UPDATE: Galas-Merten Acknowledges Ring-Camera Delivery

One question is now answered.

When asked on the TRFNP Facebook Page whether she was the person captured by a nearby Ring camera delivering documents to then-Councilor Mandy Hagedorn’s home, Linda Galas-Merten replied:

“Do you think I would allow myself to be captured on Ring if I were trying to hide something? It was a draft resolution for Council consideration. It has been written by the Food Bank’s attorney.”

On March 12, Hagedorn reported to the City Attorney that an unidentified person had visited her private residence and left an unsolicited packet without a note or explanation. It contained internal emails, draft cover letters and a proposed Food Bank resolution involving potential Council action.

Galas-Merten now acknowledges she was the person "captured on Ring" delivering it.

At the time, she chaired CPO 8 (an official government body), communicated through Strong Towns North Plains (as its local chapter president) and served on the Food Bank board of directors. A mere six weeks later, state records identified her as the initial president of the newly incorporated North Plains Business Alliance.

A busy schedule, for sure.

Previously unpublished County emails, which will be documented in next week's reports, add context. In September 2025, Washington County Chair Kathryn Harrington directed CPO 8 and Linda Galas Merten to stop certain North Plains UGB advocacy as CPO communication. The County later felt it necessary to warn CPO 8 leaders that they are public officials when acting in a CPO capacity.

Galas-Merten’s own March 15 email raises another question. She wrote that she met Councilor Anna Warrington “on Thursday, at (Warrington's) request,” and that Warrington seemed “willing to carry the ball.”

That Thursday was March 12—the same day the packet reached Hagedorn.

On April 6, Warrington moved the Food Bank loading-zone proposal. Councilor DeForge seconded it, and Councilor Weber supported it. The motion failed 3–4.

The sequence suggests a coordinated effort to advance the proposal. It does not yet establish an unlawful serial meeting. But former Mayor Teri Lenahan's questions seem on-point. While citizens may lobby councilors, Oregon’s public-meetings law establishes prohibitions on certain serial communications and communications through intermediaries.

So what happened on March 12? Who arranged the delivery? Which other councilors received the materials? And was Galas-Merten lobbying each councilor independently—or carrying information among them? Why did Hagedorn feel the need to preserve, document, and report Galas-Merten's unsolicited delivery to her residence?

Next week, TRFNP begins a seven-part series examining CPO 8’s North Plains activity, the County’s warnings, and the overlapping roles of CPO 8, Strong Towns, the Food Bank, the Business Alliance and City Hall.