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Starting today and running through Saturday, the Lookout Eugene-Springfield Editorial Board is announcing its candidate and ballot measure endorsements for the Nov. 3 general election.
The editorial board has spent the past several weeks asking candidates for their views on local issues, speaking with supporters and opponents of ballot measures and fact-checking various claims.
Today we’re announcing our endorsements in Oregon legislative races for the House and Senate districts that cover parts of Lane County. On Thursday, we’ll make our endorsements for Congress, U.S. Senate and Oregon governor. Friday we’ll announce our endorsements for the Eugene and Springfield city council races and Lane County commissioner races. We’ll wrap up Saturday with our local ballot measure endorsements.
Just as we did in the May primary, we’re making all of Lookout’s general election coverage free for all readers so they can learn about the candidates and issues on the November ballot.
Oregon Senate
District 6: Jack Tibbetts
Residents in Senate District 6 need a leader who gets their hands dirty. Jack Tibbetts’ background as a farmer, small business owner — and a city councilor in Santa Rosa, California — make him a worthy successor to Sen. Cedric Hayden, who is ineligible to serve another term.
His tenure on the Lane County Planning Commission would serve him well representing a largely rural district that includes Creswell, Cottage Grove, Oakridge, the McKenzie River valley, Junction City, Coburg and other parts of eastern Lane County, as well as much of Linn County and a small portion of Marion County.
Tibbetts’ opponent, Sweet Home Women dietician Sierrah Williams, wants to serve for all the right reasons. She’s expressed frustration and despair about the struggles of the families she works with through the Oregon Women, Infants, and Children program. We hope she’ll consider a run for a local elected position like city councilor or county commissioner.
Tibbets already has experience as an elected official. And farmers need all the representation in the state Legislature they can get, which is why we endorse Tibbetts for the seat.
District 7: James Manning
James Manning has worn a lot of hats in the Oregon Senate since being appointed to the position in 2016. He’s won reelection to the seat twice, risen to the No. 2 position in Senate leadership and chaired committees on veterans’ issues and emergency management. A military veteran, Manning seems to be everywhere in his district, which covers much of west and north Eugene, extending out to Veneta and up north to the edge of Junction City. He has served on numerous nonprofit boards and supported the Bethel School District in multiple volunteer committees.
We appreciate Manning’s energy and enthusiasm for public service, which is why we endorse him for another term over his opponent, Jack “Jake” D. Huff.
Huff also has a military background as a former member of the Utah Air National Guard. He wants to “Make Oregon Great Again,” which, according to his campaign website, includes echoing the Trump Administration’s bogus claims about “election integrity.” He wants to end the automatic voter registration system that has made Oregon one of the leaders in voter turnout nationwide.
That’s not a direction we want to see Oregon move in, so we enthusiastically endorse Manning for another term.
Oregon House of Representatives
District 7: Kori Rodley
The race for Oregon House District 7, which covers Springfield, may be one of the few state legislative contests in our region where both general election candidates have a real shot at winning. Springfield City Councilor Kori Rodley, a Democrat, is taking on Adam Wilson, a Republican and local financial adviser, to replace the retiring Rep. John Lively.
While both candidates would bring compelling backgrounds and policy positions to Salem, we think Rodley’s experience better suits her to hit the ground running and deliver for Springfield residents, which is why we endorse her for the House seat.
Rodley has been a breath of fresh air on the council. Her background in government and nonprofit management has been apparent, as she’s taken a thoughtful approach to city issues and shown a willingness to dive deep into the kinds of policy details that would serve her well debating legislation in Salem.
Wilson is running on a policy platform of ending wasteful spending and restoring accountability to state government which is noble, but they are overly vague and nonspecific talking points more than a platform. His views on housing affordability — cutting red tape while also pushing back on out-of-state investment firms buying single-family houses — deserve more discussion.
We urge Wilson to follow in Rodley’s footsteps and run for a position like Springfield City Council. But for the House District 7 race, we think Rodley is the better choice.
District 8: Lisa Fragala
The race for House District 8 is unlikely to be close.
Lisa Fragala, a Democrat, is seeking a second term representing the deep blue district, which covers most of downtown and south Eugene, as well as the University of Oregon.
Her opponent, Republican Bill Vivian, has raised $900 for his campaign.
But we aren’t endorsing Fragala solely because her reelection is practically assured. As a longtime Eugene resident and local educator, we’ve appreciated her focus on issues like healthcare and immigrant protections. She’s deeply knowledgeable about her district as a 30-year resident who has served on the Eugene Planning Commission and the Lane Community College Board of Education.
Much of Vivian’s campaign focus is on public safety issues, though he has also spoken about the need to provide more affordable housing and address cost-of-living concerns.
We feel Fragala’s policy focus is more aligned with the concerns of residents in her district, who want a strong progressive voice in Salem. We endorse Fragala and expect to see her continue growing on the job in a second term.
District 9: Claire Lynn
The race for House District 9 is a strange one. In the general election contest to replace the retiring Rep. Boomer Right, Claire Lynn, an Elmira-area resident and legislative director for the Oregon House Republican Office, is out-fundraising her opponent, North Bend school bus driver John Scheirman, by a roughly 300-to-1 margin.
While Scheirman has written online about supporting family-wage jobs and affordable healthcare, he doesn’t appear to have an organized campaign. He was also convicted of a misdemeanor for interfering with a law enforcement officer a decade ago, resulting in a $1,500 fine, according to Coos County Circuit Court records.
The ninth district, which spans the coastal region from Yachats to Coos Bay, includes Florence and extends inland nearly to Veneta. District residents need an advocate in Salem to address coastal economic issues, rural development, public safety and more.
Lynn is clearly the more capable candidate to step into the role and respond to west Lane County residents’ needs. It makes our endorsement call for her a relatively easy one to make.
District 12: Darin Harbick
Republican State Rep. Darin Harbick does have a general election challenger, but it’s a bit hard to tell.
Harbick’s opponent, Cottage Grove resident Amber Smith, doesn’t appear to have a campaign website or received any donations. Her candidate filing indicates she is a service coordinator who attended North Eugene High School.
Harbick is a McKenzie Bridge business owner who knows his district well. The district encompasses most of rural east Lane County, including communities along the McKenzie River and Highway 58.
In the 2024 Republican Party primary, Harbick unseated the previous district representative, Charlie Conrad, after Conrad supported a House Bill expanding abortion access and gender-affirming care.
The conservative backlash against Conrad in his district was fierce. While we would have endorsed that bill — and likely have opted for Conrad over Harbick, we view Harbick as the indisputably more capable candidate in the November election, which is why we endorse him over Smith.
District 13: Nancy Nathanson
State Rep. Nancy Nathanson could be described as a healthcare policy wonk. She’s gone deep in the weeds authoring legislation on issues like urgent care clinic staffing, insurance and prescription pricing transparency.
Some lawmakers go to Salem hoping to grab headlines and make names for themselves. Nathanson, a former Eugene city councilor who was first elected to the Oregon House 20 years ago, isn’t one of them.
We appreciate her willingness to put her head down and pay attention to the small but crucial details of lawmaking. It’s why we endorse her for another term representing her north Eugene district, which spans from the Santa Clara and River Road neighborhoods east to Interstate 5.
Nathanson’s opponent, Republican Jonathan Abrahamsen, does not appear to be actively campaigning for the seat, and has raised just $200, according to campaign finance records.
For these reasons, it’s an easy call for us to endorse Nathanson.
District 14: Julie Fahey
The ascension of Rep. Julie Fahey through the ranks of Oregon Democratic leadership has been impressive to watch. First elected to the state House of Representatives in 2016, she was elected state speaker of the House two years ago. Lane County benefits from her outsize influence dictating the House’s legislative agenda.
We also appreciate her ability to wrap her arms around a wide range of policy issues, from job creation bills like the Oregon CHIPS Act to statewide Paid Family Leave legislation.
But her leadership role is reason enough to endorse Fahey over her opponent, Kevin Burton. A Eugene Republican, Burton doesn’t seem to be running much of a campaign, with no official website or record of fundraising.
It makes for another easy endorsement call: give Fahey two more years.
