At Lookout election forum, Lane County commission hopefuls discuss housing, public safety 

Candidates for the Lane County Board of Commissioners laid out different approaches to issues like housing and public safety during a Monday, April 13 public forum ahead of the May 19 primary election.

The event, hosted by Lookout Eugene-Springfield at the Wildish Community Theater in Springfield, was moderated by Lookout Opinion Editor Elon Glucklich and Ben Botkin, Lookout’s senior politics and policy correspondent. 

Candidates from the three commissioner districts being contested on the May ballot took part: West Lane District 1, Springfield District 2 and East Lane District 5. The forum was divided by district, with each race taking up about an hour. In each section, candidates answered the same set of questions.

Springfield: Public safety and housing

In the race for Springfield District 2, which includes the city of Springfield and some surrounding areas, the housing shortage and public safety took center stage. 

Candidates generally agreed that the housing shortage is a significant challenge but differed on the county’s role. Some emphasized reducing barriers to development, while others pointed to the need for coordination.

“It’s not up to the government to build housing. It’s up to the government to get out of the way so that housing can be built,” incumbent Commissioner David Loveall said. “Our Land Management Division has gone through an audit, and we’re cleaning out the weeds, and we’re writing clear and objective standards so that people can come to Land Management and know exactly what they can do.”

Challenger Sean VanGordon, the mayor of Springfield, echoed a similar sentiment. 

“Our community is going through a housing crisis,” he said. “It’s not going to get fixed tomorrow. All local governments set the condition for investing in building housing,” adding that county land management officials need to “get very clear about what you can do with your property.”

The third candidate in the race, William Monsoor, on the other hand, said building codes need to be modified.

“It’s a crisis all over the country,” he said. “Building codes need to be modified (to) encourage builders to come in and develop apartment complexes, and I think high-rises are going to have to be the answer,” he said, adding that he’s unsure what federal funding will be available to create affordable housing in the future. 

Questions about public safety prompted discussion about funding options, including potential levies, budget adjustments and reallocating existing resources. Candidates noted that current staffing levels leave large parts of the county with limited coverage.

West Lane: Affordability and safety 

In the race for West Lane District 1 — which includes Florence, Veneta, Lorane, Junction City and the rest of western Lane County, as well as section of northwest Eugene — the discussion focused on housing affordability and public safety. 

Incumbent Ryan Ceniga, who is also a Junction City School Board member, pointed to regulatory constraints as a primary driver of the county’s housing shortage, arguing that whenever new housing regulations are imposed, they increase costs and make it harder for developers to create more housing. 

The solution, he said, is to loosen housing regulations. 

“We need to open up the system so we can build more houses,” Ceniga said, adding that he has worked to expand the county’s urban growth reserves as county commissioner, which will help cities expand their urban growth boundaries in seven to 10 years.

He highlighted the county’s land-banking program, which he said acquires and prepares parcels for housing, as one of the ways the county is working to change that.

Challenger Thomas Hiura, a Lane Education Service District Board member, tied the issue to personal experience, describing how the housing affordability crisis has impacted his family. Hiura said his father, William Burger, struggled with homelessness for years before his death in 2021, and that he himself suffered a period of homelessness in 2019.

We need to “put all our hands together” and find solutions that “make sure that people can live in this community,” Hiura said. 

Hiura also said the county needs to work to expand affordable housing beyond the Eugene-Springfield area, noting the supply of affordable housing is also limited in coastal communities and rural areas like Florence, Dune City and Junction City. 

Hiura pointed to mixed-use and higher-density housing in urban areas — including housing developments with ground-floor businesses — as one way to increase supply while also supporting further economic growth but said rural communities need more targeted investment so residents can continue living where they work.

On public safety, both candidates pointed to limited staffing as a major concern, saying that not enough Lane County Sheriff’s Office deputies are on patrol across the county at any given time, leading to long wait times for emergencies. Ceniga said a county task force is studying funding options, and both Ceniga and Hiura emphasized the need to balance any new investment with the cost to taxpayers.

“The working class communities of West Lane are experiencing a very high tax burden,” Hiura said, adding that only about three deputies are patrolling the county each night.

East Lane: Housing and economic development

In the race for the East Lane District 5 seat, land-use policy and its connection to housing and economic development took center stage. The district covers eastern and southern Lane County, including Oakridge, Cottage Grove, Creswell, Lowell, the McKenzie River valley, Marcola, Coburg and parts of southwest Eugene.

Incumbent Heather Buch pointed to the county’s Affordable Housing Action Plan and land readiness efforts aimed at preparing sites for development as one way the county is working to increase housing supply.

Challenger Jake Pelroy said delays within the county’s Land Management Division are a major obstacle for both housing projects and local businesses.

“Overall, the Land Management Division needs to be more of a partnership with the people that are out there rather than an adversary. That is what I hear consistently,” Pelroy said. “That would help with bringing more homes to East Lane County.”

Candidate Bob Zybach tied housing and public safety challenges to broader economic changes, particularly in timber-related industries, arguing that job losses have reduced the county’s ability to fund services.

“We need jobs so we can afford to have housing. We have lost thousands of jobs in the last 30-35 years because of changes in forest management policy,” Zybach said. Lane County needs the “sawmill logging, tree planting, recreation jobs” that it used to have. 

Candidates also discussed gaps in rural services — including broadband acces and mental health care — and other issues, such as homelessness.