Posted 2025-04-01
After a contentious two-hour discussion during an unannounced meeting on Wednesday, the Lane County Board of County Commissioners voted 3-2 to rename the Willamette Valley the “Knight Valley.”
The name would honor multibillionaire Phil Knight, the richest man in Oregon.
“Donald Trump has been president for two months now, and it’s time Oregon got in step with the MAGA mandate,” Commission Chair David Loveall said as he introduced an emergency ordinance instituting the name change.
“We’re putting millions of dollars in federal aid at risk if we don’t do something right away,” Loveall said. “The name ‘Willamette’ is just a Frenchified version of some old Indian village name. Well, the Indians lost, and we don’t like the French. I say we honor a real American hero like Knight, not a bunch of losers.”
He added the name change also applies to the Willamette River and will take place immediately. “I just want to get it done. I don’t want to kick it down the road.”
The ordinance applies only to portions of the Willamette Valley and the river that lie within Lane County.
Commissioners Laurie Trieger and Heather Buch voted against changing the name, citing the expense of updating county websites and reprinting stationery, and possible confusion if portions of the 150-mile-long valley have different names. In addition, they said Willamalane Park and Recreation District in Springfield would have to be renamed “Knightalane.”
“Tourists coming here have a hard enough time pronouncing ‘Willamette,’” Buch said. “We don’t want to make traveling here any more difficult for people coming to events like the Olympic Trials.”
As the meeting wound down, Buch introduced a separate resolution calling for the Lane County Board of County Commissioners to be renamed simply the Lane County Commission. “It’s the most redundant name in all politics,” she said. “Think of the money we could save by not having to print such a long title on all the county forms.”
The three conservative members of the board rejected Buch’s measure, finding that the simplified title was somehow connected to diversity, equity and inclusivity. “Wokeism has put us all in danger,” Commissioner Ryan Ceniga said. “We should be free to enjoy as many words as we like in our official titles. And we don’t want to do anything to get on the wrong side of President Trump.”