They may seem like governmental faces in the crowd to many University students, but the members of the Eugene City Council have a bigger effect than students may think.
In fact, the eight council members could decide many big issues this year, from a marijuana fine increase to the location of a new sports arena.
The City Council, the legislative part of Eugene’s government, develops policies and legislation for the city. Next to the City Council stands the city manager, who often oversees policy implementation and hires city staff.
This year, the City Council has two new faces: Ward 6 City Councilor Jennifer Solomon and Ward 4 City Councilor George Poling. Both Councilors were sworn in at Mayor Jim Torrey’s State of the City address in January.

Solomon
Solomon, who represents mostly moderate and conservative areas of town, said her biggest surprise as a new councilor was adjusting to the influx of paperwork. Aside from memos and reports, councilors receive a thick packet every Thursday to review for Monday meetings.
Solomon’s priorities this year include economic development and voter confidence, but she said her real passion lies in transportation.

As a member of a citizen committee, Solomon spent a year studying transportation in Eugene and helped develop a two-pronged funding strategy that included a gas tax increase and the adoption of a transportation maintenance fee. Now that the Council has approved the strategy, Solomon said she wants to help oversee its implementation.
“I really want to make sure it comes together efficiently and equitably,” she said.

Poling
Poling, who also represents moderate and conservative areas, said the biggest challenge for him as a new member was his time commitment, which includes work on seven committees.
“It’s been busy, but it’s what I expected,” he said.
Poling, a retired police officer, said he wasn’t involved with city politics when he worked in law enforcement, but he became interested in the process after retiring and watching reruns of City Council meetings.
Although maintaining adequate funding for public safety is his top priority, Poling is also heavily involved with transportation issues, including the Interstate 5/Beltline improvement, the I-5/Coburg improvement and the Bus Rapid Transit projects.

Papé
The City Council also has two leadership positions, president and vice president, who don’t hold any significant additional power. This year, Ward 5 City Councilor Gary Papé is president and Ward 8 City Councilor Nancy Nathanson is vice president.
Papé, who has lived in Eugene for 48 years, said the city doesn’t have the resources to do everything it wants, and as a result it must make cuts.
“First and foremost, I want to find a way through this difficult financial time,” he said.
Papé said he wants to focus his efforts on public safety services and saving police services, which he said is 50 officers short of what a community of Eugene’s size should have.
Also on Papé’s plate are working on the new fire station and federal courthouse constructions and enhancing branch libraries built to accompany the new downtown library.
“I hope we will do it with the long-term taste and construction we saw with the library,” he said.

Nathanson
Nathanson, whose western ward is more conservative than the other South Eugene wards, is heavily involved in telecommunications, but she also lists public safety, as well as parks and open space, as her top priorities.
Nathanson’s involvement in telecommunications started when she chaired a committee that developed Eugene’s comprehensive telecommunications ordinance. Now, Nathanson serves on a 15-member Federal Communications Commission advisory committee that works to protect consumer rights and municipal authority — something she thinks the FCC’s deregulation attempts are impairing.
“My particular interest is to make sure we protect consumer rights, which are shrinking in this atmosphere,” she said.
The City Council is also home to veteran city leaders, including David Kelly, Ward 3; Betty Taylor, Ward 2; Scott Meisner, Ward 7; and Bonny Bettman, Ward 1.

Kelly
Kelly, who represents the University area, said he serves a diverse set of constituents. Based on voting records, however, the area tends to be more liberal than other areas of Eugene.
Kelly said a major priority for him this year is minimizing cuts to many of the city’s smaller services, including recreation and senior services, as the current budget crisis forces programs to be slashed.
“I want the broadest range possible to survive,” he said.
The West University neighborhood is also an issue Kelly feels strongly about. As a member of the West University Joint Task Force, Kelly hopes students will become more involved in improving the neighborhood this year.
“I really hope that out of that task force will come some good long-term improvements to the West University neighborhood,” he said.

Taylor
Taylor, who has also served on the City Council for six years, represents a liberal to moderate demographic.
Taylor said she approaches this year with three simple priorities: to protect the environment, to protect individual liberties and to maintain an open and accessible government.
Taylor, who serves on eight committees, also has her sights set on the marijuana fine increase, which will go to a City Council vote in February. Specifically, Taylor said she is worried about the affects on the poor and wants to get more input from the student population.
“I’m very anxious to know what students think about (the issue),” she said.

Meisner
Meisner, a former lawyer and an antique furniture restorer, said that based on voting records, some areas of his ward have became more conservative after redistricting. But, Meisner said, his ward is still “highly diverse.”
For Meisner, the building of the new downtown library can already be checked off the priorities list. Meisner was named chairman of the Mayor’s Library Improvement Committee and was heavily involved in the new library’s planning and development.
“My primary ambition was to get a new library system here, and we’ve done it,” he said.
Now, Meisner said he wants to focus on increasing services for his ward and working the city through the current budget crisis.

Bettman
Bettman, who represents what she called in an e-mail a “strong democratic constituency,” that she plans on focusing her attention on ensuring a fair, transparent and accountable public process. She also wants to make sure budget priorities reflect community priorities and to work toward neighborhood safety and livability.
While she couldn’t predict priorities of the City Council as a whole, Bettman said she thought the two biggest issues for the Council are government spending and government accountability.
“I want to encourage citizens to get involved. Democracy is not a spectator sport,” she said.
“Pick an issue, get informed, and participate.”