New Records Show Teri Lenahan Warned City Hall. Four Other Former Mayors Have Also Recently Warned.

Newly reviewed emails and public comments show former Mayor Teri Lenahan raising questions and obtaining public records about possible behind-the-scenes coordination on a proposal to grant a special interest loading zone waiver. She says she received no response from the Council.

On August 19, former North Plains Mayor Teri Lenahan forwarded TRFNP an email she had originally sent City Hall four months earlier.

She added one revealing sentence:

“I never received any follow up or questions/comments from CC.”

Lenahan’s comments were entered into the City’s public record in April and May. But the underlying emails—and her later statement that no councilor followed up—have never been published.

Records provided show that Lenahan warned City officials months before North Plains entered its present leadership crisis.

What Lenahan Found in her Public Records Request

On March 9, an outside attorney representing the North Plains Food Bank circulated a revised loading-zone resolution and instructions for delivering it to City officials. (The loading dock and various issues surrounding the Food Bank have long been a topic of division at City Hall)

The attorney’s email laid out a strategy of providing hard copies to Councilor Mark DeForge, retyping and scanning a proposed cover email and telling the City that DeForge had worked with the Food Bank to prepare the resolution.

On March 15, Linda Galas-Merten wrote that material had been sent to the mayor and “blind cc’d to the rest of Council.” She also said she had met with Councilor Anna Warrington “at her request” and that Warrington appeared “willing to carry the ball.”

On April 6, Warrington moved to establish the Food Bank loading zone on NW 314th Avenue. DeForge seconded her motion. Councilor Don Weber joined them in voting for it.

The motion failed 3–4.

Why?

Hagedorn Chose a Different Course

The records reveal something on this issue that distinguishes the actions of then-Councilor Mandy Hagedorn from her colleagues DeForge, Warrington and Weber.

Integrity.

On March 12, a packet containing internal emails, draft cover letters and a proposed Food Bank resolution was left at Hagedorn’s home without an identifying note or explanation.

Hagedorn did not quietly circulate the material, use it to advance Council action or leave the delivery undocumented.

At 11:52 that morning, she emailed City Attorney Emily Matasar and City Manager Bill Reid, copied Mayor Aaron Dumbrow and used the subject line:

“Unsolicited Documents Left at My Residence – Request for Guidance.”

Hagedorn explained that she had reviewed the packet only far enough to understand what it contained. She attached the documents and an image from her Ring camera showing the person who delivered them.

Faced with unsolicited material concerning pending City business, Hagedorn created a contemporaneous record, preserved the evidence and immediately brought it to the officials responsible for City administration and legal compliance.

Rather than allowing the delivery to remain outside public view, she moved it into official channels.

Her subsequent actions reinforce that interpretation.

When Warrington moved the proposal on April 6, DeForge seconded it and Weber supported it. Hagedorn voted no.

On April 20, Hagedorn publicly denied participating in any outside quorum discussion. She again explained that the packet had been delivered unsolicited and that she immediately provided it to the City Manager and City Attorney.

The documents do not prove that Warrington, DeForge or Weber directly pressured Hagedorn. But they show her separating herself—both procedurally and through her vote—from the three councilors who supported the proposal.

Was the doorstep delivery intended to enlist Hagedorn in an effort already being advanced by others? Did her immediate disclosure and subsequent “no” vote represent a refusal to participate?

The present record cannot conclusively answer those questions. It does support a fair conclusion about Hagedorn’s conduct in this particular episode: she acted transparently, responsibly and through the proper channels.

Whatever questions remain about how the proposal was developed, Hagedorn should not be portrayed as occupying the same position as Warrington, DeForge and Weber. On this issue, the documentary record points in the opposite direction.

Was There an Outside Council Discussion?

After reviewing the records, Lenahan submitted an April 20 public comment asking whether councilors had participated—directly or through intermediaries—in discussions outside a public meeting.

“This demands a full and public explanation—period,” Lenahan wrote. “If ethics or public meetings laws have been violated, then accountability must follow.”

She returned with a second written comment and supporting timeline on May 4.

“These are not accusations,” she wrote. “They are reasonable questions any informed member of the public should be asking.”

Sending information to multiple councilors does not, by itself, establish a serial meeting or violation of Oregon law.

The central question is whether officials used emails, private conversations or intermediaries to deliberate toward a Council decision outside public view.

Lenahan asked the City to examine and publicly explain that possibility. We could not locate a published investigative report or formal finding resolving it.

Lenahan now says no councilor ever followed up with her.

Five Former Mayors Have Warned North Plains

Lenahan’s warning joins recent statements from four other former North Plains mayors.

Cindy Hirst: In January 2025, Hirst raised what she considered conflicts involving four officials participating in confidential UGB-litigation discussions. She cited campaign and organizational relationships involving people connected to the plaintiffs and called for recusals. Her statement appears on pages 52–54 of the City’s February 18 agenda packet.

Hirst spoke again in June 2026, warning that Council divisiveness had prevented the City from filling its Finance Manager position and urging immediate attention to the City’s financial challenges. Her comments appear in the June 15 agenda packet.

David Hatcher: On July 6, Hatcher accused Urban Renewal Agency Chair Don Weber of acting without authorization and potentially exposing the City to “legal jeopardy.” He called Weber a “loose cannon” and said he had never seen North Plains government in such a distressed condition during his 45 years in the community. Read our coverage and watch Hatcher’s testimony.

Aaron Dumbrow: On July 29, Dumbrow resigned as mayor, writing:

“As a person of integrity, I cannot continue to lead the City based on the numerous legal and Council rule violations by the previous and current Council.”

The City released his letter but has not publicly identified the violations he referenced or announced the results of an independent investigation. Read the City’s announcement and our previous report.

Robert “Butch” Kindel: The former two-time mayor offered a broader governance warning after five councilors voted to end City Manager Bill Reid’s employment. Kindel called the decision a “senseless mistake,” said residents deserved a written explanation and expressed deep concern about the City’s direction.

Four—Lenahan, Hirst, Hatcher and Dumbrow—raised potential legal, ethical, conflict-of-interest, authority or Council-rule concerns. Kindel delivered a broader warning about leadership and governance.

None of their statements is an official finding of wrongdoing.

But five people who have occupied the mayor’s chair have now issued separate warnings about how North Plains is being governed.

What Will It Take?

North Plains needs more than another internal explanation prepared by the institution whose conduct is being questioned.

It needs an outside investigation with a publicly adopted scope, an investigator independent of the Council’s factions and existing legal relationships, preservation of government and personal-account communications, witness interviews and a written report released to residents.

That investigation should examine the questions and inferences around serial deliberations, the UGB-litigation conflict questions, Urban Renewal Agency representations and the violations Aaron Dumbrow cited when he resigned.

Five former mayors have warned North Plains.

How many more warnings will it take before someone independent starts asking the questions?