In 2022, novice politician David Loveall, his campaign funded by logging and lumber-mill businessmen, pulled off a remarkable upset. He narrowly ousted Joe Berney, the incumbent in the Springfield seat on the Lane County Board of Commissioners.

This spring, the combative, conservative, Bible-quoting Loveall faces a new test as he runs for re-election. He’s being challenged by Springfield Mayor Sean VanGordon, a pleasant-mannered pro-jobs political moderate and 15-year member of the City Council.

The outcome may turn on money: How much each raises for ads and other marketing heading into the May 19 election.

Affluent business owners are major funders of many Oregon election campaigns. Loveall is the favorite of Lane County’s wealthy right-wing business elite, his campaign filings with the state elections division show.

Organized labor, another source of much Oregon campaign money, seems to be rallying to VanGordon, as it did to Berney. VanGordon has received two donations from unions. Plus, he’s shown he can pull in some business dollars.

Lane County commissioner races are expensive. A candidate usually needs $200,000-plus for an effective campaign.

Loveall is way ahead in money-raising. He’s pulled in more than $84,000 this year and last. VanGordon, who entered the race in November, has raised $43,790.

Here’s a rundown of major donors so far, as reported by the campaigns to the state Elections Division:

David Loveall

Sean VanGordon

Loveall did not reply to Eugene Weekly emails and phone messages.

VanGordon replied to EW fundraising questions via email.

“We’ll raise what we need to communicate across the district and compete effectively,” he says. “What’s been most encouraging to me isn’t just the total, it’s the number of small donations coming in from people who’ve had real conversations with us.”

He adds, “More than 90 percent of our donors are regular people, which says a lot about where this campaign is rooted.”

Arguing for business support, VanGordon says that he can offer businesses “predictability and professionalism from their county government.” He adds, “If labor supports this campaign, it will be because they trust that I’ll lead fairly.”

VanGordon says that he changed his voter registration from Republican to non-affiliated in 2016, shortly before Donald Trump took office.

“At the time, I saw a shift happening: People were beginning to approach members of the [Springfield] City Council based on their party label rather than the work we were elected to do for them. It didn’t feel right to me because it felt like the implication was that I would put party interests over public interests,” he says.

“My responsibility has always been to serve the public’s interests, focus on the voters and ensure that people can build a life in Springfield regardless of their political affiliation,” he says.

Loveall has been in the news a lot lately, mostly for allegations of offensive behavior towards county employees, including the county administrator. Employees have complained that Loveall violated county personnel conduct rules. Loveall says those rules don’t apply to commissioners. The five-member board has voted 3-2 to urge Loveall to apologize to employees, and voted 3-1 to censure him for his behavior. Loveall has said the board’s actions are “illegal” and unfair.

Last year, he split from the four other county commissioners and opposed the county’s plan to build a behavioral-health campus in Springfield’s Gateway area.

Are such issues top of mind with Springfield voters?

Chandler James, an associate professor of political science at the University of Oregon, says the high cost of living, including housing, is one of local voters’ top worries. “Things have gotten really expensive, and this has an enormous impact on how regular families live their lives. The same dollar buys much less now,” he says. Tariffs imposed by Trump are one factor in that, he says.

Springfield voters can expect waves of campaign materials from Loveall and VanGordon.

James says campaign cash isn’t always decisive in local elections. “Door-to-door canvassing [by a candidate] can be a very valuable way to mobilize supporters,” he says.

The Loveall v. Berney contest in 2022 showed the stark difference between the candidates’ donor bases.

Loveall raised $209,000, much of it from a handful of donors, most based outside Springfield. His single biggest donor, the Eugene-based political action committee Community Action Network, gave him $64,299. The PAC is funded by Lane County-area owners of timberland, logging companies and wood-products mills, construction companies and more. The PAC’s funders include Eugene developer Brian Obie, winery owner King, Springfield-based Roseburg Forest Products and Eugene-based plywood maker Murphy Co. The PAC gives exclusively to right-wing causes and candidates. Loveall’s second-biggest backer was the Salem-based Oregon Realtors political action committee, which gave $45,413.

Berney’s 2022 campaign relied heavily on labor unions, many not based in Lane County. All told, Berney raised $190,000. Labor unions provided $99,000 of that. These included AFSCME affiliates from around the state, and unions representing carpenters, plumbers, electricians, food and commercial workers and Lane County government employees. 

In the end, Loveall beat Berney by 98 votes, 7,424 to 7,326.

So far in the current race, Community Action Network and the Oregon Realtors PAC haven’t sent any money to Loveall.

Read more about some of the top donors here.