QuickTake:

The filing period for Lane County residents to apply for city council and county commissioner seats in next year's election opened a month ago. But interest so far has been less than inspiring. Who in the community is willing to step up with new ideas and policies?

The 2026 Lane County election season is underway!

Are you excited?

Are you aware?

More than a month has passed since the filing period opened for seats on the Eugene and Springfield city councils, and the Board of Lane County Commissioners. So far, interest has been lukewarm. To say the least.

Four Eugene City Council seats (half of the entire council), three Lane County commissioner seats (60 percent of the board) and three Springfield City Council seats are up for election in the May 19 primary.

But just one Eugene council position has drawn more than a single candidate so far. Environmental advocate Athena Aguiar has filed for the Ward 5 seat held by Mike Clark, who has filed his reelection paperwork.

On the Lane County board, commissioner Heather Buch has drawn a challenger for her East Lane County seat from author and former reforestation contractor Bob Zybach. But no one has filed for the West Lane County seat held by Ryan Ceniga or the Springfield seat held by David Loveall, including the incumbents.

And then there’s Springfield, where no one — incumbent or challenger — has filed for any of the three council seats up in May. That’s on top of a fourth seat that’s been vacant since August.

Come on, people!

Lane County is crying for new leadership. Does any Springfield resident want to challenge Loveall, whose history of troubling behavior toward some county employees has cost the county at least $250,000 in settlements to date? Three of the four Eugene council seats up for election are held by incumbents who have served at least three full terms already: Is it time for new blood to at least offer some competition for ideas and policies?

Maybe my despair is a bit shortsighted. After all, the election is seven months away. And candidates can file to run any time between now and early March for any of these races. Surely, the ranks of entrants will grow.

Well, maybe.

I decided to look back 10 years, over the previous five local elections that included Eugene and Springfield city council races and Lane County commissioner races. How many  of those races were uncontested?

The results aren’t encouraging. 

In Eugene, nine of the 23 races for a mayor or council seat were uncontested.

In Springfield, nine of the 18 mayor and council seats were uncontested.

Just one of the 12 Lane County commissioner races was uncontested.

Those numbers may not be surprising in the context of how much these officeholders earn for their work. County commissioners pocket a $114,000 annual salary. Eugene city councilors take home a $22,000 annual stipend. Springfield councilors serve on a purely volunteer basis, with no salary or stipend.

Another lackluster showing may serve as a nudge for Springfield to revisit compensation for councilors. That’s an issue for another column.

But contrast the interest in local races with the federal race for the seat of U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Ore. She currently has five primary or general election challengers, up from four in the last election. The 2022 election that she won to replace longtime former Rep. Peter DeFazio drew nine candidates.

It would be a breath of fresh air to see the same enthusiasm for local races. If you’re reading this, you may be more qualified than you think. Working with a nonprofit, owning a small business, serving on a city or county board or committee, doing advocacy work for causes you care about — these are just a few of the common paths to public office.

Has this all come across as a bit cynical? Maybe. But how about you prove me wrong and throw your hat in the ring to serve your community.

For more than a decade, Elon Glucklich covered business, government and health care for several dailies and online news organizations across Oregon. His reporting and commentary has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association.