Mayor Melanie Kebler, Bend
Her Own Wings
Melanie Kebler grew up in Bend, graduating from Bend High, and returned to her hometown in 2018 after attending the University of Michigan and Lewis and Clark Law School. Kebler was elected as the City of Bend’s Mayor in 2022, having first been elected to the City Council in 2020. During her time on Council, Bend has approved nearly 1,000 new affordable homes, invested millions of one-time state and federal funds into solving homelessness in collaboration with Deschutes County, and won significant federal grants for transportation infrastructure that will reconnect the community in...
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Mayor Remy Drabkin, McMinnville
Her Own Wings
Mayor Remy Drabkin of McMinnville, Oregon has dedicated over 12 years to public service. She is the first woman, first Jew and first queer-identified person to hold the Mayorship. Remy served two terms on the McMinnville City Council and two terms on the Planning Commision before being appointed and then elected Mayor. Remy was pivotal in establishing the Affordable Housing Commission, and the city’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Advisory Committee. As a housing advocate, Remy has brought forward policy resulting in thousands of nights of overnight shelter and projects that...
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Councilor Briae Lewis, Corvallis
Her Own Wings
Originally from Maryland/DC, Briae moved to Oregon in 2019 and ironically did not get into politics until the 2020 election cycle and Black Lives Matter. After that, Briae decided to run for office and was elected in 2022 as the first openly gay black woman on the Corvallis City Council where she serves as liaison to the Historic Resources Commission, the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy Advisory Board, the Home Opportunity Planning Equity (HOPE), and the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition.
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Mayor Susan Wahlke, Lincoln City
Her Own Wings
Susan Wahlke was first elected in 2014 to the Lincoln City City Council. She later was elected fulfill the previous mayor’s term. In 2022, she was elected to a full 4-year term as Mayor. Susan is a 30-year resident of north Lincoln County. Born in Tacoma, Washington and having moved to Oregon in the 5th grade, she considers herself a native Pacific Northwesterner. After graduating from the University of Oregon with a degree in Elementary Education, she moved to Stuttgart, Germany where she substitute-taught in Department of Defense Schools. After three years in Europe, she was able to drive...
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Councilor Cynthia Jacobi, Newport
Her Own Wings
First appointed to the Newport City Council for a two-year term in 2018, Cynthia then won her seat in 2020. She is currently running unopposed for another four-year term. Cynthia reflects on the fact that the City has spent six years investing in her education about the city. She wants to give back as it takes a while to learn to ask the right questions. She never thought she would be in an elected position, but friends urged her on. She says, “So, I went for it, surprising myself most of all.” Cynthia has observed that the conversation changes when more women are in policy-making roles....
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Mayor Cec Koontz, Monmouth
Her Own Wings
Cec grew up in Salem, but has been a member of the Monmouth-Independence community for over 40 years. She has volunteered with organizations from the cooperative preschool to the Chamber of Commerce, to the Monmouth-Independence Community Foundation, where she has served on the Board since 2001 (with almost 20 years as its treasurer). Currently, Cec works as the Director of Finance & Operations for the Central School District and just completed 10 years of service on the Board of Trustees of Western Oregon University. She has served in both appointed and elected positions in the City of...
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Re-Broadcast: Mayor Denyse McGriff, Oregon City
Her Own Wings
Oregon City Mayor Denyse McGriff has extensive experience in government. She was the Principal Planner for the city from 1988 to 1996. Now retired, she has has worked for a number of local governments, including the Lane Council of Governments, Columbia County, City of Tillamook, Deschutes County, City of Oregon City and rounded out her career at the Portland Development Commission. Her public service career was multifaceted with an emphasis on historic preservation/conservation, adaptive reuse and land use planning. Denyse was first appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Commission in...
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Re-Broadcast: Councilor Tita Montero, Seaside
Her Own Wings
As an adult living in Seattle, Shoreline and Mukilteo, WA, Tita considered herself apolitical. She researched candidates and issues and voted but she had no thoughts of being involved in local government. But, when she moved to Seaside in 2002, she started attending city council meetings, as well as commission, committee and board meetings because she thought that’s what a responsible citizen should do. Within a couple of years she was elected to the board of the downtown development association and became the Chamber President. In 2004 she led a group which sued city hall for the right of...
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Re-Broadcast: Mayor Jessica Engelke, North Bend
Her Own Wings
Mayor Engelke was elected by her community to serve the City of North Bend as Mayor in November 2022 and was the first female mayor. Her current term expires in November of 2024. Mayor Engelke had served previously as a North Bend Council Member after being elected as mayor in November 2018. Jessica Engelke is a longtime North Bend resident invested in making our community a better place. She is a tenured Business Professor at Southwestern Oregon Community College and teaches a variety of business classes. Jessica is very active in the community, besides her volunteer position as...
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Re-Broadcast: Councilor Kori Rodley, Springfield
Her Own Wings
Kori Rodley is a lifelong Oregonian who was elected to the Springfield City Council in 2019 and she is the first out lesbian to serve on the council. Currently, she serves as chair of the Springfield Economic Development Agency (SEDA), chair of the Lane County Human Services Commission, and as a voting member of the League of Oregon Cities General Government Policy Committee. Her past service has included Springfield Utility Board budget committee and the 4J school district Equity Committee. In her day job she works with Lane County Developmental Disabilities Services. Kori and her spouse,...
info_outlineAs an adult living in Seattle, Shoreline and Mukilteo, WA, Tita considered herself apolitical. She researched candidates and issues and voted but she had no thoughts of being involved in local government. But, when she moved to Seaside in 2002, she started attending city council meetings, as well as commission, committee and board meetings because she thought that’s what a responsible citizen should do. Within a couple of years she was elected to the board of the downtown development association and became the Chamber President. In 2004 she led a group which sued city hall for the right of citizens to vote on whether to allow ODOT to make 101 through Seaside into a five lane highway. Not many people can say they sued city hall and won! Not only did the citizens get to vote, 57% of those voting turned down ODOT’s proposal which would have destroyed 17 businesses and more than 70 homes. You could say that most of the city council members were not her fans. When she ran for office in 2006, the other guy got ONE more vote than she; but, in 2010 she was both appointed and elected to the council where she has served the city of Seaside for the last 14 years. During her years in Seaside, Tita has also co-owned a fabric store, worked as the Business & Community Liaison at Tongue Point Job Corps Center as well as the executive director of the Seaside Downtown Development Association. She estimates she has served on twenty or so boards, councils and commissions during the past 22 years. And this is the person who just had her sights on being a Library Board member when she moved to Seaside.