The names of city council candidates Alan Zelenka, Bruce Mulligan and Jana Jackson are more familiar to residents now that the three met with the Amazon Neighbors association and answered questions on city issues ranging from West Eugene Parkway to homelessness Monday night.
The three candidates are campaigning to replace David Kelly for the Ward 3 seat on the Eugene City Council. The primary election begins May 16.
Ward 3, which covers south and east of downtown Eugene, includes the University and surrounding neighborhoods. Kelly has served on city council since 1998 but is not seeking re-election in 2006.
At the Amazon Community Center, candidates received five minutes to introduce themselves and to explain their platforms.
Jackson said her main emphasis on the Council will be to bring attention to how the city spends money and make sure the Council gets back to basics on funding.
Jackson said that she supports the proposed West Eugene Parkway because voters supported the plan. She said that she also supported property rights and Measure 37, pro-business measures, “equal respect for everyone” and the Eugene police department, which she said is unfairly criticized by the public and community leaders.
“I think it’s really heavy-handed to blame people who already have a tough job,” Jackson said.
Jackson, who moved to Eugene in 2000, served on the South University Neighborhood Association, and she currently works part-time at a dry cleaners and provides home care to her mother.
Mulligan said he decided to run for City Council to offer an independent voice on city issues, as he believed there should be less polarization on the City Council. He said his three main concerns are improving access to sustainable health care and insurance, maintaining parks and natural resources and fostering a livable city.
Mulligan said he has more than 20 years of municipal experience; he has served as chairman of the City of Eugene Budget Committee, member of the Human Services Commission and an Employee Relations Manager for Eugene.
Zelenka, who currently serves as the resources manager for the Emerald People’s Utility District, said he has lived in the neighborhood for more than two decades and hopes to share a vision of sustainable land use, preserve livability and work on a more responsible government.
Zelenka said his previous experience included serving as chair of the City of Eugene Budget Committee, president of the City Club of Eugene and chairman of the Human Services Commission.
All three candidates said they support allowing Whole Foods Market to build in Eugene. Mulligan and Zelenka both expressed approval of University architecture professor Mark Gillem’s proposal to build an underground parking garage. Jackson said she didn’t have many thoughts about the parking garage.
In regard to a question about homelessness in the city, Zelenka, who said he served as President of the Safe & Sound Project he co-founded to help homeless youth in Eugene, said a coordinated approach was necessary to bring homeless people back into society and that there should be extra resources for them, such as facilities “to get cleaned up.”
Jackson said the City Council should be more supportive of non-profit organizations that help the homeless. She said she has researched the issue in other states and that there should be more accountability.
Kelly, who endorsed Zelenka for City Council, said he thought the debate was a good discussion on the issues.
“The candidates really showed the audience where they differ on the issues,” Kelly said.
Candidates must gain more than 50 percent of the vote in order to advance alone to the November election. Since three candidates are competing for the council seat, the two candidates with the higher vote percentages may compete against each other.
The three candidates will appear at 6:30 p.m. today at the South University Neighborhood Association at Edison Elementary School at 1328 E. 22nd Ave.

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