We prefer to think the sky isn’t falling, but with the ongoing attacks on democracy, we find ourselves more than a little worried about the good things in the world coming crashing down. Does that sound like a warning from anti-Trump lefties? Damn straight.
You don’t need to be a progressive to be horrified at the administration’s behavior. Attacks on immigrants, queer and trans folks, a freaking public execution?
All politics is local, so it’s time for you to do your civic duty and vote — and vote now! Read your ballot, study who and what is on it (and read these endorsements) and get yourself to a ballot box.
Federal
U.S. Senator
Jeff Merkley, Democrat, Working Families v. David Brock Smith, Republican; Gary Lyndon Dye, Libertarian; Chris Henry, Progressive, Pacific Green
Some of the best leaders are the ones who would prefer to be in the background, but when Sen. Jeff Merkley gets fired up, he is powerful. We’re glad he’s in office fighting Donald Trump on everything from rigged elections to immigration, let’s keep him around.
Congress House District 4
Rep. Val Hoyle, Democrat, Working Families v. Monique DeSpain, Republican, Libertarian; Justin Filip, Pacific Green, Progressive
The 4th Congressional District — which includes communities from Roseburg to Corvallis, from Coos Bay to Eugene and from Brookings to Oakridge — is an odd duck, with its mix of more liberal cities and often conservative rural voters. Hopefully, on some level, the one place we all might agree on is the need for democracy — even if it’s not clear Donald Trump concurs. “I wake up every day terrified about what this administration will do to ensure that we don’t have elections,” Rep. Val Hoyle tells Eugene Weekly, “and I think it’s one of the greatest acts of treason in the history of our country for this administration… to undermine the integrity and faith in our electoral system.”
There are show horses, Hoyle says, and there are workhorses, “and I tend to be the workhorse. I put my head down. I get the job done.” As democracy teeters, it needs the workhorses, and we think Hoyle is someone who can get the job done.
State
Governor
Tina Kotek, Democrat v. Brett Smith, Pacific Green; Christine Drazan, Republican, Libertarian
“I love this state.” That’s one of the first things Gov. Tina Kotek said in her endorsement interview. That feeling for Oregon came across in her recent debates with state Sen. Christine Drazan, who seemed more concerned with hating Kotek than she was with caring about Oregon. At stake in this race are abortion rights, data centers, artificial intelligence, climate change, immigration — Oregon’s future. We love Oregon, too, so Tina Kotek it is.
State Senator
4th District
Floyd Prozanski, Democrat, Republican, unopposed
6th District
Sierrah Williams, Democrat, Working Families v. Jack Tibbetts, Republican; Caleb Ticer, Libertarian
The 6th district spans Marion County, large parts of Linn County, large portions of rural Lane County and Eugene. In 2026, its registered voters included about 39,000 Republicans, 40,000 non-affiliated voters and 25,000 Democrats per the Oregon Secretary of State’s office. Harrison “Jack” Tibbetts, a California transplant, has raised more than $100,000 and poured it into his campaign. Sierrah Williams has raised about $6,000 and Caleb Ticer has raised $0. However, when Eugene Weekly reached out for interviews, Williams and Ticer were happy to speak. Tibbetts? Crickets. To effectively lead, you need to talk to folks you might not agree with. Williams is new to politics, but not to the needs of rural Oregon voters or to having a conversation. So she gets our nod in this race.
7th District
James I. Manning Jr., Democrat, Independent, Working Families v. Jack (Jake) D. Huff, Republican
State Sen. James Manning continues to impress us. He has held his Senate seat since he was first appointed in 2016, and his track record includes being a veteran, a founder of the Oregon Black Education Foundation, and a consistent vote for Oregon’s environment, to name only a few things. He tells Eugene Weekly that we need to ban Flock cameras, establish universal health care, get rid of ICE and in terms of the national stage, we have unqualified people at the top who are currently demonstrating the old adage that “wars are easy to start and hard to end.” And as he puts it, “Oregon values; Oregon ways. I work for you.”
State Representative
House District 7
Kori Rodley, Democrat, Working Families v. Adam Wilson, Republican, Libertarian
Kori Rodley is in her second term as a Springfield city councilor and is a mother and disability rights advocate. Her priorities are health care, education, infrastructure and housing — all key Springfield issues, as well as national ones. She’s shown she cares about Springfield, understands it and will fight for her community in the state Legislature.
House District 8
Lisa Fragala, Democrat v. Bill Vivian, Republican
House District 12
Darin Harbick, Republican v. Amber Smith, Democrat
No endorsement. The very best we can say right now is that Darin Harbick is… barely OK for an anti-choice, anti-environment, pro-policing Republican? Meanwhile, Amber Smith is a ghost candidate — she has not answered calls, responded to emails or been home when we’ve knocked on her door. Despite this, she garnered more than 4,000 votes in the primary to Harbick’s almost 8,000. So she got 4,000 votes with just her name on the ballot. Democrats, please don’t vote for someone you know nothing about. He’s not running but go ahead and write Charlie Conrad in again — he supported trans care and abortion rights when he held the seat, before leaving the Republican Party. That’s way better than barely OK and nonexistent.
House District 13
Nancy Nathanson, Democrat v. Jonathan T. Abrahamsen, Republican
House District 14
Julie Fahey, Democrat v. Kevin T. Burton, Republican
Nonpartisan Offices
A nonpartisan office is one in which the candidate is not listed on the ballot as a political party member. The candidate, however, usually is a member of and endorsed by a political party.
In these races, if one of the candidates earned more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, then theirs is the only name on the ballot for that race.
Lane County
Commissioner, West Lane County, Position 1
Ryan Ceniga
Commissioner, Springfield, Position 2
Sean VanGordon
We are not always going to agree with Sean VanGordon’s votes, we suspect, but who knows? And we appreciate his thoughtful, measured approach to governance and his dedication to the well-being of Springfield and its community. So, as the only name on the ballot, he’s already won, but we’re endorsing him again.
Commissioner, East Lane County, Position 5
Heather Buch v. Jake Pelroy
When it comes to Heather Buch versus Jake Pelroy, Buch said it best when we asked her why she was running again — she’s “not willing to concede the role to somebody that I felt couldn’t represent me well, and obviously not the rest of the community well.” Pelroy declined both an endorsement interview and to be interviewed for a story, which leads us to ask: What would he do if a constituent who disagreed with him wanted to have a conversation? Tell them, “No”? In this divided age, conversations are key. Buch is steadfast on housing, health care (including mental health), the environment and on having the backs of our immigrant and refugee communities. And she’s willing to talk to folks who might disagree.
Assessor
Mary Vuksich-Shafer
Eugene
City Council Ward 3
Jennifer Smith
City Council Ward 4
Jennifer Yeh
City Council Ward 5
Athena Aguiar v. Mike Clark
This is a hard one — it would be easy to paint incumbent Mike Clark as a typical right-wing conservative, but he’s not the Trump Republican type. He’s thoughtful, even when we disagree with what he’s thinking. On the other hand, Athena Aguiar brings to the Eugene City Council a background that’s currently missing. Her lived experience, from housing instability to getting around on bikes and mass transit, and her fierce positions on inclusivity, affordability and public safety programs that prioritize mental health and the environment, will bring fresh ideas to the council. Our advice to whoever wins — reach out to your opponent after the election and get their point of view, so Ward 5 benefits from two thoughtful people with divergent views.
City Council Ward 6
Greg Evans
EWEB Wards 4 & 5
John Brown
EWEB At Large
Alexi Miller
Springfield
City Council Ward 4
Callee Ackland v. Jill Cuadros
Callee Ackland is a Navy veteran and progressive candidate with firm stances on Flock cameras (no), the Springfield library (fund it) and housing (make it affordable). She is a renter and a tenant hotline support specialist at the Springfield Eugene Tenant Association, and she also serves on the Springfield Planning Commission.
Measures
Licensure of Large Retailers to Finance a Clean Energy Fund Yes
Should voters impose a licensing requirement and 2 percent fee on large retailers to finance a clean energy fund? The retailers in question would be ones with gross profits exceeding a million dollars nationally and $500,000 in Eugene — excluding contractors, utilities, cooperatives and credit unions.
As the Trump administration makes it glaringly obvious that it does not care about the ravages of climate change, even as it becomes more and more obvious and tragically impacts more and more lives, we have to care about it at the local level. Arguments from opponents that the fund wouldn’t pay for policing, housing and fixing roadways are both overly simplistic and miss the mark. The Portland fund that this measure is based on shows what can be done — it’s distributed more than 20,000 free portable air conditioning units for homes in need since 2022, planted 15,000 trees over five years in urban heat islands and built a community solar project reducing emissions and lowering energy bills for 150 low-income families in a predominantly Latino neighborhood, for a start.
Measure No: 20-387: Oakridge, five-year local option levy to fund ambulance service Yes
The levy would allow Oakridge to continue 24/7 ambulance transport and EMS services by the Oakridge Fire & EMS Department. Oregon law does not require cities to provide ambulance service. If ambulances are sent from Eugene/Springfield, it takes 45 minutes to get to Oakridge, minimum. Minutes can be the difference between life and death.