As a resident of Goshen, I know firsthand what it feels like to have an elected official turn their back on our community — and what it looks like when a leader steps up to fight for us.

Goshen sits within the county Board of Commissioners’ East Lane district, but for years Commissioner Heather Buch has ignored our residents’ concerns. Nowhere was this clearer than with the proposed CleanLane garbage facility.

Buch authorized placing a massive waste processing facility essentially in our backyard — on a site that consists of wetlands, floods every year and was not zoned correctly for the project.

When Lane County bypassed its own rules to authorize its own permit, our neighborhood had to band together to fight back. Fortunately, Lane County’s own hearings officer (and the state of Oregon) ultimately agreed with us and stopped the project for now. 

Throughout this entire fight, Buch turned her back on Goshen, and in fact she is still pushing the project. Her challenger, Jake Pelroy, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our community, listening to our concerns and supporting our efforts to protect our neighborhood and land.

My grandfather, Cecil Saxon, was deeply involved in this community, and used to work with former commissioner Faye Stewart, who set the standard for what true representation looks like in the East Lane district. I hope that Jake Pelroy can be as great of a commissioner as Faye Stewart was.

We deserve a leader who actually represents east Lane County, protects our rural communities and listens to the people who live here. That’s why I’m supporting Jake Pelroy.

Cameron Saxon
Goshen