Fairview Mayor proposes countywide committee

East County councilors support unifying group to lobby for land-use, roads issues

By Shannon Wells

The Gresham Outlook, Nov 20, 2009 (3 Reader comments)

As someone who has worked in city administrations on both sides of the Willamette River, Joe Gall has a sense of how municipalities and county officials can come together to address common issues.

“When Washington County goes to Metro, they’re unified,” Fairview’s city administrator says. “They’re supporting each other with legislative issues.”

Both Washington and Clackamas counties are served by a group of elected representatives who work toward consensus on positions regarding land-use, transportation and other funding-related issues.

Although East County’s four mayors have meetings, and bodies such as the East Metro Economic Alliance work to enhance East County’s commercial interests, there is no organized forum for mayors and councilors of, say, Fairview and Gresham to share common concerns and interests with Portland’s mayor.

“We don’t always speak of one mind,” Gall says.

He and Fairview Mayor Mike Weatherby want to change that.

Using neighboring Clackamas and Washington counties as models, Gall is developing a template Weatherby can use to lobby fellow East County mayors, city councilors and Portland Mayor Sam Adams to form an ongoing committee to represent Multnomah County.

For Weatherby, this concept is overdue.

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