Endorsements

The May Special Election is May 21 and ballots can be mailed until Thursday, May 16. After that they can be dropped off at any white ballot box around town or at Lane County Elections offices at 10th and Lincoln. Here are our endorsements on selected local issues and contested races. More complete information can be found in our election issue (linked below).

LCC Board Zone 1 Position

Sharon Stiles

Sharon Stiles of Florence represents rural Lane County. Those folks don’t always get their voices heard and they should, especially when it comes to LCC.

Eugene School District 4J Position 3

Beth Gerot

Good on equity and funding but, we do have concerns about 4J’s direction. See Slant this week.

Lane ESD Board Position 3

Vanessa C. Truett

Cj Mann is a solid public servant, but we give the edge to Truett and her extensive background in education services.

Ballot Measure 20-213

Public Safety Local Option — NO

Give us a public safety measure that does more than just put people in jail and have it be administered by people we trust, and we’ll endorse it, but not 20-213.

Ballot Measure 20-211

Eugene City Services Fee— NO

Liberal rag that we are, we’ll endorse a good city fee or tax when we see it. We don’t see one here. We love the services 20-211 says it will fund and think we can still fund them. But we don’t love the permanent flat tax, its vague language and its unfair burden on lower-income folks and very small businesses.

Ballot Measure 20-210

4J School Bonds — YES

“No more pencils, no more books, no more …” actually, we say “yes” to more. Kids need better books, tech and classrooms.

Dexter Sanitary District Position 3

John Bauguess

Bauguess is running unopposed, but we’ll take this opportunity to point out that Bauguess has worked to save Parvin Butte as well as wrestle with the sanitation issues Dexter faces. We need more people who care in politics.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!