Jana Jackson is one of the three candidates seeking to replace David Kelly as City Councilor for Ward 3, which encompasses the University and the surrounding area. The following is a transcript of an interview conducted Thursday.
Q: What was the reason, or were some of the reasons, that made you decide to run for City Council?
A: I had thought about it four years ago but I felt that I didn’t have enough information at that time. Now, I have spent a lot of time going to Council meetings and speaking before the Council and the Budget Committee. I don’t feel like my values are represented on the Council. My two opponents are knowledgeable and experienced men, but I don’t feel like either one of them, if they were elected, would represent my values.
One of the big ones is that I’m a very strong property rights supporter. I’m hearing this huge turf war going on and I don’t hear people saying, ‘Why don’t we talk to people who own (the land) and see what they think?’ It’s very stressful to homeowners when there is all this discussion and they ask, ‘What do I have to do to protect my property and to protect my interests and my investment?’ I also think it’s very important that the City Council follow the law and not just act as if. It’s very difficult to insist that young people, or anybody, follow the law when our city leadership isn’t following the law. I’ve also heard similar complaints about the University. The city’s leadership needs to not only set the example, but they also need to listen to we, the people.
Q: What do you think are the key issues facing Ward 3?
A: This historic district battle was the third or fourth time around, and it could still be resurrected. I think every neighborhood has similar land-use issues that they’re dealing with. On any battle, it’s extremely expensive for the residents and there’s no recourse. We don’t get our money back, and whatever agency is pushing this through is on the taxpayers’ salary. I’d like to see some recourse so that when someone puts through an idea that the vast majority of residents or the owners don’t want, they should have to pick up the legal tab. For a lot of people, they’re just really busy going about their lives and they don’t have a lot of time or even the inclination or know-how to get involved, and then all of a sudden something happens to them. I think the city should be supportive of people who are busy working and having a life and not bothering their neighbors and being good citizens.
Q: Have you worked with the University before?
A: In this battle, we met with the dean of the (School of Architecture and Allied Arts).
Q: How do you feel about representing a ward with such a large student population?
A: I know that students are very idealistic and they’re very gung-ho and very enthusiastic. We moved here because being next to the University is a wonderful experience. If you live in a place without youth, it’s kind of a dead place. On the other hand, it can go on a tangent in one direction. A criticism I would have of the U of O is that there isn’t a lot of room for differences of opinions and points of view, although I think that’s true of Eugene as well.
Q: What are some of the things that City Council has done well? What are some things they can do better?
A: I appreciate the fact that there are public forums. I think a lot of what the Council does well is like a two-edged sword. I think the Council has a tendency to micro-manage, so the knowledge base can go too far. On the other hand, I think their civil discourse, in spite of the recent e-mails, by and large there is a tremendous amount of patience and civility between the Councilors and the public and with the staff members as well.
Q: What are your thoughts on the current business climate in Eugene? If elected, what would you do to make it better?
A: I personally think that Eugene is a very difficult place to do business. I think there is an awful lot of regulations on the books that make it difficult, if not almost impossible, for some of the small businesses. I agreed with (City Councilor) Betty Taylor when she said that the enterprise zones were not a good thing because they helped businesses that happened to be in those particular areas but not businesses struggling all over town. I think one of the things that the city of Eugene can do, aside from getting out of the way of people who are business professionals, is they can change the word economic development to economic preservation because development is a really negatively charged word here, and preservation is a positively charged word.
Q: How would you have voted on the Whole Foods project?
A: I happen to be a very enthusiastic fan of Whole Foods. Any time I get up to Portland, I do my best to go there, even if I don’t buy anything. In a sense it was none of our business, because Whole Foods and the property owners are building it. I can see why people were upset (about the parking garage). On the other hand, we had plans in the works for a number of years to (build the parking garage). And also, and this is where people missed the boat in complaining about Whole Foods, I don’t see why people weren’t upset about the Federal Courthouse not building enough parking for their needs. I believe the Federal Courthouse is short about 200 parking spaces, and magically that’s about the number of parking spaces that are being built in the other half of the structure. If I had it a complaint, it would be why isn’t the Federal Courthouse building their own parking.
Q: What is your opinion on the current homeless situation in Eugene? If elected, what would you propose to deal with it?
A: I think that in terms of the city’s involvement, it needs to be supportive of the non-profit groups. What I would like to see is some minimal expectations placed when agencies give handouts, that it’s not just a handout, in exchange for food or what we’re doing for you, could you pick up five pieces of litter. Perhaps each agency, or they could have the people themselves, could come up with ways that they could give back. When I was investigating what other cities around the country were doing, the success stories were the ones that had some level of expectation. That it wasn’t just a handout.
Q: Do you think the crime rate is something voters in this ward should be concerned about?
A: I hear people complaining about it, not so much my neighborhood, but definitely the West University Neighborhood. I think it’s of concern that Oregon has the least number of police per capita and that Eugene has the least in Oregon. I’m a supporter of the police. I think that all of the negative publicity around the police department has been a lot of noise over some unfortunate incidents, but they’re in the minority. That’s not cops in general.
Q: Since you’re competing against two other candidates, is there something that distinguishes yourself from the other two?
A: I’m a property rights person, and I don’t think that either one of them are. I’m more of a keep-it-simple person. I think that sometimes it’s an advantage not to already be part of the system. Property rights, to me, are a core value. I feel like when you work hard and your home is your biggest investment – it’s where you come to relax and have a place that’s yours. I’m pro-choice on many levels, and one of them is being able to modify your house to suit your needs.

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