Building a Future that Is…

Building a Future that Is…

Safe

Lake Oswego should be a place where we all feel physically, mentally, and emotionally safe.

  • By ensuring that our firefighters and other emergency maintenance and road clearing staff are supported, we can prevent the worst possibilities while each of us does our part to protect one another.

    From fires to ice storms, and earthquakes to fallen trees, our community needs to be prepared for anything that comes our way. I’m ready to work in collaboration with community members and city staff to ensure the safety of Lake Oswego residents by expanding access to resources around emergency preparedness and exploring pathways for emergency workers to afford to live in Lake Oswego.

  • Our beautiful natural spaces are the heart of Lake Oswego. We need to ensure plans are in place to preserve them for years to come and to supply residents with continued options for community education and programs to minimize our city’s impact on the environment. Working with environmental experts, we should develop programs that support residents in moving towards more environmentally friendly methods for landscaping, commuting, and life at home, while ensuring city properties and events do the same. Together, we can respond to the reality of climate change as well as do our part to minimize the speed at which change is happening.

  • Our community can learn from, and continue to improve, first responder efforts to maintain safety in Lake Oswego, by continuing to prioritize mental health first responders, building on prior conversations about community policing, and continuing to provide education and support to prevent individualized harms such as house fires and unsafe gun storage. I am passionate about these issues and have a proven track record with creating and securing policy addressing them.

  • The safety of our community depends on continued maintenance to improve roads and pathways around Lake Oswego. By continuing to track collision data, expanding access to pedestrian, bike, and auto pathways where possible, and ensuring needed repairs are carried out quickly and competently, our roads will stay safe for all who travel on them.

  • Lake Oswego has many goals and needs, and our community requires care to ensure that City budgeting is realistic and sound. I am ready to help assure budget stability in order to promote the vitality of the city both long term and in moments of transition. 

Accessible

 All people should be able to work, live, and play here with easy access.

  • Lake Oswego needs more housing options for those who are lower wage earners, renters, or first-time home buyers. Looking into subsidized programs, re-zoning, rental assistance methods, and pathways to support all people who seek to live in Lake Oswego including families and our seniors, we should be open to all possibilities. Through continued partnerships with community organizations and exploring further options to incentivize more affordable housing, our community can become more accessible to all.

  • Our City has many amazing amenities, parks, and businesses, but the community is not easily accessible by public transit, which is essential for seniors, young people, and tourism. By continuing to partner with regional organizations like Tri Met, and building out ideas around community shuttles or services like the Library’s home delivery program, we can make sure all of our city can access the available offerings, even from around the lake. As a student and worker, I take public transportation every day, and I am driven to find ways that all people in Lake Oswego can get where they need to go, supporting systems in place across the Metro area, and exploring the feasibility of localized solutions.

  • Lake Oswego has many wonderful options for places in which to learn, play, and thrive. We should continue to explore paths towards increased hours at the Library and Adult Community Center, while expanding the capacity of the Parks and Recreation scholarship program, to give people more opportunities to engage in our community without the barriers of affordability. As opportunities for growth of third spaces like a new library come into view, we should also seek to prioritize spaces where people can gather as groups and come together as a community.

  • The ability to bike and walk around our community is essential, especially for our schoolchildren, the environmentally conscious, and low income community members. By continuing to expand bike access, build pathways, and enforce crosswalk laws and speed limits, we can ensure that all people are able to enjoy the outdoors and reach their destination. Working with the incredible leaders who plan our street development, we can build sustainable plans to prioritize these opportunities in new projects, and make progress in pre-existing areas.

  • Lake Oswego School District is an essential part of our community, and by supporting our students and their families wherever partnerships are possible, we build a strong and well supported future. Making sure our schools are funded and our educators are supported is crucial to reach these goals. Our Schools bring people to Lake Oswego, and we can support our students and families by ensuring their access to community and resources from the time they arrive through to graduation and beyond.

Welcoming

Our community is vibrant and caring, and we can do more to ensure that that care extends to all.

  • Our city has so much to offer. From Parks and Recreation offerings to exciting businesses and the library, it’s difficult to know where to start, or where best to find community. The City should partner with local organizations and businesses to communicate to new business owners, students, and residents, creating a lasting first impression of warmth and welcoming. Beginning by more prominently placing guides for visitors and new residents on city sites and within city communications, and exploring ways to identify new residents and partner with the Chamber of Commerce to bring back welcome baskets, and eventually welcoming events in the city, we can continue to welcome newcomers.

  • We can build out existing programs to provide increased access to materials in other languages, partnerships for mixed language events, and outreach that maximizes accessibility for all people, regardless of their familiarity with English. We should pursue an audit of these services or a survey of community members who primarily speak languages other than English to determine the strengths and gaps of the current system in which translation is available upon request, and determine if there are ways to effectively reduce barriers without a spike in cost to the city.

  • Our community is filled with incredible people. But for those who experience barriers to meeting people, such as transportation, poor internet, low income, language barriers, and more, it can still be a lonely place. Our Library and Parks and Recreation services already do a great job of this, but we should continue to explore opportunities to target specific groups who feel less connected to Lake Oswego, such as empty nesters, new residents, or others who feel isolated. By working diligently to increase accessibility in all areas, while building out programs specifically designed to increase community connection, especially with aging populations, we can build a community of friends. 

  • Lake Oswego has a long history of racism and exclusion.  By continuing to provide education on these harms through community events, expanding acknowledgement of specific acts, and creating pathways and programming to learn about the importance of diversity and how to move forward with kindness and openness to all communities, we can continue to build a more accepting Lake Oswego.

  • In recent years, city events have been aglow with culture and joy. Continuing this trend, we should support every opportunity to uplift different cultures through existing events, library partnerships, and continued work with community organizations. For groups who are currently not celebrated in city-wide events, we should explore ways to show up as a city to support other celebrations and collaborate with outside groups working to elevate their voices. We should continue to work to foster an environment where cultural businesses are interested in starting locations here, while we continue to support those who come in from out of town to celebrate their culture with us at special events.

  • Lake Oswego has great forums for feedback on specific city council matters and through boards and commissions. As we create a system that encourages participation from all community members, we must reduce barriers to contributing to city conversations. We should foster an environment that encourages participation from all people, whether emails or calls or continuous service on city boards and commissions. We should consider more listening sessions and working with community organizations to hear the concerns of people who have traditionally been left behind.

Is an issue you care about missing from this list?
Reach out!
I want to make sure the needs of our community are being prioritized, and I would love to hear your perspective.
Send us an email at PerenforLakeOswego@Gmail.com and our team will be in touch!