Note: Lake County has seen aggressive anti-growth forces kill new development and object to others as county meetings have becoming increasingly contentious. This piece by Amanda Wettstein previously appeared in the Lake County Triangle Sun
Something is happening in Lake County. And if you’ve been paying attention, you know it’s not just politics as usual.
A small but noisy group has hijacked our public discourse. They attack, bully, and grandstand. They twist facts and turn every meeting into a battlefield. They claim to speak for “the people,” but they’ve broken faith with basic decency, honest governance, and the rule of law.
And now, they’re trying to punish leaders who won’t play along.
Let me be clear: this is no longer about a single party or a single meeting. This is about the soul of local governance. It’s about whether Lake County will be led by rational, responsible public servants or ruled by chaos agents who thrive on division and drama.
I’ve spent my career working in public relations and civic engagement. I’ve sat at tables with elected officials, business leaders, and everyday citizens who care deeply about this place. And I’m telling you right now: what’s unfolding in Lake County is not normal. And it’s not okay.
We are watching the collapse of basic standards.
We’re watching bullies target Republican leaders, not because they betrayed their party, but because they didn’t bow to a fringe. We’re watching people with no plan for governance tear down the people who do.
And we’re watching good people stay quiet.
Here’s the thing: silence is no longer an option. Not for me, and not for anyone who values truth, transparency, and public trust. We cannot allow a handful of loud voices to dominate the future of this county; not in our party, not in our government, not in our neighborhoods.
So I’m asking: where are the rest of us?
Where are the common sense conservatives, the independents, the business leaders, the parents, the pastors, the neighbors who want leaders to focus on roads and schools and safety and not performative outrage?
It’s time to speak up.
Lake County needs a reset. We need to reassert our expectations, both for elected officials, and for the kind of discourse we allow in public life. We need to stop rewarding the loudest liar in the room. We need to stop mistaking chaos for courage.
Most of all, we need to protect the right of our community to be governed by reason and not by rage.
There are good people serving this county. There are Republicans, Democrats, and nonpartisan officials trying every day to do the right thing. But they cannot do it alone. They need backup. They need all of us, the exhausted majority, to reclaim the air.
Because Lake County is worth fighting for. And we deserve better than this.
Amanda Wettstein is a public and government relations consultant based in Umatilla.