Nice article, Steve McQuiddy! I’ve always been a Northwest boy and acclimated to Eugene about a decade and a half before he did. The way he described Eugene, and the legacy of Tom McCall’s vision for Oregon are so much a part of my life, having served as a public servant and torchbearer for nearly five decades now.

Unfortunately, there are few elected officials today who encompass the leadership traits that stood out in those who had an idealistic view of what we could become.

While I had to relocate out of the Eugene area during the Great Recession, I knew most of Eugene’s City Council members, as well as members of Lane County’s Board of Commissioners, going back to the mid-’60s. Also, I was former Commissioner Jerry Rust’s assistant for approximately five years, shortly after running Barbara Roberts’ 1990 gubernatorial campaign as her field coordinator for Lane/Douglas/Coos counties.

Let it be known that Rust was the greatest visionary and innovative person that ever served in a political and policy-making position in Oregon, during my lifetime. I’d say Portland’s Vera Katz comes in as a close second.

And if you are interested in hearing more stories that include how Eugene’s city leaders and planners earned the reputation for being so inept, when it came to their visions or the problems that continue to plague the community, I’d be happy to provide my own thoughts on how they miss so many opportunities.

Again, I appreciate the impressions of what drew us to Oregon in the first place.

David Wilde
Portland

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