Being the Ward 3 city councilor is a largely thankless job. It involves attending a bevy of meetings with residents of neighborhoods located west, south and east of the University. It requires representing the views of both development advocates and those who want to preserve historic locations. It necessitates balancing the needs of students who temporarily live, party and attend school in the campus area with the needs of longtime residents.
This year’s candidates vying for Ward 3 City Councilor David Kelly’s seat in the May 16 primary election reflect this broad array of requisites. In interviews with both the Emerald and The Register-Guard, candidate Alan Zelenka has emphasized sustainability, candidate Bruce Mulligan has promoted increased health care access and candidate Jana Jackson has championed property rights.
Yet all candidates are not made equal.
Jackson’s campaign is clearly doomed. Her generally negative attitude toward city issues, her stance against police oversight and her single-issue platform of property rights are wholly unappealing.
This leaves top contenders Zelenka and Mulligan, who are matched in many respects. Both men were raised in California, both attended University of California schools and both moved to Eugene in the early 1980s. Both have relevant fiscal experience serving as chairman of the city’s budget committee and both endorse environmentally friendly living. Both have the support of local public employees’ unions.
Although Zelenka has garnered endorsements from Mayor Kitty Piercy and from Kelly, we believe Mulligan is the better choice to receive the student vote.
Mulligan outlined clear goals for his campaign both in interviews and on his Web site.
He acknowledges that potential construction of an I-5 interchange at Franklin Boulevard, development of Walnut Node and possible building of a new University basketball arena require inclusion in planning processes.
Mulligan emphasizes the need for community policing, and he has received the endorsement of the Eugene Police Employees Association, according to The Register-Guard. To address Eugene’s homeless problem, he wants to lobby for federal funds to promote services providing mental health care and substance-abuse support. His deep commitment to finding ways to provide basic health services for local residents is refreshing.
He has the most recent government experience, having just completed his stint as budget committee chairman. As he told the Emerald, “I know the issues, and I’ve probably hit the ground running because I’m more current on all the budget aspects.”
Mulligan has emphasized finding consensus among his constituents, a difficult but necessary task for the Ward 3 representative. Further, he recognizes the importance of students to this ward.
“But if students are disengaged in the community, it doesn’t work,” he told the Emerald. “The only way we can do it is to engage in community action in creating a community that we all want to live in.”
Kelly has served Ward 3 admirably, but Mulligan has been eager to run since Kelly announced his resignation and he represents a fresh change for ward. We urge student voters to support Mulligan this May.