A student drops of their ballot as a demonstration of the importance of casting a vote safely. University of Oregon College Democrats host a socially distanced voting rally at the Erb Memorial Union Amphitheater in Eugene, Ore. on Nov. 2, 2020. (DL Young/ Emerald)
The Daily Emerald is tracking all Eugene-area elections tonight, as well as countywide and state legislative races that intersect with Eugene boundaries. Stay tuned for updates, and view results here.
Tuesday’s results saw plenty of wide leads. In Eugene municipal elections, architect Kaarin Knudson appeared on track to become Eugene’s next mayor with 75% of the vote.
In the contested Eugene City Council races, Ward 2 candidate Lisa Warnes appeared to acknowledge a loss to incumbent Matt Keating after winning just 27 percent of the vote. None of the Ward 1 candidates could be reached for comment, though Eliza Kashinsky had a wide lead over opponents Ted Coopman and Ethan Clevenger. In Ward 7, incumbent Lyndsie Leech held a wide lead over opponent Barbie Walker in their third consecutive match-up.
The Democratic primary for Oregon House District 8 saw Lisa Fragala, an educator endorsed by numerous local politicians, with a wide lead over opponent Doyle Canning. Canning declined to comment on the results when contacted by the Emerald.
[Updated May 22, 11:30 a.m.: Fragala declared victory Wednesday morning, while Canning issued a statement of concession late Tuesday night.]
Lane County Commissioners Pat Farr and Laurie Trieger declared victory over their opponents as they both led by wide margins. Trieger received nearly 90 percent of the vote.
Eugene voters appeared to reject measures in support of implementing STAR voting, as well as funding for a multi-use stadium that would have housed the Eugene Emeralds baseball team. They did appear to renew a 4J levy by a wide margin that would raise over $90 million for the school district over five years.
The next batch of results are expected tomorrow morning.
Updated 11:12 p.m. — Next batch of election results drop; results largely unchanged
Another batch of results dropped in Lane County at 11 p.m. Results in major races were largely unchanged. The next batch of election results will be released tomorrow, according to the Lane County Elections website.
Updated 9:45 p.m. — Lane County Commissioner Laurie Trieger declares victory
Incumbent District 3 Lane County Commissioner, Laurie Trieger said she is feeling “fantastic” after winning re-election with nearly 88% of the vote.
“I mean nearly 88% of the vote, I think is a pretty clear mandate from the voters of my district that I’m doing a good job,” Trieger said.
Trieger’s opponent, Grace Widdicombe, had not responded for comment at the time of this writing.
Updated 9:15 p.m. — Lane County Board of Commissioners candidate Zach Mulholland concedes race to incumbent Pat Farr
Zach Mulholland, a candidate for the Lane County Board of Commissioners who secured roughly 41% of the vote in early returns, conceded to his opponent incumbent Pat Farr who attained roughly 59% of the vote.
“There’s a lot of work yet to be done,” Farr said. “We have serious issues around public safety, we have serious issues with homelessness and housing in Lane County. We’re addressing them across the board, but there’s a lot of work to be done.”
Farr cited a “shortage of housing” and “behavioral health” as key issues facing Lane County this election season. He also said he “enjoyed” his race against Mulholland and that he “ran a good race.”
Mulholland said he was “disappointed” by the election results but was looking forward to continuing his work on the Lane Community College Board and Eugene Budget Committee.
“I appreciate the support of my many supporters and endorsers in this race. And I look forward to continuing the fight for good jobs, affordable housing, clean air and water and expanded homelessness services,” Mulholland said.
Updated 9:04 p.m. — Lisa Fragala leads by wide margin in House District 8 Democratic primary; Stefan Strek comments on mayoral race
Lisa Fragala, an educator and Lane Community College board member who was backed by numerous local politicians, had a wide lead in the Democratic primary for State House District 8 in early returns Tuesday night, with 76% of the vote.
No Republican filed in the race to replace outgoing Rep. Paul Holvey, meaning that the winner of the primary is likely to become the next representative for the district.
Fragala raised over $170,000 for her campaign, while her opponent, Doyle Canning, raised over $96,000.
Canning is a business owner and legislative director for State Rep. Khanh Pham (D-Portland). Canning was one of the leading advocates for the ballot measure renewing the 4J levy in Eugene, which appeared to be winning by a wide margin in early results.
Fragala could not be reached for comment as of this writing. Canning declined to comment on the results when contacted by the Emerald.
Third-place mayoral candidate Stefan Strek who had just under 9% of the vote as of this writing, called his loss a “major victory.”
“I feel pretty good about the positive coverage on the campaign, and it’s a major victory to raise awareness about how things could be better and the struggles people are going through,” Strek said.
Updated 8:41 p.m. — Ward 2 candidate Warnes is “disappointed” by returns
Ward 2 candidate Lisa Warnes, who secured 27.3% of the vote in early returns, commented on her loss saying she was “disappointed for sure” calling her and Ward 1 candidate Ted Coopman’s performances “really sad for the fate of Eugene” and that it seems like “Eugene is going to the dark side.”
Warnes said that, despite her loss, she will still work to bring “citizen involvement” and “public accountability” back to Eugene.
Updated 8:40 p.m. – Multi-use stadium supporters concede defeat
Ballot Measure 20-357, which would have used $15 million in bonds for a multi-use stadium at the Lane County Fairgrounds — and would also have functioned as a home baseball stadium for the Eugene Emeralds — garnered just 33% of the vote in early returns. The director of a PAC in support of the measure appeared to concede defeat.
John Groves, the director of Let’s Build it Lane County!, said that they were “obviously disappointed with the outcome.”
“We felt like we had put together a message showing what kind of importance the [Emeralds] and the potential for a new multi-use facility could have been for the community,” Groves said. “We didn’t make a good enough point, I guess.”
Groves said it was too early to say whether advocates for the stadium would pursue alternate funding mechanisms, but that it would be a “tough road.”
Updated 8:07 p.m. – Candidates open up wide leads in early returns
Election results posted at 8 p.m. show Kaarin Knudson with a wide lead in the Eugene mayoral race, with 75% of the vote.
Incumbent city councilors Matt Keating and Lyndsie Leech had large leads over their opponents in Wards 2 and 7, with 72% and 66% of the vote respectively.
Ward 1 candidate Eliza Kashinsky, who was the runner-up for this seat in 2020, also had a wide lead in early returns with 67% of the vote.
Tim Morris holds a wide lead in the Wards 1 and 8 EWEB Board of Commissioners race, while Lane County Commissioners Pat Farr and Laurie Trieger lead their opponents.
The three ballot measures in Eugene are seeing varying levels of success thus far. There was a strong early “yes” vote in approval of renewing the 4J option levy, which would raise nearly $92 million for the Eugene School District 4J over five years. Roughly two-thirds of voters thus far have rejected ballot measures that would implement STAR voting and raise funds for a multi-use stadium on the Lane County Fairgrounds, which would be the home baseball stadium for the Eugene Emeralds.
In the House District 8 Democratic primary, Lisa Fragala held a wide lead over Doyle Canning with 76% of the vote.
Updated 8:00 p.m. – Polls close in Oregon elections
Polls have now closed in the Oregon primary elections. Results in Eugene elections are expected any moment.
Updated 7:20 p.m. – What to expect in Eugene municipal races
The city of Eugene is picking a new mayor after incumbent Lucy Vinis opted not to run for a third term. Three candidates are running to replace her. Kaarin Knudson, an architect and former UO professor, has received the backing of most Eugene politicians — including Vinis and six city councilors. Shanaè Joyce-Stringer is an educator and community advocate who moved to Eugene in 2021. Stefan Strek, an artist and YouTuber, has run for office before — including for mayor in 2016, U.S. Congress in 2018 and governor in 2022. Strek is going by “Ace Dog” on the ballot in an effort to appeal to independent and undecided voters, he told the Emerald.
According to the Oregon Secretary of State’s website, which contains public campaign finance disclosures, Knudson has raised at least $244,000 since launching her campaign in 2023. Joyce-Stringer has raised roughly $10,000, while Strek did not appear to have a campaign committee registered with the office.
City council races in Wards 1, 2 and 7 are being contested tonight as well. In Ward 8, incumbent Randy Groves is running uncontested.
In Ward 1, a three-way race to replace Councilor Emily Semple has proven competitive. The bulk of local endorsements have gone to two candidates: Eliza Kashinsky, an HR analyst for Lane County who ran against Semple in 2020, and Ted Coopman, a former educator and chair of the Jefferson Westside Neighbors association. Also in the mix is Ethan Clevenger, who owns Porterhouse Clothing in downtown Eugene and who has been endorsed by the Eugene Chamber of Commerce.
Coopman has raised roughly $33,000 for his campaign, compared to roughly $25,000 for Clevenger and $22,000 for Kashinsky.
In Ward 2, incumbent councilor Matt Keating is running for re-election against Lisa Warnes, a residential building contractor. Warnes is endorsed by Betty Taylor, a former Ward 2 councilor, while Keating has the backing of most Eugene political organizations. Keating has outraised Warnes by a 3-to-1 margin, while Warnes attempted to raise controversies surrounding Keating in a recent letter to Eugene Weekly.
In Ward 7, incumbent Lyndsie Leech is facing off against Barbie Walker. This will be the third time the two have faced each other — after finishing in the top two in last year’s May special election, Leech defeated Walker in a runoff.
Updated 7:00 p.m. — Oregon prepares for election night
It’s election night in Oregon, and there are plenty of races in Eugene and throughout Lane County that are poised to be decided.
Voters have until 8 p.m. tonight to either postmark and mail their ballots back, or return them to an official drop box or county elections office. Ballots received by May 28 will be counted provided they were postmarked by May 21.
Three candidates are running to be the next mayor of Eugene after incumbent Lucy Vinis declined to run for a third term. Races for four city council seats and three EWEB Board of Commissioners seats are on the ballot — though one city councilor, Randy Groves, is uncontested, as are two EWEB commissioners.
Eugene voters will also vote on three ballot measures: (1) whether to implement STAR voting in citywide elections; (2) whether to use $15 million in bonds to fund a multi-use stadium at the Lane County Fairgrounds, which would function as a home baseball stadium for the Eugene Emeralds; and (3) whether to renew a five-year local option levy for the Eugene School District 4J, which would raise over $91 million for the district and has been in place since 2000.
Two races are being contested on the Lane County Board of Commissioners, where incumbents Pat Farr and Laurie Trieger are seeking re-election.
Two candidates are running to replace Patty Perlow, the incumbent Lane County District Attorney — James Cleavenger, an Oakridge police officer and city administrator, and Christopher Parosa, a deputy district attorney who has been endorsed by Perlow.
Several state legislative races are being contested in the Eugene area. The most competitive is likely the Democratic primary in House District 8, where legislative director Doyle Canning is facing off against educator Lisa Fragala to replace incumbent Paul Holvey. Canning, who ran for Congress in 2018 and 2020, has earned the support of several state legislators and progressive organizations, while Fragala has been endorsed by Holvey and much of organized labor.
The Daily Emerald is tracking all Eugene-area elections tonight, as well as countywide and state legislative races that intersect with Eugene boundaries. Stay tuned for updates, and view results here.
