While the big media outlets soak up the presidential primaries and fill viewers’ plates with national debates and congressional hearings, the smaller, local elections often fly under the radar of voters – however, the people in these positions craft policy that affects how a community functions and looks.
Starting May 20, four of Eugene’s eight city council spots will be open, and Mayor Kitty Piercy will be on the campaign trail once again, this time with four years of widely debated policy under her belt.
While Piercy has received much of the brunt of attack for failed policy and the state of the city, the mayoral position in Eugene has been called more ceremonial than policy-making.
That duty lies with the city council, and half of those seats are up for grabs.
Three of the council positions have incumbents running for reelection, two have no opposition and one has a University student running – maybe.
The only sure change on the city council will come from Ward 1, where long-time public figure Bonny Bettman will not run for reelection. Bettman has given her support to George Brown, owner of The Kiva grocery store in downtown Eugene. Brown’s only opposition so far has come from University student Shimeon Greenwood who filed in May 2007, but said in a short interview that his plans to still run for the position are “contingent” on his “academic studies and schedule.”
To run for Eugene’s mayoral position or city council seat, applicants must file the necessary paperwork and submit 25 petitioned signatures by the March 6 deadline. If any one candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote in the non-partisan May 20 primary, only that candidate’s name will appear on the Nov. 4 general election. If no candidate wins the majority of votes, the two recipients with the most votes will move forward to the general election.
All terms for these positions last for four years beginning in Jan. 2009, and the seats for Wards 1, 2, 7 and 8 will be up for election in 2008, while Wards 3, 4, 5 and 6 will be open in 2010.
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Ward 1
George Brown
Hand picked by Ward 1 incumbent Bonny Bettman to succeed her, Brown has long been involved in city politics and moved to Eugene in 1970.
“I feel like I’m more in tune on the downtown issues being that I have been involved in the area for the last 37 years” as owner of The Kiva, Brown said.
The often-divided city council has not dissuaded him and he admitted he is prepared for the usual struggle.
“Do I have all the answers? Of course not. But I can lend perspective,” Brown said.
Shimeon Greenwood
A University student who filed in mid-2007, Greenwood has since said his candidacy is contingent on his academic schedule and studies.
Ward 2
Betty Taylor
For three terms, Taylor has represented Ward 2. And with no opposition so far in this election, Taylor said her consistency in winning may be the reason for the reluctance “to run against an incumbent who has won three elections,” she said in an e-mail.
Taylor plans to campaign with the classic style of door-to-door knocking, using mailed material and yard signs.
Ward 7
Andrea Ortiz
The only incumbent city councilor to definitely face opposition so far, Ortiz was the council president before Councilor Chris Pryor, a former Eugene Police commissioner and Bethel School District board member. She has held a wide array of jobs, from a farm worker to her current position as a emergency room employee at Sacred Heart Medical Center.
John Crane
An independent contractor, Crane filed on Feb. 13 for the city council position.
Ward 8
Chris Pryor
The current council president, Pryor is alone on the ballot for the Ward 8 seat, and said the lack of opposition could be because “people are satisfied with what I stand for and my approach to issues,” Pryor said in an e-mail. “If people are satisfied with what you are doing, they generally won’t get in your way.”
Pryor has held seats on numerous boards of directors in the community from the Eugene School Board, Lane Council of Governments and the Springfield Chamber of Commerce. He currently is the Public Affairs Manager with Willamalane Park and Recreation District in Springfield.
Mayor
Kitty Piercy
As mayor of Eugene during the last four years, Piercy has led a strong campaign for sustainable practices and environmental awareness. And while many have praised those efforts, other critics say she has forgotten the city’s infrastructure along the way.
After voters passed the West Eugene Parkway plan, Piercy cast her tie-breaking vote in late Oct. 2005 to permanently kill the plan by withdrawing the city’s support. The recent failure of a bond measure allowing city to spend up to $40 million dollars to revitalize downtown, as well as the unfilled potholes spotted throughout the city’s streets have added to the ammunition of Piercy’s opponents.
Ian Goldfarb
A 21-year-old University junior who filed at the end of January, Goldfarb has said he wants to run for mayor to learn more about the election process. His intentions are more than just academic, however, and Goldfarb, a marketing major, said he scanned over the city’s budget and feels he has some good ideas to cut wasteful spending in city government.
Jim Ray
A self-described “straight shooter,” Ray, 57, works as a sales representative at Home Depot, and has lived in Eugene for the past 10 years. “I don’t make promises I can’t keep,” Ray said, and listed his number one priority as fighting crime and drug dealers.
Nick Urhausen
Another long-time citizen of Eugene, Urhausen, 62, has spent the last 31 years working for the Social Security Department in Eugene. He said his three main priorities as mayor would be to fix the streets, get the West Eugene Parkway plan back on track and find a site for a proposed McKenzie-Willamette hospital in Eugene. “I pay $500 in property taxes a month, and why can’t I drive to work without hitting potholes?” Urhausen said.
