Peren Tiemann, LO City Council Candidate, Visits Our Old Town Neighborhood
- Derrith Schmidt
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
On Saturday afternoon, September 5, several OTNA Board members had the opportunity to spend time with Lake Oswego City Council candidate Peren Tiemann on a walk-about through our Old Town neighborhood.
The purpose was simple: for Peren to learn about our neighborhood priorities—and for us to get to know her.
We walked, talked, shared some of Old Town's history and concerns, and discussed the issues that matter to our neighborhood.
Our biggest takeaway? Peren listened intently.
She asked thoughtful questions, was genuinely interested in learning more, and took the time to understand the issues from the perspective of people who live here.
Who is Peren Tiemann?
Peren has an interesting and somewhat unusual background for someone running for City Council at age 21.
A Lake Oswego resident since she was 13, who lives in the Hallinan neighborhood.
A Lakeridge High School graduate, where she became an advocate for gun-violence prevention.
A full-ride scholarship recipient at Miami University in Ohio, where she also worked several jobs to cover her other expenses.
A third-year law student at Lewis & Clark Law School, where she is preparing to become an attorney. She currently works at a law firm specializing in workers' compensation, including conducting new-client intakes.
Chair of Lake Oswego's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board.
A resident who chooses not to drive, so she relies on public transportation.
A candidate for Lake Oswego City Council endorsed by Mayor Joe Buck.
Peren told us: "I have a full life and I like it that way. I've been volunteering since I was 13. I work and go to college and plan to be an attorney, which will give me the flexibility to volunteer on the City Council."
She plans to specialize in workers' compensation after graduating and passing the Bar Exam. She also told us: "I've really enjoyed getting to know nurses and firefighters and other people who have been injured on the job."
That's a pretty hands-on way to learn about the challenges people face.
What would Peren prioritize if elected?
Peren pointed us to the priorities outlined on her campaign website:
Safety.
Accessibility.
And making Lake Oswego a welcoming community for people and businesses.
She also described her vision as creating "a cool place for everyone to live."
You can learn more about Peren and her campaign at www.perentiemann.com.
What we talked about with Peren on our walk about in Old Town
We shared our neighborhood priorities
She listened intently and asked really thoughtful questions.
She said she'd been to George Rogers Park to make art. And said she goes to LORAC often. Those personal connections gave her some familiarity with places we were discussing, even though she was seeing many of our neighborhood concerns from a new perspective.
We appreciated her curiosity and her willingness to learn.
What Did OTNA Board Members Think?
We all really liked Perren and admired her for running for City Council at age 21.
"She's youthful, quiet, gentle. She has a top-notch education, a full-ride at Miami of Ohio. She quoted her campaign brochure tagline from memory."
"She's an engaged listener, concerned about people, personal, caring, hardworking and thoughtful."
"Smart, caring, engaged, great local knowledge and perspective, good people."
"She is smart and unpretentious. I like her as a young person coming out of law school in a year. Her focus seems to be on inclusion, helping people and making a difference. "
A very nice follow-up note
Peren sent us a note after our visit that I thought captured her approach particularly well:
"Hi Derrith and Jim, I just wanted to thank you to you and the rest of the crew who joined in yesterday for taking the time to fill me in on what's going on in your neighborhood. I really appreciate you sharing your time, history, and priorities with me. I especially look forward to digging into the priorities you've shared with me, even if not elected, as part of my role as chair of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion advisory board, and see where I can best help push these conversations and plans forward. Please stay in touch, and I'm sure I will see you around town :)
Best,
Peren Tiemann"
Peren followed up said she's "reached out to our staff liaison for the DEI board, particularly about the issue with folks sleeping next to George Rogers, and she was also unaware of this, so we’re going to work on collecting the information that folks within the city have about this situation and (hopefully) see if we can start having conversations about next steps in this situation. I’ll keep you posted with anything more formal that happens here in case folks want to chime in as these conversations happen."
Re people sleeping in vehicles, we learned that Wilsonville has had an ordinance since 2023. Seems win-win for neighbors and the people needing to sleep in vehicles. They can park at the City Hall parking lot which is next to the police station.
This post includes some of our history with this. Neighbors on Ladd Street have a lot more stories.
What I've learned and seen living here where the DEI team help would be appreciated:
Advocating for ADA pathways around and throughout GRP, especially into the playground. Here's a blog post with photos about that:
Safety for neighbors with mental disabilities who love to walk about our neighborhood and often can't with so many people/cars and have had uncomfortable interactions with homeless people.
Several neighbors with hip and knee replacements along with elderly people with mobility issues trying to get out for walks and finding very few safe, flat sidewalks - they don't like to walk in the street nor on uneven sidewalks
Helping one of our neighbors who needs to park in front of her home because of mobility issues and often people park in front of her front walk. She's talked to the City's DEI person about that. We suggested she put out cones, which is helping.
Maybe making LO welcoming could be expanded to helping existing residents be able to stay in their homes and neighborhoods and feel safe?
Related OTNA Blog Posts:
Comments