Following up with Beaverton’s Next Mayor

by Michelle Lasley

Michelle Lasley is a mother, wife in Pacific Northwest learning to balance green dreams with budget realities.

April 15, 2020

Introduction to Episode

My guest today is Lacey Beaty, a candidate for Beaverton Mayor. We discuss how motherhood affects campaigning, how the city works, and what it will take to co-create a future we all want. 

Podcast Episode Summary

I begin my discussion with Lacey on the importance of a new class “City 101: Governance, a brief overview” We first discuss how Beaverton is not a full-service city. Rather it has special districts that manage parks, fire, and even the schools. 

Lacey went on to explain how the mayor is basically a city manager, overseeing the police department, public works, and the finance department. The mayor is charge of everyone where the council is in charge of how much is spent. 

The most important thing that comes out of our discussion is that you need to vote. The Oregon primary (vote by mail) is on May 19. Ballots and the voters’ pamphlet will start going out after this podcast drops.

Quotables

  • Government is customer service. When your customers are upset, your service isn’t very good. 
  • People come to the northwest for their athletic adventures. 
  • People don’t realize how student loan debt is crippling millennials. 
  • We don’t have the best public transport. Our population runs north and south while transit runs east and west. 
  • We are building less parking because it is expensive and hoping people will use public transit. 
  • I think the best way to influence these decisions upstream is making sure that the people on our boards and commissions are more reflective of the people using services.
  • Campaigning while female is different.
  • The number one important thing we can do is voting. 

Recommended Resources

For more information about Michelle, Balance Shared, events, and projects, please visit www.michellelasley.com

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