Lane County taxpayers are paying for dysfunction, and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise.

Commissioner David Loveall has been tied to multiple ethics-related matters. Now a brand new investigation from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission is being conducted related to his State of the County address in January.

That’s not politics. That’s a pattern.

According to public reporting, Lane County has already spent more than $180,000 dealing with investigations, legal fees and outside consultants tied to this situation — and the total is still growing. That includes paying outside firms for “professional coaching services” and attorneys billing hundreds of dollars an hour to teach Commissioner Loveall how to do his job.

Let that sink in.

That’s taxpayer money not going to roads, housing or public safety. That’s staff time pulled away from real work to manage internal conflict. We don’t get that time back. We don’t get that money back.

One candidate for Springfield’s seat on the Lane County Board of Commissioners brings a pattern of ethics issues and conflict. The other brings results and stability. That choice couldn’t be clearer. We simply can not afford Commissioner Loveall. Vote for Sean VanGordon!

Jessica McGregor
Springfield