The Democratic Party of Lane County held an election watch party tonight at Wild Duck Café in Eugene. The restaurant was packed as voters waited in anticipation to hear the results of the elections that would determine Oregon’s new governor, Eugene’s new mayor, and Oregon’s democratic primary.
Mayoral candidate Lucy Vinis, who was declared the winner Wednesday morning,  was greeted non-stop by supporters and friends as they ate, drank and paid close attention to CNN for election updates. Vinis, who holds mostly left wing values, takes a firm stance on higher education reform.
“What I hear from businesses is that the workforce we have is not the workforce we need. That is the goal, how do we align both the higher education institutions, the high schools and the business environment? How do we bring all these things together?” Vinis said.
Noise complaint ordinances in Eugene, which is a hot topic for college students, is also a concern of Vinis’.
“I have no doubt that there have been some extremes at both ends where students feel unfairly penalized for something they weren’t really responsible for and neighbors on the other hand feeling that students have not been respectful enough,” Vinis said. “We don’t want to overly penalize students and at the same time, they are living in neighborhoods and they have responsibilities just as other neighbors have responsibilities.”
University of Oregon students Phoebe Bellisario and Erin Satterthwaite were in attendance at the event, primarily in support of Eugene City Council Ward One candidate Chris Wig.
“I’m here because this past term I have been involved in the Chris Wig campaign,” Satterthwaite said. “I was really inspired by his platform and he’s really trying to make Eugene a greater place.”
Bellisario, a University of Oregon political science major said she supports Vinis.
“She’s a progressive mayor just trying to help problems that Eugene faces like tenant protection, homelessness, and making sure kids stay in school,” Bellisario said.
The Wild Duck was host to a boisterous crowd until about 10:30 p.m. and by the end of the night, Bernie Sanders came out on top in the primaries while mayoral candidate Vinis ended the night well ahead in the polls, officially winning the spot Wednesday morning.