Eugene City Council Ward 5 | Mike Clark vs. Jasmine Hatmaker vs. Athena Aguiar

To see how candidates answered identical questions from Lookout, click here.

Voters will decide a three-way race to represent Ward 5 on the Eugene City Council, as two challengers seek to unseat a five-term incumbent.

Grassroots activist Athena Aguiar and mortgage specialist Jasmine Hatmaker are running progressive campaigns against Councilor Mike Clark, who also works as a mortgage specialist and usually votes in the council’s conservative minority. 

The race’s winner will represent parts of the Cal Young, Goodpasture Island and Santa Clara neighborhoods in north Eugene. The ward is bounded by a constellation of annexed properties just within the city’s northern urban growth boundary, the Willamette River and parts of Oakway and Gilham roads to the west.

The eight-member council is Eugene’s representative legislative body, responsible for proposing and passing local laws, setting policy, and hiring the city manager, who runs day-to-day operations and administration across City Hall at the council’s direction. 

Councilors also have the final say on Eugene’s $1.9 billion two-year budget proposed by the city manager, and appoint members to city committees, boards and commissions. The city pays councilors about $22,000 per year. 

Eugene city councilors are elected to four-year terms by residents of their ward, with half the seats on the ballot every two years. There are no term limits.

In the 2022 election, 6,607 voters in Ward 5 returned ballots. Over one-third of those voters — 35% — skipped the council race, where Clark ran unopposed. 

This year’s contest is among the more closely watched council races, likely due to Clark’s long hold on the seat and conservative voting record. Aguiar and Hatmaker, the youngest and second-youngest candidates in this year’s council elections, have never held elected office.

Asked about the competition, Clark said he doesn’t see it as “running against someone,” but as “running for an opportunity.” Both Aguiar and Hatmaker said they want to see a more diverse and responsive voice representing their ward.

Here’s what Lookout Eugene-Springfield learned about the candidates for Eugene City Council Ward 5: 

Mike Clark

Mike Clark says he’s brought ideological diversity to the council for his 20 years in the seat. 

Clark has represented Ward 5 since 2006, surviving two challenges over his five terms. Raised in Washington state, he moved to Portland when he was in high school and settled in Eugene in the 1980s after studying at the University of Oregon.

Clark raised a family as he created and led an ad agency downtown for more than two decades and helped political campaigns with communications on the side. In 2004, he joined the city’s Budget Committee, and in 2006, his City Council career began.

Ten years later, he unsuccessfully ran for mayor. 

Clark says he’s opposed a number of “bad decisions” made by the progressive council majority over the last decade or so that have come back to “haunt” the city, vindicating his tendency toward voting in the minority. 

He points to his longtime support of moving city operations to the Eugene Water & Electric Board building instead of building a new eight-figure City Hall downtown, which the council was considering at the time.

The council often votes unanimously on major issues. In recent months, Clark has voted against more minor matters like returning the council to in-person Wednesday meetings and moving toward a home energy score disclosure requirement. 

“They want everybody to sound exactly the same,” Clark said. “It’s a better thing when there is a diverse set of opinions and voices at the table. And that’s one of the reasons why I think I serve effectively, is because I am a diverse voice at the table, compared to the majority.”

Clark tends to make decisions through the lens of the budget, a quality that he says the council needs as Eugene grapples with a structural deficit. 

He said the city’s ability to “grow the pie” when it comes to housing and land supply, not just infill, is the key to a stronger local economy, and said he regrets the council not adding more residential land to Eugene’s urban growth boundary. 

He said the council has “a lot more to do” when it comes to securing state funding for utility extensions, like with the Clear Lake and Crow Road projects, to make more land within city limits buildable.

“We have to increase the pace at which we’re building new housing for people,” he said. “Rental, ownership, all kinds, affordable, you know, subsidized, whatever words you want to use, as long as the word is housing, we need to build more of it.”

He said he’d provide institutional memory to Eugene’s new city manager as she and the council tackle other pressing issues, like putting homelessness “on a better long-term footing” and negotiating the future governance and funding structure of Eugene Springfield Fire.

“It matters how we land that, and how we move forward, how we start it, so that it doesn’t end up costing the general public a bunch of money at a time when affordability is already a problem,” Clark said.

For the first time in a decade, Clark hopes, this year’s slate of council matchups offers voters an opportunity to elect a council that would vote 4-4. He said Mayor Kaarin Knudson, who can vote in the case of a tie, is “willing to be an honest broker.”

He has more than double the amount of cash on hand as his two challengers, including large donations from the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee, and businesses like Sierra Pacific and Wildish Land Co., according to campaign finance filings.

“There are a lot of people who have great ideas about ‘We should do this and we should do that,’ but if you start asking, ‘Well, how much does that cost, and who’s going to pay for it?’ Those are difficult questions for a lot of people to answer,” he said.

Jasmine Hatmaker

From juggling jobs across industries, to a decade spent across the Pacific, Jasmine Hatmaker’s patchwork of experience anchors her case to voters.

Hatmaker, who now works as a mortgage specialist, was born in Eugene but spent her childhood on the island of Guam, a place that she remembers fondly for its visible multigenerational communities and family values. She returned to Eugene for middle school and to attend UO before leaving again for Hawaii, southern California, Florida and Arizona. In recent years, she came back again to support her mom’s family mortgage lending business as it struggled financially.

At any given point over those years, Hatmaker said, she has juggled between three and four jobs at a time across fields like customer service, hospitality, real estate, event coordination and caregiving. She has also volunteered with Community Supported Shelters, Burrito Brigade, Greenhill Humane Society and SquareOne Villages.

Working with seniors and veterans, as well as her own experiences with housing instability and food insecurity growing up with her mom, shaped Hatmaker’s “people-first” and affordability-driven campaign focus, she said.

“It’s time to have younger, more diverse perspectives on City Council, especially if one of the goals is to really have the younger generations stick around,” said Hatmaker, who has secured the endorsements of all three female sitting city councilors and the mayor.

On the budget, Hatmaker has floated introducing a building vacancy tax, converting unused buildings into housing, limiting short-term rentals and contracting more workers inside Eugene for city projects. During last year’s budget season, she testified against the fire fee that the council proposed to help bridge its budget gap, calling it a “Band-Aid, not a cure.”

Longer-term, Hatmaker said she wants to set up an emergency loan program for small businesses and find ways to expand affordable child care.

“I’m kind of curious if I will ever be a homeowner, especially with our current situation, and I know I’m not the only one,” she said. “That would be another way that I would be able to offer a different perspective as a city councilor.”

On public safety, Hatmaker said she supports expanded behavioral health services to help unhoused people facing addiction and mental illness. She said she has spoken to business owners who live in her ward but work elsewhere, and they witness active drug use and must clean up garbage left outside their business in the morning as clients arrive for meetings.

“There are a lot of business owners in this ward,” she said. “They have been experiencing some of the same things with the difficulties running their businesses.”

Hatmaker, who said her mom’s wife is a retired emergency physician, criticized PeaceHealth for canceling its contract with Eugene Emergency Physicians.

She said she plans to be visible at protests and other displays of local activism against the Trump administration because it’s clear, based on the community’s advocacy at public meetings, that Eugene residents want their elected officials to show up for the cause. 

That applies to community engagement with constituents more broadly, not just politics, she said. Residents have complained to her while door-knocking about Clark being unresponsive and his lack of visible presence in the ward, said Hatmaker, who has the least campaign cash on hand of all three candidates in the race. 

“One of the reasons why I decided to run was because of everything going on in the world right now,” she said. “It’s really important that we have the right people in our local government that we know are going to stand up for the community.”

Athena Aguiar

Athena Aguiar doesn’t spend much time behind a desk. 

After the Sheldon High School graduate moved to Iowa to study biology, Eugene’s great outdoors was what brought her back home.

She worked to protect native ecosystems for an environmental stewardship organization, measured forests as a timber cruiser and went door-to-door throughout Eugene as a field manager for a national canvassing nonprofit.

But it was her service on the Library Advisory Board, the 17-member body that advises the nuts and bolts of the Eugene Public Library’s policy, services and development, that prompted her jump into politics.

When the city threatened to cut services and staff within its library, recreation and cultural services department during budget season last spring, Aguiar, who frequently testifies before the City Council, said she felt motivated to act by running for the Ward 5 seat.

“The library does more than books,” Aguiar said. “Recreation services does more than parks. They are community-building mechanisms, and they are promoting inclusivity more than every resident may know.”

Her goal of making Eugene safe, affordable and inclusive rests on three main priorities: protecting the library, recreation and cultural services department from cuts, bringing back a fully funded crisis response service like CAHOOTS, and discouraging federal immigration enforcement from operating in Eugene. 

Echoing concerns from her neighbors, she said she’d support introducing a “really high fee” on condemned homes to discourage property owners from letting homes sit vacant and deteriorate, and work to find ways to transfer ownership of condemned homes to residents or entities who need them. 

She also plans to push for more sidewalks in north Eugene after hearing safety concerns from neighbors about students walking home from school on the street in areas that lack them.

Aguiar said she is a fan of upzoning parts of town that already have high-density housing — like near the university, versus areas like the south hills — and backs annexing more properties in unincorporated Santa Clara.  

“The people who are like, ‘I’m sick of seeing all those buildings go up,’ I think, are just kind of not wanting to see the city grow,” she said.

A fierce supporter of crisis response services in Eugene like the now-shuttered CAHOOTS program, Aguiar said she was disappointed by the direction the city is taking with its pilot program, and thinks the city should issue a new request-for-proposals for a contract closer to the CAHOOTS model. 

Councilors should exercise more power over Eugene’s governance by directing the city manager and staff within the limits of the law, she said, pointing to the council’s vote to pause the Flock automatic license-plate reader cameras as an example of decisive council action.

“I’m more focused on what can be legally done by a council, versus following the way it’s always been,” she said.

She backed last year’s fire fee, unsuccessfully urging councilors to let voters decide its fate after the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce referred it to the ballot in a campaign that she criticized as not grassroots.

As she has visited with ward residents while going door-to-door, Aguiar said she’s brainstormed ways to keep U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement out of the city. She said she’s heard widespread support for a city rule requiring Eugene police to document potential ICE misconduct, like what was done in Chicago.

“There’s limited legal tools, but I want to take advantage of the ones that are there,” she said.

Much of Aguiar’s campaign, which has the second-highest amount of cash on hand among the three candidates in the race, revolves around door-knocking. The biggest piece of feedback she has received while talking to constituents isn’t political, but a perception: the feeling that residents can’t reach their city councilor. 

“‘I just don’t feel like my complaints are being considered,’” she recalled residents saying. “That’s not a policy position at all, that’s just listening. That’s something that I think is really an advantage I have is listening and talking to people.”

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Candidates provided answers in their own words to questions from Lookout. Our questions are in bold, followed by their responses.

What in your background would make you the best councilor for your race?

Aguiar: Between my work on the library board, in city council advocacy, and in various committees, I’ve learned how the city functions and how to make sure that we focus on the things that benefit everyday Eugenians the most. 

I’ve talked with over a thousand residents of my district and know what they are looking for in the city government, and that experience has given me a much better understanding of the district’s needs than most people have. 

Beyond that, as a younger person and as an individual who has never owned property nor a business, I have a different perspective on many of these issues than most of our councilors, which I think is sorely lacking on the council.

Clark: 22 years of direct work on city related business. 5 terms on city council, 2 years
before that as a citizen member of the Budget Committee.

Hatmaker: I’m a Eugene native and deeply committed to this community. I have experienced living in both Eugene and much bigger cities. I’ve seen thriving, diverse communities up close. I’ve seen what does and doesn’t work. There is so much that we can learn from other communities and I plan to bring that perspective to the city council with a focus on practical solutions that fit our community.

I currently work with my mom at the small business she started over ten years ago, but I’m also a small business owner myself, and someone who has worked in service, healthcare, and caregiving roles. I’m a board member for SquareOne Villages, which is a nonprofit that builds permanently affordable housing in our community. I’ve been on the Local Government Affairs Council for the Eugene Chamber of Commerce for almost three years . These roles have all increased my knowledge about our community and its needs.

My background includes real estate, event planning, customer service, and hands-on care as a CNA and caregiver. My main goal has always been to help people and to do what I can to bring my community together. All of my experience has given me a unique view to see Eugene from a lot of different perspectives, especially when it comes to the working class and those struggling in our community. We need to listen more to those that will be most impacted by decisions that the city and council make. 

I’m not coming into this role as a career politician. I believe that a good city councilor believes in balance. We can make decisions that will improve the quality of life for everyone, build a stronger local economy, and still believe in the importance of environmental stewardship. We do not need to be so divided on issues. As a city councilor, I will bring people together. Collaboration is essential to achieving meaningful progress for Eugene. I’m bringing real-world and lived experience, a broad perspective, and a commitment to showing up, listening, and delivering results.

What would your top three goals be if elected and how would you accomplish them?

Aguiar: First: restoring a comprehensive crisis care service for the city. With CAHOOTs gone we have lost a huge part of our social safety net. Fixing this is essential to better serve the community through efficient emergency response as it costs less than a police response to mid-acuity calls.

Second: make sure that we are doing everything possible to keep ICE out of Eugene. I’ve talked with residents and this is a high priority for people concerned about our immigrant neighbors. In doing research on what cities are doing across the nation, there are a lot of interesting ideas about what we can do within the legal framework of the city to limit their activities and hold them accountable, like mandating filming of their interactions, creating “ICE-free” zones to prohibit ICE activity on city-owned property, requiring consent forms before allowing ICE interviews, requiring law enforcement to accept more forms of ID, like library cards, community organizational membership cards, church IDs and/or create a municipal ID to be issued and replaced in a low-barrier way, more broadly reducing stops and arrests to reduce the chance of vulnerable community members from experiencing threatening situations, and more. I frequently brainstorm different ideas with community members, and the general conclusion we come to is that it is very difficult to come up with policies that the majority of the community will be happy with that can also pass through our council and be swiftly implemented in an impactful way, but that we are committed to doing more and I plan to continue these conversations whether or not I am elected so that we can make real change in a way that improves our lives.

Third: supporting affordable housing. I think it is essential that we build up density where possible and fund as much affordable housing as is reasonably possible within the budgetary limitations of the city. A vacancy tax would also encourage people to sell abandoned buildings and lots that could be turned from eyesores into homes. We’ve made some great progress in building our middle housing and I would like to build on that to help drive rents and housing prices down so people can continue to afford to live in the city.

Clark: Strengthen Public Safety / Increase Housing Affordability / Expand Economic Development. I would do this in part by finishing our years long effort to consolidate Eugene-Springfield Fire, by adding significantly to our local housing stock through decreasing costs and regulatory delay and by focusing on a long term strategic community plan to grow the businesses developed through U of O research and a concerted effort to support and expand local industry and manufacturing.

Hatmaker: Housing affordability and stability – Increase diverse housing options, support first-time homebuyers, and strengthen renter protections while working with developers to build responsibly. 

We can use the tools currently available to us while still advocating for more to improve housing in Eugene. We need to do more to streamline and expedite the permitting process for housing related projects.  

I’m willing to speak with builders and developers to learn what would incentivize them to build more housing while still keeping the community’s sustainability goals in mind. 

Florence and Corvallis have been successful with expanding their multiunit property tax exemption program. The program can only be used if it is not financially feasible to build the housing without it. It should also meet a public benefit requirement like if it’s for affordable, accessible or energy efficient housing. The program can still be used if it does not meet one of those public benefits, but if it doesn’t then they must contribute 10% of the exemption amount to an affordable housing fund. Our program is currently focused on the downtown core but we can expand it to other parts of the city and make it transit-oriented. We can use this program to build more walkable, mixed-used communities that are centered around public transportation. This will mean more sustainable urban growth, reducing reliance on cars, and boosting ridership for LTD.

We also need to ensure that we are doing all we can to keep current affordable housing and keep people in their homes and rentals.  

2. Economic opportunity – Support small businesses, reduce barriers to entrepreneurship, and invest in workforce development.

We can reduce fees while also streamlining the permitting and licensing process for small business owners, especially those that are just starting. 

We need to have conversations with both our Eugene community and businesses outside of the area to see what would incentivize them to set up their businesses in Eugene. We can do this while still considering our sustainability and climate goals This can be done through carbon offsetting or having certain businesses contribute to a climate goal fund to make sure that we are still working towards our climate goals. 

We must work in partnership with organizations like Lane Workforce Development and Collaborative Economic Development Oregon. We can do more to support the great work that they do. They are focused on job training and education, strategic collaboration and bringing high-wage jobs to our community.

3. Community safety and services – Expand behavioral health resources, improve emergency response alternatives, and ensure neighborhoods feel safe and supported.

Public safety is about so much more than law enforcement and is another area that I believe needs more collaboration. More than 40% of the unhoused community in Oregon is suffering a serious mental illness. Other cities have been more successful with this because they have taken a more unified approach, which I support. As a city councilor, I would work closely with law enforcement, other first responders, mental health services, crisis response teams, like Cahoots, healthcare services, nonprofits focused on community outreach, city council and others. This will help us make sure that nobody is falling through the cracks. It will also free up some of our law enforcement to have more time to focus on more serious crimes and road safety/traffic violations.

Collaboration is the key. We need to do more with the tools available to us while also coming up with new ways to tackle the city’s issues. There are a lot of great organizations and non-profits in our community that are focused on a lot of Eugene’s current concerns. They are doing the work now but we can get so much more done together through a more collaborative, cohesive and strategic plan for both now and long term. I would accomplish these goals by building partnerships, advocating for smart budgeting, and prioritizing policies that produce measurable outcomes for residents.

What are the gaps and shortcomings in city services and how would you address them?

Aguiar: As I talked about earlier, the hole in our essential services from the lack of comprehensive crisis care services is glaring. Working to get a new service up and running is important not only to make sure that people are safe, but that we are being fiscally responsible in our spending for emergency services by saving money on lower priority calls so that other responders can focus on higher priority calls. Something I’ve heard from residents regarding bringing back a comprehensive crisis response service: “why re-invent the wheel?”

I also think that the lack of good sidewalks, whether outright, or just due to damage from age, is something we need to address. I hear it from voters all the time, and I think if we want to have a more walkable and accessible city this is important to fix.

Clark: The problem is not that the city isn’t doing enough and needs to do more. The problem is that the city is doing too much and that we as a group are not sure how to continue paying for what we are already doing and what we have promised to do. We need to do a better job agreeing on what are priority city services and how we can afford them in a financially sustainable way.

Hatmaker: Collaboration is something that you will hear me talking about all the time. I believe it is how we will solve the majority of the city’s issues and concerns. It gives you the opportunity to think about topics in new ways that you may not have considered before. The gaps in city services are another area that would benefit from more collaboration and partnerships. There are clear gaps in access to housing, mental health services, and timely city response. Many residents feel unheard or left behind. I would address this by improving communication between the city and neighborhoods, expanding access to support services, and ensuring resources are distributed more equitably. That includes advocating for faster response times, more proactive outreach, and policies that reflect the realities people are facing day to day.

We need to come up with new ways to generate revenue for the city and address the budget deficit. We can do more to use City Hall to its full potential. There are city offices outside of City Hall that can be moved into the space. The City Council Chambers is also set up as a courtroom and could technically be used as the City’s Municipal Court. This would be one way to further reduce the city’s budget. My goal is to generate more revenue so that we aren’t having the same budget cut discussions every year. I would also like to see an analytical review of the budget to look back in time to see when we didn’t constantly have a deficit and what changed.

There are a lot of buildings that have been vacant for a long time. A vacancy tax can be considered but is one area that I believe would need the community’s input. There are other cities that have vacancy taxes for housing, commercial buildings, abandoned properties and vacant lots. The tax is usually based on the amount of time out of the year that the property is vacant and would not need to be an outrageous or exorbitant. It is intended to be used as a tool or incentive for other goals. It can raise modest revenues for the city, lower the number of vacant units and encourage development. The tax can go to the city and towards an affordable housing fund. Owners have the option of renting or selling the property or paying the tax. There would be an opportunity to transfer tax-foreclosed properties into community land trusts which can then be developed into more affordable housing projects.

How would you work with other councilors and city staff to find solutions to common problems? Give us an example of a time you worked on a collaborative solution.

Aguiar: I plan to adamantly back good solutions put forward by experienced staffers and electeds. I think common problems are the perfect time to defer to those who have more expertise. The best way to work as a group is to emphasize the strengths of every individual on the team. My strengths are enthusiasm, fresh eyes, a sense of urgency, and new ideas. A common strength of individuals on and supporting government bodies is familiarity with systems, which should be leaned upon when those common problems come up. I worked on a collaborative solution with library board during a book challenge this year of the Witchcraft kit in which we learned we should improve our processes for kit challenges and were able to have a thorough and respectful conversation with the challenger. I find that existing procedures and rules are extremely helpful for collaboration within government systems.

Clark: I work well with other councilors and very well with staff to find solutions. An example from a couple years back was Bond Lane in our Ward. It’s an unimproved road that was riddled with pot holes and almost undrivable. City policy is that such roads require that all adjacent neighbors pay a huge chunk of the very expensive cost to rebuild the road and bring it to a “city standard”. No one could afford that, but working with the public works director and a couple other councilors for support, we developed a new program for such roads and how to pay for them with existing funds called a “maintenance overlay”. The neighborhood got a safe road without the massive added cost and the city found a new way to deal with streets like these.

Hatmaker: Effective leadership requires collaboration, not division. I would work closely with fellow councilors and city staff by focusing on shared goals, respecting different perspectives, and staying solution-oriented. In my professional background, I’ve coordinated across teams with different priorities, whether in real estate transactions, event coordination or caregiving environments, to reach outcomes that worked for everyone involved. That meant listening carefully, finding common ground, and staying focused on results rather than conflict. As a mortgage advisor, I participate in collaboration every day. It is a huge part of the work that we do. Whether it’s with others in my office to come up with the best options for our clients or working with other vendors and business partners to ensure our clients have the best experience. I’m a huge believer that the best and most meaningful work gets done through collaboration. 

How have recent actions by the federal government affected your goals and priorities, if at all?

Aguiar: ICE coming into Eugene has definitely become a top issue quickly, and one that we need to address as I mentioned above. However, there also is the uncertainty around federal funding for the city and county. We provide a lot of essential services to people that are at risk if the impacts of federal cuts ripple down to the state and local level, plus if people lose federal services, they are more likely to need assistance from us.

I expect that we will have a real challenge in figuring out how we can prepare for any cuts and fill any gaps in services people experience from the actions of the administration.

Clark: My goals and priorities are all local. I want to serve on council to effect how our city government serves it’s people well. Changes and potential changes to federal pass through funding may create challenges and changes to the how, but not to the why, the what and the whom. Our job on council is to protect people’s rights in Eugene and to serve them to the best of our ability.

Hatmaker: Federal decisions directly impact local priorities, especially around housing funding, healthcare, and economic support programs. Changes at the federal level can either expand or limit what cities are able to do. I would stay informed, advocate for our community’s needs, and work to ensure we are maximizing available funding and adapting quickly to policy changes so residents aren’t left behind. I believe it is important to focus on what we can do locally and how we can positively impact this community. We can still get essential work done here while paying attention to what’s going on outside of our city. 

Outside of any elected experience in your background (if any), what other experiences in life have prepared you for this role?

Aguiar: My experiences advocating for environmental protections, following and participating in local politics, and advocating for change in my workplaces have all prepared me for this role.

Clark: After years as a business owner and a community volunteer, I have dozens of stories about experiences that help me serve well in this role. But none compare to the experience you get as a parent. Being a parent gives you a kind of patience and dedication that is needed for this type of public service. Things rarely go as planned and sometimes turn out differently than you’d hoped. But the important thing is to be kindly accepting of what is, to never lose hope, and to keep working together toward the best outcome for everyone.

Hatmaker: My life experience has been rooted in working-class jobs and service to others. I’ve balanced multiple roles, supported people through vulnerable moments in healthcare settings, and built a small business from the ground up. Those experiences taught me resilience, problem-solving, and the importance of treating people with dignity and respect. I understand the pressures many families face because I’ve lived them and that perspective drives my commitment to practical, people-centered leadership.