The May 19 election has brought electoral competition to the Eugene City Council elections. Currently, both Jennifer Smith and John Barofsky are running for the Ward Three position for the Eugene City Council.
Barofsky and Smith both have competitive resumes as to why they should be the next councilor to represent Ward 3, but Smith’s background in labor organizing and ongoing grassroots leadership is best suited to address the issues the community is facing.
Ward 3 encompasses the University of Oregon, and primarily where students and graduate teaching staff live. Smith has received numerous notable local endorsements, including those from the Democratic Party of Lane County, the Associated Students of the University of Oregon, the United Academics of the University of Oregon and University of Oregon Student Workers.
Smith has an active focus on making housing affordable and accessible amidst the rising cost of living, with specific focuses on expanding tenant protections and the creation of union jobs. She also is focused on making sure that Eugene is not only on track to meet its climate goals, but that the city becomes a national climate champion. Smith is also an active advocate for human rights, and has publicly condemned ICE within Eugene communities.
“Jen has been an ally of our union, she is the president of the UO classified staff on campus, SEIU, they’re great allies. We like to stand in solidarity with each other across campus labor issues,” said Jonah Dyk, a second year student and a current organizer with the political action committee at UOSW.
Notably, Dyk mentioned that Smith was the only candidate that reached out to UOSW for an endorsement during this race.
“I like her stance on transportation and reducing car infrastructure in Eugene, and swapping that with more bike-friendly infrastructure and policies,” Dyk said. “Personally, she doesn’t own a car, and neither do I. I think they’re expensive, and necessitating owning a car for student workers is a big burden financially that a lot of us can’t afford in Eugene.”
Smith has a long history of labor organizing, serving as the president of SEIU 503 Local 085 and the UO Labor Education Research Center Coordinator. She has also served in the Oregon Higher Education Coordination Commission, adding to her organizing background.
Collin Heatley is a rank-and-file member of the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation and was most recently the graduate employee at the Labor Education and Research Center on campus. He also reiterated Smith’s commitment to Ward 3.
“I think what resonates with both my community of graduate students and me is her laser focus on cost of living, particularly on housing,” Heatley said, referencing the power the city council has on shaping housing affordability. “Having someone that’s going to fight for affordable housing but also do so in a way that’s going to create protections for tenants living in those units, has been my focus and it’s something that affects the graduate student community.”
Heatley also stresses the importance of students and community members voting in the May election. Usually, local and spring elections see low voter turnout among young voters, but this
particular election directly determines the future of student housing in this region.
“We are all members of this community while we’re living here, and ideally, there are good job opportunities, and it is an affordable place to live that people want to stay after they graduate,” Heatley said. “The stakes of this election are if we can elect Jen, we will have another pro-labor, pro-working families (councilor) and have somebody with an organizing mentality and ability to build people power in the city council.”
