Eight Lake Oswego residents have filed to run for three city council seats in the November election. Councilor Gudman is prevented from running again due to our charter's term limits, and Councilor Buck is running for a Metro council seat. Councilor Manz is running for a second four-year term. We must remain neutral on the election while we're on the job, but we can provide factual and background information to any candidate who asks for it. I've invited the candidates to contact departmental staff directly if they have any questions about projects or services we provide.
Staff Party
Do join us at the end-of-summer employee picnic on Friday, September 14!
Welcoming New Staff
Nell Diamond has taken Bev Ross's role in administrative and facilities support for our library. Nell was born in New Orleans and graduated from high school in Louisiana. She was in Oregon on vacation in 1986 and liked it so much she decided to move here and start a 32-year career with Fed Ex. She lived at first in Portland, then moved to Lake Oswego in 2002. Her son is a sophomore at University of Oregon. Outside of work, Nell enjoys reading (!), working in the yard, serving the community through the Lake Oswego Rotary Club, and especially travelling around the world. She has a dog and cat, both rescue animals.
Leah Wells-Swanson is providing front-line customer service for the Planning and Engineering departments. She was born and raised in Centralia, Washington, and moved to West Linn in 2000. She has five children; two are still at home (ages 9 and 18). Leah has previous work experience in the construction industry, and looks forward to helping residents and builders get their work done. Leah enjoys reading, activities associated with the Nisqually Tribe, and water sports. She is a past volunteer with the Lake Oswego Women's Club. She has a small dog and a big cat.
Blake Rinkin started work in August for Public Works, primarily locating our buried pipes to help prevent contractors from hitting them. Blake was born and raised in Albany, and moved up to Hillsboro a year ago to work for Intel. He says that once when driving through Lake Oswego, he thought, "this could be a good place to work in," and followed up with an application when the job was posted. Outside of work, he especially enjoys outdoor activities with family. No dog yet, but there may be one in the future.
