In the Sunday, April 19 Community Voices Weekly newsletter, we asked readers to submit questions they would have liked to hear us ask candidates for the Eugene City Council and the Lane County Board of Commissioners at the recent Lookout Eugene-Springfield election forums.

We received quite a few responses, and have compiled some of them below:

To the Eugene City Council candidates (particularly Ward 3): What are concrete actions you will take to ensure that meeting our housing needs through infill is not at the expense of residents’ privacy and solar access, is compatible with existing architecture and neighborhood character, and adds entry-level ownership opportunity housing, not more Airbnb and student rentals?

Kari Parsons
Eugene

To Lane County commissioner candidates: Moving forward, what would you recommend we do about our waste management challenges, and what specific actions would you like to take to address them?

Wendy Cook
Eugene

To all candidates: The federal government, in a show of pique, wants to fence off our Federal Building between Sixth and Seventh avenues, making it less accessible to “we the people” (who own it), and an eyesore in our town. I hear Multnomah County had one solution. What will you do to stop this absurd overreach?

Teresa Mueller
Eugene

To all candidates: What specific actions will you take to build true affordable housing in Eugene and Lane County?

Kipp Preble
Eugene

To Lane County commissioner candidates: What are your plans as a county commissioner to improve law enforcement in rural Lane County, where the sheriff’s department is the only available law enforcement? Three deputies to cover the entire county is inadequate. 

Lynn Fogus
Veneta area

Lane County commissioners: Why did you support the expenditure of several million dollars for the CleanLane project, including the amount spent on the purchase of land in Goshen, when it was obvious that the project would require major zoning changes?

Richard A. Roseta
Eugene

To all candidates: How do you see a functional democracy playing out locally, especially as it relates to the position you are seeking?

Lisa Livelybrooks
Crow

To all candidates: As elections creep closer, we voters need to reflect on what is the purpose of government. Should the government’s function be to primarily facilitate and assist businesses, special interests, our wealthier citizens and pet projects? Or should government’s function be to protect us, to educate us, and assist those who need assistance while making our communities more livable for all of us?

Hal Huestis
Eugene

To Lane County Commissioners David Loveall and Ryan Ceniga: Why are we paying dues to a nongovernmental agency that pushes to destroy our temperate rainforest? Why are we giving this group our county “voice” to help the Bureau of Lane Management do the same?  Why are we supporting, with my money, a group that is not even transparent with their plans and actions?

Sue Craig
Eugene