A last-minute flood of money from wood-products and other big-business interests has given Jacob Pelroy the distinction of running by far the most expensive campaign ever for a seat on the Lane County Board of Commissioners.

Pelroy, seeking to oust incumbent Heather Buch from the East Lane District 5 seat, has raised $295,500, the latest filings with the Oregon Elections Division show. He will likely take in more by Election Day, May 19.

Nearly a quarter of Pelroy’s receipts — $66,000 — has come from a single Eugene-based political action committee representing Lane County lumber and plywood mills and gravel mining companies.

The Pelroy campaign’s haul easily tops what appears to be the previous record spent by a Lane commissioner candidate: $253,000 spent by Gary Williams to try to hold onto that same East Lane seat in 2018. Williams, at the time the incumbent, lost to Buch, who has held the seat ever since. Many of the same wood-products businesses that funded Williams’ failed campaign are now donating to Pelroy.

Over the past decade, candidates for Lane County commissioner have typically spent $100,000 to $200,000 on a campaign. 

Pelroy’s fundraising has left Buch in the financial dust. To date, her campaign has pulled in $220,000, state records show.

Aside from the recent $66,000 infusion from the Community Action Network PAC, Pelroy’s campaign also recently received $10,000 from the Oregon Realtors Association, $1,000 from Springfield-based hotel owner and real estate investor Richard Boyles, and $1,000 from the Oregon Homebuilders Association.

Until the 2018 Williams campaign, the costliest run for a Lane County commissioner job was Rob Handy’s 2008 effort to unseat incumbent Bobby Green from the West Lane. Handy outraised Green, taking in $251,000, and also beat Green at the ballot box.

Full disclosure: This election cycle, Christian Wihtol has contributed $500 to the campaign of Sean VanGordon and $600 to the campaign of Heather Buch.