Eugene voters will be going to the polls to vote for the Ward 7 city council seat this May.
Last September, Councilor Claire Syrett was recalled, and in her place, Lyndsie Leech was appointed in December by the city council to serve the remainder of her term.
Leech said she believes her experience with grassroots organization and community-focused nonprofits has provided her with the necessary skills to serve on the city council.
Leech has been a lifelong social worker, previously working with groups including Looking Glass Community Services, The Child Center, HIV Alliance and Food for Lane County.
Almost her entire professional career, up until her appointment to the city council, has been spent working with nonprofit organizations in Oregon — the exception being her employment with the U.S. State Department while working with visa applicants at the U.S. Consulate in Belize. Most recently, she has been serving as the executive director of WellMama Inc., a nonprofit that provides support for new, expecting and grieving parents.
However, Leech will not run unopposed. Two other candidates, who with Leech made it to the final round of selection for interim city council earlier last year, are also running.
Janet Ayres is a retired educator and landlord who is running against Leech for Ward 7. In her application to the Council last year, she listed her top priorities as household financial well-being, public safety and housing and homelessness.
Ayres wrote in her application that “critical problems facing Eugene cannot be solved without fixing the current dysfunction in city government.”
Ayres did not respond to the Emerald for comment in time for publication.
Leech’s other challenger is local business owner Barbie Walker. Walker co-owns and manages two Eugene establishments: The Webfoot Bar and Grill and the Pint Pot Public House with her husband, Justin Walker. She has also done extensive work with at-risk homeless youth.
According to her application, Walker helped to develop the 4J School District ID Program for at-risk and homeless youth in Eugene, and helped pass Oregon House Bill 2402 in 2017, which established a grant program through the Oregon Health Authority to aid unhoused people in getting free copies of their birth certificates. She also volunteered for the 15th Night, a nonprofit for homeless youth.
“I’ve been working with at-risk and homeless youth for over 10 years now. And it’s really important to me. It means so much that we move in a direction that makes sense. And we’re not.” Walker said.
She also said that people in Eugene do not feel adequately heard by the current city council.
“Eugene is looking for a change,” Walker said. “What is going on in Eugene right now is if people are beside themselves, we don’t feel heard.”
Walker stated that if elected to city council she will take greater strides toward tackling the homeless crisis. She said she believes the current council is not approaching the issue with enough urgency.
“The City Council is spinning their wheels continually, and there’s some good movements, and then there’s some movements that haven’t come to fruition,” Walker said. “We need to really look at prioritizing the budget toward an actual, sustainable, reliable, controlled, constructive concept that makes sense and isn’t just throwing money at the problem.”
One of the most pressing issues that the city council will face in the coming months are the Phase II and III renter protections. Phase I renter protections were approved last year by the city council and included a $10 cap on rental application fees, support services for renters and new documentation requirements.
However, in November 2022, two property management groups, Thorin Property and Jennings Group, sued the city of Eugene over the $10 cap on application fees. A judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, ruling that the cap violated state law. Walker said the $10 cap on application fees was nonsensical, as it cost $50 to run a background check.
Walker said she agrees that taking care of unhoused people and renters is of the utmost importance, but she disapproves of Phase II.
“It’s obvious that the authors of that provision [Phase II] are attempting to address the housing shortage, thinking of ways to keep renters more stable,” Walker said. “Those are noble ideas. Also noble ideas are that laws have to be just to both sides, thus keeping the cohesive working relationships between tenants and landlords that is there.”
Walker goes on to say that she believes the city government is playing politics, pitting tenants and landlords against each other, while shirking its own responsibility to ensure there is enough housing for Eugene residents.
Thorin contributed $1,000 to Walker’s campaign in late February, according to ORESTAR.
Phase II includes a variety of new protections, including limited security deposits, processing applications in the order they are received and displacement prevention assistance.
Lyndsie Leech, admitting she came to the council latestage in the process, said the city needs housing on all levels, but especially affordable housing.
“The thing we all want to see, no matter which side of the aisle you’re on, is to take care of people who are unhoused, and people who are on the verge of homelessness. We just aren’t in total agreement on the method,” Leech said.
Leech’s priorities include addressing the mental health crisis within the city, homelessness and preserving our natural environment.
In her brief tenure as interim city councilor, Leech said she’s most proud of the electrification ordinance passed in Eugene in February banning the construction of gas stoves in new low rise residential buildings.
“To be able to see that pass was exciting, and of course, now there’s a lot of divisiveness around that issue. But I think, whatever happens, it’s going to have a positive effect because we have put this issue out there and more people are learning about it,” Leech said.
Leech said she was also proud of the work she did directly for her ward, putting in an emergency measure to end the industrial noise pollution for residents along River Road.
Walker’s priorities include at-risk youth, homelessness and housing, public safety and beautification in Eugene.
Right now, Walker said, the government is just spinning its wheels, and it can’t go on like this anymore. Eugene’s youth and those in need deserve better.
With the election a month away, it will be up to the constituents of Ward 7 to decide who will represent them on City Council and the direction they want Eugene to go.
Election day is May 16. Ballots will begin to be mailed to local residents on April 27. All valid ballots must be postmarked by election day and received no later than May 23.
