Melody Thompson
for
Canby City Council
The Right Time.
The Right Choice.
LEARN MORE:
Facebook-MelodyThompsonforCanby
"I bring proven leadership, hands on experience, and a practical approach to guiding Canby through growth.
Managed responsibly, growth brings great opportunities.
I am committed to making sure we protect the character of our neighborhoods and to our quality of life for the long term.”
Values and Vision
Hello, and welcome to my website! I’m running for City Council because our community is entering an important time of growth and change. Meeting this challenge requires proactive leadership and active collaboration with Clackamas County, our service providers, and regional neighbors.
Infrastructure can’t be an afterthought. We must ensure roads, utilities, and public safety capacity expand ahead of growth, not years behind it. As a former Mayor, I bring experience, perspective, and a record of working through difficult decisions for our neighborhoods and businesses.
Here is what you can expect from me as a City Councilor:
-
Transparency: Clear, honest communication—even when the decisions are tough.
-
Accountability: Good management of operations and projects to protect services our town depends on.
-
Commitment: Showing up, learning and listening to feedback to make good decisions for Canby.
Here are four areas I intend to focus upon: Safe Streets, Great Parks and Green Spaces, Sensible Developments, for a Strong Canby. Visit the next pages to learn more about my priorities and approach. You can also read my biography to learn about my experience and the projects our team accomplished during my term as mayor.
Safe Streets
Canby is one of Oregon’s safest cities, thanks in part to strong community policing and engaged residents. Safety also means improving conditions for walking, biking, e-bikes, scooters, mopeds, etc.
Electric options have grown in popularity among our youth. I propose a plan that outlines using several social media outlets, community and school engagement and events to educate. Enforcement should be a last resort, but is a part of ensuring safe and enjoyable use of our roads and parks for everyone.
Great Parks & Green Spaces
In city surveys, our community consistently ranks support for Canby's parks, walking paths, pool, and sports fields as a high priority.
City staff and Park & Recreation Committee recommendations list many upgrades to aging park restrooms, for safer equipment and to add parking and ball fields.
Funding for maintenance, improvements or new amenities has long been a challenge. I will work to make discussion and action a priority, to fund park maintenance, programing and services for families of today and the future.
Sensible Development
Our popular and successful town will continue to grow because of the quality of life we all enjoy. With 400 acres available to annex into Canby in the next 10 years, new homes and businesses will soon be here.
We should ensure our housing stock better meets the needs of our growing families. And we must build our infrastructure to support growth before development happens, not after.
Following Canby's vision will ensure we preserve the character of Canby.
A Strong Canby
A vibrant library and community pool, well-maintained streets, and management of city finances contribute to a strong Canby. As leaders, a City Councilor's primary job is to ensure it stays that way.
The City General Fund receives tax revenue and pays for police, parks, administration and other services. Rising costs in these funds will affect these services.
I am proposing a General Fund Planning strategy and potentially increase timely, targeted research and reporting to anticipate and avoid funding gaps. The goal is to protect the services the community depends upon and expects.
About Melody
I grew up in a close-knit small town in the Columbia Gorge. As a teenager, I worked in my family’s restaurant and as one of eight children, learned the value of hard work, teamwork, compromise and family. These are the values that have guided my family life, career, and volunteer community service. I am a wife, proud mother of two sons and have a grandson.
While raising my family, I began building a career in areas of finance and administration, municipal court, and police records in small and large Oregon communities. These experiences gave me a strong sense of what works in
government, what could be improved, and prepared me for public service.
I was elected Mayor of Canby in 2002 and
over the next 8 years as Mayor city staff
and council worked to accomplish:
-
Revamping downtown main street.
-
Adding 1200 housing units.
-
Attracting a theater to town.
-
Constructing a new park (Legacy).
-
Constructed street/water infrastructure to encourage business development in Canby Pioneer Industrial park. Businesses include: American Steel, Cascade Engineering, VATA Inc, Anderson Quality Springs. Longtime business Pioneer Pump expanded and relocated to a new location.
-
Collaborating with our regional partners, served as Clackamas County’s C-4 Vice-Chair and the small cities representative for Metro’s Urban and Rural Reserves Task Force study.
In 2020, I was appointed to the Canby Utility Board and elected Chair. Some of the major projects the Canby Utility team accomplished:
-
Launch of a Water Supply/Treatment Program for new treatment plant studies.
-
Proposed solutions to large load power restrictions with BPA and the City.
-
Adopted a Wildlife Mitigation Plan to protect the power grid during wildfires.
-
Negotiated a 20-year rate agreement with Bonneville Power to facilitate rate stability.
.
Please vote Melody Thompson for City Council on November 3rd!
