services

At the same time, the City has ongoing needs for maintaining and upgrading its existing parks, library, public buildings and infrastructure—and for adequately staffing and supporting essential services such as Police and Fire.

And sometimes there are unexpected expenses, too, such as the widespread removal of ash trees that have been affected by emerald ash borer.

• Ash Trees Need to Be Removed

And then there's the "small stuff"

Large projects get a lot of attention, but the everyday issues matter to neighborhoods too. Things like:

• paving and maintaining streets;

• traffic and parking;

• pedestrian and bicycle safety;

• sidewalks and ADA access;

• City ordinances;

• parks and neighborhood impacts;

• customer service and responsiveness from City government;

• and protecting the livability and character of our neighborhoods.

Our Old Town neighborhood Board has developed a list of Old Town Neighborhood Priorities for 2026–27, including both major projects and these everyday quality-of-life concerns that we're seeking neighborhood input on now:

• Read our Old Town Neighborhood Priorities for 2026–27

Our current City Manager Pro Tem, Lynn Peterson, understood:

"The small stuff matters too."

"It's important to solve problems in neighborhoods quickly."

That's a philosophy we hope the next City Council and City Manager will continue.

What makes a great City Councilor?

Being a City Councilor is a significant volunteer commitment.

Councilors are responsible for making policy decisions for the entire community.

That means preparing for meetings, understanding budgets and financial tradeoffs, asking questions, doing independent research, listening to residents and City staff, thinking critically, and being willing to devote substantial time outside of Council meetings to understanding complex issues.

We've been thinking about what makes someone effective in this role:

• What Makes a GREAT Lake Oswego City Councilor?

Come hear the candidates for yourself

Friday, October 23

6:30–8:30 p.m.

Park Academy 1915 South Shore Blvd.

All Lake Oswego residents are invited.

Come meet your neighbors, hear the candidates answer questions about issues that matter to our community, and learn more about the people who want to serve Lake Oswego on its City Council.

How the Election Works

The City of Lake Oswego will elect four City Councilors during the general election on November 3, 2026.

• Three positions, receiving the first, second, and third number of highest votes, will serve four-year terms beginning January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2030.

• The fourth position, left vacant by Councilor Rapf’s resignation in April 2026, will be filled by the candidate receiving the fourth highest number of votes and will serve the remaining two-year term beginning January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2028.

• Three people currently volunteering on our City Council - Mayor Joe Buck, and Councilors Rachel Verdick and Massene Maboop - will continue serving 2 more years to complete their second terms in office.

Four of the six City Council seats are on the ballot. Three of the four winners will serve full four-year terms, beginning January 1, 2027. The fourth-highest vote-getter will fill the vacancy created by Councilor Aaron Rapf’s resignation and serve the remainder of that seat’s two-year term, also beginning January 1, 2027.

Mayor Joe Buck and Councilors Rachel Verdick and Massene Mboup, whose terms are not up for election this year, will continue serving through December 31, 2028. At that point, all three will have completed the maximum eight consecutive years allowed under the City Charter and will be ineligible to run for another consecutive term.

Save the date and join your neighbors on Friday October 23 to learn more about the candidates and where they stand on issues that matter to our neighbors.