Six candidates have registered in the race for Eugene mayor, with another candidate running a grassroots write-in campaign.
Alexa Doty, an independent video cable-access producer, said she decided to run for mayor because of the “opportunity to speak to people about what I feel are important issues.”
One of the most pressing issues for Doty, 36, is what she calls the public ignorance of a current “social crisis” gripping Eugene and the rest of the nation. Doty pointed to school shootings and “toddlers being drugged with Ritalin” as examples of this crisis.
“People need to find ways to remove themselves from economic survival and live sustainably,” she said.
Doty does not have any formal government experience but said she had worked on various state ballot measures that included marijuana legalization and sustainable forestry.
Michael Glownia, 32, said he was inspired to run when he moved to Eugene from Michigan at the height of the controversy regarding tax subsidies for the Hyundai Corporation.
“In the summer, I took my son to Amazon Park, and it was closed because there wasn’t enough money, and I thought if there’s enough money for a big corporation, there must be enough money for local kids,” he said.
Like the other candidates for mayor, Glownia is a steadfast supporter of open land preservation and is opposed to sprawl.
If elected, Glownia said he would erase the threat of urban sprawl and work to add alternative methods of transportation such as a light-rail train system.
Lazar Makyadath, 55, who owns three stores including Lazar’s Bazar, envisions a much more festive Eugene if he is elected mayor.
“I want to become mayor for the city so that the city will come together in a New Orleans, Mardis Gras kind of way,” he said.
One way to achieve this festivity, Makyadath said, would be to hold downtown block parties every weekend throughout the year. These parties, he said, would bring the city together and make it a tourist destination.
In addition to partying, Makyadath said he is “100 percent behind supporting local business” and against large companies who want to move into the city.
Micah Rueber, 27, a University student majoring in economics who also repairs musical instruments, said his decision to run for mayor arose as a joke but was drawn into the race and now has a real message for the city.
“I believe that city government has no place in society except for roads, road maintenance, police, fire and emergency services,” he said.
Rueber said he would veto any ordinance passed by the city council and take a critical look at any city program or agency that came before the council to have their funding approved.
“I don’t think the city should do much at all,” he said. “If we did that, we could lower taxes and let people spend their money the way they wanted to.”
Mayor Jim Torrey beat out eight other candidates in the last mayoral election, which was four years ago and said he hopes to repeat that success in this year’s race, pointing out that he is faced by competition with little government experience.
“If you don’t have a basic understanding of what impacts growth, you want change things,” he said.
Often portrayed as a supporter of the status quo and friend of big business, Torrey fiercely defended his work to protect the environment and said he has done extensive work to limit any growth of the area within the urban growth boundary.
If elected to a second term, Torrey said he would work to ensure that the city has a safe downtown area, safe places for young people to go after school and that the fire and police departments would have new downtown stations.
James “Izzy” Whetstine, 61, hopes his third time running for mayor will be successful and an opportunity for him to take on urban growth and pollution.

“I think that anyone trashing the environment needs a good hard looking at,” the retired railroad yard master said. “We need to decide how big our city needs to be and discourage people from coming in here and changing the infrastructure.”
University student Nolan Brewer is making a run for the mayor’s office after an altercation with police during the Worker Rights Consortium protests in Johnson Hall left him with bitter feelings for the city. Brewer is an unregistered write-in candidate but is confident he has the support for a serious bid for office.
“Pretty much after what happened at Johnson Hall, I felt there was a lot of support for me and there was also a lack of voice in city government, so I decided to run,” he said.