Councilor Carlotta Collette

Carlotta Collette was appointed to the Metro Council District 2 seat in November 2007 to fill the position vacated by Brian Newman. In 2008, Collette was elected by a wide margin (more than 70 percent of the votes) to complete Newman's term.

After only one year on the council, her colleagues voted unanimously to have Collette chair the powerful Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation, which oversees federal transportation funding in the Metro region. In 2010, Collette also will serve as Metro's Deputy President.

In 2009, Collette led the region's High Capacity Transit Plan, creating a strategy for the next 30 years of light rail, fast streetcar and bus rapid transit in the region. She is one of two council members who serve on the Oregon Zoo Foundation Board, where in 2008 she helped pass a $125 million bond measure to protect and enhance the well-being of animals at the Zoo. She also serves on the Oregon Zoo Bond Advisory Committee, co-chairs the Portland to Lake Oswego Streetcar Steering Committee, and is Council liaison to the Nature in Neighborhoods and Integrating Habitats programs.

Collette is co-chair of the Creative Advocacy Network, representing Metro and Clackamas County in a regionwide effort to seek stable funding for arts education and access to the arts.