City Councilor Matt Keating says that of the work he’s done in his current term on the Eugene City Council, representing south Eugene, he’s most proud of protecting the urban growth boundary and leaning into creative ways to support co-op housing and new housing developments downtown and along the riverfront.
Keating is running as the incumbent to retain his Ward 2 seat in the May 21 primary election.
Additionally, he tells Eugene Weekly that he’s proud of the collaborative work with law enforcement and the City Council to prohibit fireworks in the South Hills area.
“It upsets folks who have PTSD, it upsets our four-legged friends in the community,” he says. “But there’s a serious fire danger that’s growing, and council took action that I helped lead and I’m tremendously proud of that work.”
Regarding the closure of PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center’s University District hospital, the Ward 2 councilor says it makes him “sad beyond words to see emergency room departments and hospitals leave our community when we should be ramping up care and access and affordability.”
He says he applauds state Rep. Nancy Nathanson and the Lane County legislative delegation for looking at the issue from a state perspective, but said that from a municipal perspective, the city has an opportunity to explore potential partners on the west side of town or downtown area.
Asked whether the city of Eugene should help fund a new Ems baseball stadium, Keating says, “I have a special affinity and love for our baseball team in our organization. And full transparency, I am a guest announcer for the Ems periodically.”
Keating says he thinks the funding is a great question for voters. “We’re talking about a multi-use facility that is a generational game changer that could allow for activities well beyond a long season single-A baseball season at the fairgrounds, that could be used if there’s an emergency disaster, whether it’s a cooling center or an emergency respite center.”
On Feb. 21 the Eugene City Council voted 7-1 to tentatively refer a 20-year $15 million bond measure that would go toward funding the stadium to voters in May. Councilor Jennifer Yeh was the lone “no” vote. A virtual joint public hearing is scheduled for noon March 13 for what is officially known as the Lane County Multi-Use Stadium.
Friends and supporters at a February event kicking off Keating’s campaign at Mazzi’s voiced their endorsements. Those in attendance included state Sen. James Manning, Mayor Lucy Vinis and Yeh.
“I’ve been really fortunate to work with Matt during his first term, and to get to know him as both a councilor and as a person — a person that has really strong values of empathy, transparency, equity and especially family,” Yeh said at the event.
Keating is running opposed by Lisa Warnes in the May primary where nonpartisan candidates who get more than 50 percent of the vote go on the November ballot unopposed. He says, “I have a track record on City Council, and I have a track record of getting stuff done. And that track record is collaborative in nature and is communicative, and it recognizes that not only is politics not a spectator sport, but it’s a team effort.”
According to OreStar, Keating has raised $13,174.11 since filing. Manning, Vinis and the Democratic Party of Oregon 353 have donated to his campaign.
In addition to currently representing Ward 2, Keating has been a member of the Lane Community College Board of Education since 2013, has represented Oregon Democrats as a National Committeeman to the Democratic National Committee since 2017, and locally serves House District 8 Democrats as a precinct committee person.