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Today, the Lookout Eugene-Springfield Editorial Board is announcing its candidate endorsements for the four Eugene City Council seats up for election in the May 19 primary.
The editorial board spent the past several weeks meeting with every candidate for local elected office in a contested race.
Yesterday, the editorial board released its endorsements for three Lane County commissioner positions and a contested race for Lane County Circuit Court judge. Tomorrow we’ll announce our positions on the Lane County Watersheds Bill of Rights ballot measure and the Eugene Public Library levy. And on Wednesday, we’ll publish our endorsements for some of the smaller ballot measures across the county.
All of Lookout’s election coverage is in one place and free for all readers, not just subscribers, to learn about the candidates and issues on the ballot.
Ward 3: John Barofsky
Ward 3 voters are in a win-win situation. The two candidates vying to replace councilor Alan Zelenka, who’s retiring from the council after five terms, are sharply focused on issues, passionate about their neighborhoods and have demonstrated themselves to be community leaders.
While John Barofsky and Jennifer Smith would each bring unique traits to the City Council, we ultimately feel Barofsky’s business leadership is tailor-made to the challenges facing the city right now, which is why we endorse him for the Ward 3 seat.
No candidate would join the board with less of a learning curve than Barofsky in dealing with the city’s $2 million structural deficit — a gap projected to grow to $10 million in less than a decade if unaddressed.
His time on the city’s planning commission, the budget committee, his tenure as a Eugene Water & Electric Board member, his advocacy for affordable housing and transportation funding — and throw in his knowledge of budget management as an owner of Beppe & Gianni’s Trattoria — and you have a resume well-suited to guiding a city in distress.
Smith boasts unique qualifications, as well. A union president and project coordinator at the University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center, she’s deeply analytical and skilled at solving complex problems. Her passion for workers’ rights, environmental protections and alternative transportation would make her a strong progressive voice on council — an attribute she touts on the campaign.
Were she a resident of a different ward, or running in a better economic climate, we may very well endorse her. It’s that close.
But we expect councilors to confront some difficult and potentially unpopular votes in the coming years, with the economy slowing and personnel costs continuing to rise. To say that government should be run like a business is a serious oversimplification. At the same time, local government (unlike the federal government) must run a balanced budget.
Barofsky would join the council with his institutional knowledge of the city’s budget, and his own experience running successful businesses through strong and weak economies. Despite both candidates being highly qualified, we consider Barofsky’s experience too valuable to pass up, which is why we consider him the better choice for Ward 3.
Ward 4: Jennifer Yeh
Jennifer Yeh has brought consistency and dependability to her nearly decade-long tenure on the Eugene City Council. Faced with a challenger in Tom Stedman, who hasn’t fundraised or launched a website, we view four more years for Yeh as the best course for Ward 4 voters.
Yeh has seen a lot and been a part of some contentious policy discussions since being appointed to the council in 2017. She has since been elected twice, and wants a third full term to help the city navigate its tumultuous budget outlook and get new city manager Jenny Haruyama up to speed.
Tight budgets and new leadership will make Yeh’s experience a serious asset to the council. She’s clear-eyed about the need for councilors to make uncomfortable decisions.
We appreciate Stedman entering the race and giving Yeh a challenge. Uncontested races can breed complacency, and all candidates benefit from a challenger scrutinizing their record.
Stedman is aware of the challenges facing the budget and wants to shield city staff from cuts, but hasn’t offered much detail on how he would do that. And he’s offered some sharp criticisms of Haruyama’s tenure as city manager of Beaverton.
Ultimately, we feel Yeh is the better-qualified candidate to manage the city’s challenges and work collaboratively with Haruyama and city staff during the next four years, which is why we endorse her in the race.
Ward 5: Mike Clark
Under different circumstances, this could be the year to call for a new voice in Ward 5. Incumbent Mike Clark has represented the ward since 2006. In five terms, he’s been challenged just twice.
This election is different. Clark faces a pair of tough challengers in Jasmine Hatmaker and Athena Aguiar. On policy and personality, the contrasts couldn’t be clearer. Clark prides himself as a conservative contrarian on a liberal council. Hatmaker and Aguiar tout progressive credentials.
But it’s not political ideology that’s motivating our endorsement of Clark over his opponents. Our support is two-fold: First, in interviews and public forums, Clark has offered the most realistic assessment of the budget challenges facing the city, and appears most willing to make hard decisions.
Asked for their views on the city’s structural deficit, Hatmaker and Aguiar have argued that there’s nothing left in the budget to cut. They’ve lent their support for an intriguing but untested tax on vacant buildings to generate revenue. But continued budget challenges and a stagnant economy might force city leaders’ hands in the coming years, and Clark has offered the most detailed views of the three about the need to do things differently.
Second, given Ward 3 councilor Alan Zelenka’s departure, along with our other endorsements, we see Clark playing the important role of council veteran next year. As City Manager Jenny Haruyama gets her feet under her, Clark can offer valuable guidance about how things get done in Eugene government.
Clark’s council tenure certainly hasn’t come without controversy. He has shown a tendency to rub some people the wrong way. During the past 20 years, he’s been fined for failing to file financial disclosure forms. And his time on the council has included votes against environmental policies and homelessness initiatives that have turned him into a political albatross among progressive voters.
We get that. But we also value differences of opinion on council, and it’s undeniable that Clark brings a unique perspective, even if it can be divisive. Sometimes good decisions are uncomfortable ones.
We sincerely hope Hatmaker and Aguiar remain active in local politics and consider challenging Clark again in four years. Hatmaker won’t even be 40 years old by then. Aguiar will be less than 30 years old.
That’s plenty of time for them to get better acquainted with the nuances of managing a city budget. By the time Clark faces his next election in 2030, it may then be time to pass the baton.
Ward 6: Tai Pruce-Zimmerman
Residents of Ward 6 have the luxury of two highly-qualified candidates for City Council in incumbent Greg Evans and challenger Tai Pruce-Zimmerman.
Although both are capable and deeply dedicated to their ward, we see this as Pruce-Zimmerman’s time to leap from neighborhood activist to elected office, and we endorse him for the seat.
It’s not an easy call to make. Nothing about Evans’ record caused us to endorse his opponent. He’s worked for 12 years to improve the visibility of the Bethel area he represents, an area where needs are major and too often overlooked by leaders in other parts of the city. Evans has been a consistent voice for economic development in the area, and played an important role in the city’s 2018 urban growth boundary expansion that brought the Clear Lake industrial area inside Eugene city limits.
We feel Pruce-Zimmerman will continue that work, and see this election as a passing of the torch, not a change in direction. Neither candidate expressed many policy differences while campaigning. The two have known each other for decades and are friendly. Pruce-Zimmerman announced and then suspended his campaign for the Ward 6 seat after Evans said he would retire from council due to health reasons, only to change course. But Pruce-Zimmerman said he was persuaded by supporters to let voters decide.
We’re glad he did. And we expect he would bring the same burst of energy and enthusiasm to the City Council that he showed for his neighborhood when he helped reactivate Bethel’s defunct neighborhood association a decade ago.
Between his grassroots political advocacy and seven years grappling with financial details as a Eugene Budget Committee member, Pruce-Zimmerman has done the right things to elevate himself to this position. He speaks from experience about the affordability challenges facing young families, and we feel he brings the right mix of idealism and pragmatism to guide the council toward the best decisions.
Both candidates bring unique perspectives and track records as champions for their communities. But Pruce-Zimmerman deserves a chance to bring a new voice to Eugene City Council.
