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QuickTake:
Three incumbents are running for reelection to the Eugene School Board, but only two face opponents. Those two incumbents, and their challengers, will appear Friday at a City Club of Eugene forum.
Three incumbents are running for reelection to the seven-member Eugene School Board, but only two face opponents — and those two will face off against their challengers Friday at a City Club of Eugene forum.
Here’s more information about the candidates running for the Eugene board and the noon Friday forum. Stories later this week in Lookout Eugene-Springfield will feature candidates for the Bethel and Springfield school boards as well as the Lane Community College Board of Education.
The deadline to register to vote in the May 20 election is April 29. Click here for more information about how to register to vote in Oregon.
Position 2
Incumbent Ericka Thessen, 51, seeks election to a full four-year term on the Eugene School Board. She was appointed to the board in October 2023 after serving on the district’s budget committee from 2021 to 2023. The mother of two former and one current student in the Eugene School District, she has served on the site councils for McCornack Elementary, Kennedy Middle and Churchill High School. Thessen is a physical therapist at PeaceHealth RiverBend Hospital.
Danny McDiarmid, 44, is challenging Thessen. McDiarmid is a child support case manager for the Oregon Department of Justice and has spent more than two decades in legal services, family policy and public administration. He previously served on the Awbrey Park Elementary Site Council.
A third candidate for Position 2, Alan Madden, did not respond to numerous attempts by Lookout Eugene-Springfield to contact him and has declined to participate in the Friday forum.
Position 3
Judy Newman, 75, seeks her third four-year term on the board. She has 45 years of experience in education, with a focus on early learning and special education. She co-founded Early Childhood CARES, a public education program for children with special needs and their families, and co-directed it for 30 years. She has been on the faculty of the University of Oregon’s College of Education and helped establish the Early Childhood Hub of Lane County.
Her opponent is Donald Easton, 52, a faculty member at Lane Community College since 2014, leading the Business, Technology and Trades Division. A military veteran, Easton is a former CTE teacher and a licensed guest teacher in the Eugene School District as well as a teacher at Sheldon High School. He previously served on the Yujin Gakuen PTO and site council.
Position 6
Incumbent Maya Rabasa, 50, is running unopposed for her second four-year term. She is a former educator with two decades of teaching experience and a volunteer in the Eugene School District.
Friday forum
Candidates in the two contested races for the Eugene board will appear at a City Club of Eugene forum, noon, Friday, April 18.
Position 2 candidates Thessen and McDiarmid will appear along with Position 3 candidates Newman and Easton. Position 2 candidate Madden has declined to participate.
The forum will be held at WOW Hall, 291 W. Eighth Ave. in Eugene. KLCC’s Rebecca Hansen-White will moderate.Â
The program will be livestreamed and available on the City Club of Eugene’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. A rebroadcast is scheduled for 7 p.m., Monday, April 21, on KLCC, 89.7 FM.
