Shawn O'Neil

Shawn O’Neil was elected as Wilsonville’s 10th mayor in November 2024.

O’Neil takes office in 2025 with a wealth of experience from his service on the City’s Development Review Board (2015-2020), including two years as its Chair, and the Budget Committee (2021-2024). A 2016 graduate of the Leadership Academy (now the Civics Academy), O’Neil is deeply familiar with the City’s operations.

An attorney by profession, O’Neil is the Managing Member of O’Neil Law LLC, a firm he established locally more than a decade ago. His extensive public service includes roles as Deputy District Attorney in Lane and Union Counties, Senior Assistant Attorney General, and Attorney in Charge at the Oregon Department of Justice’s Trial Division’s Civil Litigation Section. O’Neil served under three Attorneys General. Prior to that, he was a partner at the Portland civil litigation firm Mitchel, Lang and Smith.

O’Neil has held positions on several West Linn-Wilsonville School District committees, including the Safety Advisory Committee. He also played a pivotal role as a transitional board member of Wilsonville Community Sharing, helping to refine the non-profit’s organizational structure and leadership.

He has demonstrated his advocacy for Wilsonville residents previously, in 2015, when he challenged public officials and the energy infrastructure company Kinder Morgan regarding the safety of a petroleum pipeline running beneath Wilsonville neighborhoods. His efforts led to negotiations that resulted in significant pipeline safety improvements, including the installation of local automatic shutoff valves. O’Neil also championed the passage of a resolution, adopted by the City Council in 2017, that declared Wilsonville a welcoming and inclusive city. This action advanced public dialogue about inclusion, leading to the establishment of the City’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in 2021.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, O’Neil graduated from Boston University with a degree in political science before earning a law degree from Willamette University College of Law. He has made Oregon his home since 1988.

A resident of the Rivergreen neighborhood, O’Neil enjoys spending time with his family, which includes his wife, Yumi, also an attorney; their teenage son, Tenzin; and their yellow lab, Curious George, who joins O’Neil on his daily morning walks. O’Neil’s hobbies include camping, fishing, crabbing, biking, and fitness.