I’m not excited to vote for Sean VanGordon for Lane County Commissioner, but I will be voting for him nonetheless.

I wish there were other options, but of the three choices for the Springfield commissioner on the May ballot, I’m picking the one with the best qualifications and disposition to represent Springfield through these troubling times.

I fervently disagree with Mayor VanGordon on several issues (such as library funding), but I’ve always found him to be an attentive, patient and steady leader. I have a great deal of respect for his many years of unpaid service to our city — 10 years as a city councilor and five years as mayor — all while juggling a full-time job and a family.

There are very few people who’ve devoted so much of their time and energy to Springfield, and perhaps even fewer that already have such in-depth knowledge of the many issues, big and small, that the city faces.

His opponent, the hot-headed incumbent David Loveall, has cost us taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars for his various ethics investigations, gender discrimination settlement and ongoing lawsuit against his own colleagues at the county. The Lane County Board of Commissioners declared that his conduct “amounts to willful neglect of duty of a county commissioner.”

Loveall has had his chance to represent Springfield, and all he did was embarrass us. It’s time for someone new. Whether you vote for VanGordon or Monsoor, I hope you join me in voting Loveall out.

Callee Ackland
Springfield