24 THE CHARBONNEAU VILLAGER January 2021
Charbonneau : Wilsonville ’ s most influential voting bloc
Various theories have formed about community ’ s monolithic City Council voting patterns
BY COREY BUCHANAN
Eight years later , Eric Postma
still can ’ t quite figure out what happened .
Running against current mayor-elect Julie Fitzgerald and former Wilsonville City Councilor Susie Stevens in a race for two council spots , Postma won two of three Wilsonville precincts , but lost the Charbonneau precinct by such a margin that he wound up finishing third .
This result reflects a perplexing quagmire for more outwardly conservative candidates ( Wilsonville elections are nonpartisan races , but several recent candidates have been outspoken in their right-wing leanings ) running for city council . Despite the fact that Charbonneau residents vote more conservatively than the rest of Wilsonville in most races ( Donald Trump lost narrowly in Charbonneau in 2016 and 2020 , and convincingly in the rest of the city ), those candidates have been losing the planned community south of the Willamette River by massive margins . And this has helped the current council majority maintain its foothold on city politics .
“ Charbonneau would seem to be a demographic that would lean a little closer to a conservative bent . It doesn ’ t always bend that way in local elections ,” Postma said .
In the most recent election , Charbonneau ’ s 864-vote margin in favor of Joann Linville ( who lives in Charbonneau ) was enough to secure a 714-vote advantage for the incumbent over challenger John Budiao . In the mayoral race , Fitzgerald defeated Councilor Ben West in all precincts but won Charbonneau by 930 votes compared to 1,152 votes in the other three precincts combined — even though Charbonneau has only about 15 % of the registered voters
PMG PHOTO : JAIME VALDEZ
Charbonneau is separated from the rest of the Wilsonville by the Willamette River . The community also tends to vote as a decisive bloc in elections .
in Wilsonville . One can find similar results in Mayor Tim Knapp ’ s victory over Richard Goddard in the 2012 election and Charlotte Lehan ’ s first-place finish in the 2018 council election .
See CHARBONNEAU / Page 26
Do you know someone getting married in the future ?
Charbonneau Marina
2021 Moorage Season : April 1 - October 31
Boat 20 ft . or less $ 1,000
2021 SEASON FEES :
Charbonneau Residents
Boat less than 25 ft $ 1,050
Boat less than 30 ft $ 1,100
Charbonneau Golf Club has created beautiful wedding spaces for Charbonneau residents and the public .
The pavilion , as pictured above , is just one of the settings available to reserve for a special event .
If you would like more information or to book a wedding date , please contact andersonlindy @ comcast . net Venues are also open for tournaments and other events .
A $ 100 deposit is required this year to hold a slip , with payment in full by March 15 . If full payment is not received by March 15 , your deposit and slip will be forfeited . Come to the CCC office to fill out a lease form and choose your slip between Jan . 15 — Feb . 15 . A $ 25 refundable key deposit is required in addition to the lease fee .
Charbonneau residents have priority leasing from Jan . 15 through February 15 .
Feb . 16-Feb . 28 : Renew dates for non-Charbonneau people who leased a slip in 2020 . Slips are available on a fi rst come basis . We will start taking names for our waiting list on January 15 . If you have questions , please contact the CCC offi ce at 503-694-2300 or offi ce @ charbonneaucountryclub . com .
If you would like to tour the dock prior to signing a lease , please contact Rick at 360-771-7998 or richardschram . rs @ gmail . com