We've got issues.
With the city’s most recent proposal for a new Downtown Urban Renewal District (DTURD) Plan Amendment, councilors are on the verge of destroying any lingering hope that they serve the public rather than the economic elite. That hope will be replaced with profound distrust if they resurrect the DTURD after vowing to end it. Continue reading
OK, you won’t read this until after the Oregon primary results are in, and I’m submitting these notes on the Monday before the election. As I’ve mentioned before, turnout in Oregon’s primary will be another opportunity to read the tea leaves in this sci-fi political year as we move toward November. Continue reading
INNOVATION HUB I am writing in support of the amazing opportunity for growth, sustainability, shared art and contribution in downtown Eugene: a proposal for the redevelopment of the old LCC downtown center into an Innovation Hub, to be funded through an extension of Urban Renewal. This decision currently stands at the feet of our Eugene City Council. Continue reading
• Bernie fans whooped it up when Sanders won the primary in Oregon May 17. Also whooping it up, albeit more quietly, was Eugene mayoral candidate Lucy Vinis, who unofficially as of press time scored 52.82 percent of the vote, beating candidate Mike Clark and holding more than the 50-plus-one-percent of the vote needed to not face a challenger in the fall. Continue reading
CHECK THE FACTS Continue reading
I see all 19 loyal readers of this senile soliloquy heeded my request last column to quickly register to vote in the May 17 Oregon primary. In fact, between new motor voters and locals who switched parties to vote in closed primaries, the R-G reported that 12,000 Lane County residents received two ballots in the mail! Continue reading
VAL’S VALUES I am proudly casting my vote for Val Hoyle, a pragmatic progressive running for Oregon secretary of state. Under Val’s leadership as Oregon’s house majority leader, we got expanded sick leave coverage, we closed a giant loophole that used to allow people to purchase guns without having a background check and we passed a clean fuels bill. She led all this while successfully representing a rural, blue-collar district. Continue reading
• The primary election is Tuesday, May 17, if you haven’t handed in your ballot yet, do it now! Vote! Don’t feel you know the candidates? Take a minute to glance at your Voters Pamphlet and EW’s endorsements and coverage. In our local primary election just one vote really can make the difference between who gets elected mayor, put on the City Council or is the next president. The Democratic Party of Lane County will be holding an official election night watch party at the Wild Duck Cafe starting at 7:30 pm with many candidates attending. Continue reading
The big surprise revealed about the new Eugene City Hall at the Wednesday, April 27, City Council work session was not that the cost had climbed from the original $15 million to $25 million. The surprise was that the council voted not to pause and become more knowledgeable and accountable for the situation. Councilor George Brown’s motion to hold “at least one more session” on the project’s budget, costs and financing went wanting when it failed to pass, garnering just three votes. Continue reading
JOIN THE REVOLUTION Today I went to my first political rally. “A Future to Believe In,” the signs read. The hour and a half in line followed by the event had me believing those words, because I got to hear Bernie Sanders and his New York accent preaching his gospel from less than 100 feet away. Continue reading