The Oregon Secretary of State received an election complaint concerning North Plains City Council candidates Tera VanDyke, Matthew Blancas, and Lisa Ferrari-Harwood, and the developer-funded political action committee North Plains 1st PAC.
Until recently we had no clear evidence that this Political Action Committee (PAC) had paid for these candidates’ campaigns. VanDyke, Blancas, and Ferrari-Harwood did not even list their endorsers in the voters’ pamphlet. But we knew that the candidates were affiliated with the same pro-sprawl interests that fund North Plains 1st. Here’s how:
The giant sign displaying the candidates names on Jackson School Rd. violates state elections law because it does not state who paid for it. Despite this lack of transparency, the special interests that support VanDyke, Blancas, and Ferrari-Harwood are known. For years the owners of the land where the signs are placed have paid for lobbyist Chris Edmonds to bring their land into North Plains urban growth boundary… for data centers just south of Sunset Ridge.
“The Real Friends of North Plains” (TRFNP) has misled the public and blamed current councilors for the mismanagement of the prior Lenahan/Sheldon City Council. Their posts, blogs, and mailers have fallen just short of elections endorsements of pro-sprawl candidates until a recent post engaged in electoral politics. Yet the candidate PACs and North Plains 1st have not reported consulting expenses for people writing these posts.
But a glossy mailer in support of VanDyke, Blancas, and Ferrari-Harwood that reached mailboxes on Friday, 10/23, made it clear - their campaign is in part paid for by North Plains 1st PAC.
Why is that a bad thing? North Plains 1st PAC is funded by land speculators and developers who have been trying to force North Plains to sprawl beyond our means for years. North Plains 1st PAC received
$20,000 from land speculators south of Sunset Ridge,
$10,000 from Portland-area realtors, and
$500 from PGE, which has interests in the region’s energy future, including the power demands of data centers.
This funds paid for a recent mailer and possibly for massive yard signs. We should know these candidates by the company they keep.
VanDyke, Blancas, and Ferrari-Harwood give lip service to voters, saying they want “responsible” growth. But to candidates who are funded by special interests that want to profit off of North Plains sprawl, that likely means another 855-acre urban growth boundary expansion that voters have repeatedly rejected.
In 2024, North Plains voters made the future they want clear: a town that grows internally, rejects North Hillsboro-style industrial development, supports local business, and welcomes new residents.
That vision is shared by proven champions of good governance: Councilors Don Weber and Anna Warrington who completed the first audit in 4 years after neglect by prior councilors, and voted last week to ban data centers in the city, as well as Melody Axe who supports this vision of responsible management.
VOTE ANNA WARRINGTON, DON WEBER, AND MELODY AXE
for a transparent, responsive, responsible City Council.
