I was disgusted to learn of the waste of $250,000 in taxpayer money incurred by Lane County “leaders,” namely commissioners David Loveall and Pat Farr, in settling a 2024 lawsuit alleging misogynistic behavior toward a female county counsel. However, the news report fell far short of describing the full cost. A public records request revealed that the county spent an additional $149,000 paying outside attorneys’ fees in investigating the lawsuit and crafting the settlement.

Note also that the same county “leaders” Farr and Loveall, with fellow commissioner Ryan Ceniga’s aid, then — apparently finding nothing problematic with misogyny and the waste of county staff time and taxpayer money — elected commissioner Loveall CHAIR of the Board of County Commissioners for 2025.

Clearly the settled claim represents only the tip of a toxic iceberg of rude, unprofessional behaviors by these county elected officials. It is sad to imagine how toxic the workplace has become for female staff at Lane County due to the misogyny of some of our elected leaders. And the direct cost to taxpayers is clearly much more than what has been previously reported. The public has a right to know.

Dawn Lesley
Eugene