Race for EWEB at-large seat sees more than $20K in campaign spending

The race for a seat on the Eugene Water & Electric Board shows how historically low-key utility board elections can become expensive and increasingly shaped by organized political support and professional outreach.

The at-large seat being contested on the May ballot features two candidates — Alexi Miller and Eric Dziura. The at-large seat is elected by voters citywide. The winner will have influence over electricity and water rates, EWEB’s budget, water infrastructure, wildfire preparedness and long-term energy planning.

EWEB commissioners serve four-year terms and do not receive a salary or stipend for their service, though they can be reimbursed for work-related expenses.

As of Wednesday, May 13, Miller, the director of building innovation at the New Buildings Institute in Portland, has raised $5,434 and spent $4,732 in the lead-up to the election, according to Oregon’s online campaign finance records database, known as ORESTAR. Miller’s campaign has a $702 cash balance.

Dziura, a retired college professor and former Jackson County Library District board member, reported Wednesday that his campaign has raised $5,221. He also has given his campaign four loans totaling $330. And separately, Dziura spent nearly $16,000 of his own money on campaign postcards and the postage needed to mail them out to voters.

Factoring in $879 in other spending, his campaign has a cash balance of $4,672, according to ORESTAR.

However, because the $16,000 expense was filed as a “personal expenditure for reimbursement,” the campaign technically has a $11,543 deficit — which means that if Dziura raises an additional $11,543, his campaign will pay him back.

How are the candidates spending their money?

Dziura’s spending includes $750 for an ad in the Eugene Weekly newspaper’s April 30 edition, according to ORESTAR.

Dziura said he bought the newspaper advertisement and the postcards to get name recognition, since he’s lived in Eugene for only about two years.

“The local newspapers have done interviews, which is helpful, but they’re typically not public forums” and debates for EWEB elections, Dziura said. “I need to get information to as many voters as I can … in hopes that my background will get them to consider voting for me,” he said, adding that he has also visited multiple neighborhood board meetings to meet voters, which costs his campaign little to no money.

Miller reports spending $3,420 on brochures and the postage needed to mail them out to voters. His campaign has also paid the Democratic Party of Oregon $200 for access to the party’s voter file database. Additionally, Miller’s campaign spent $647 on a February kickoff party at Claim 52 Brewing in Eugene, which had about 30 attendees.

Comparing past races

This year’s race to replace outgoing at-large EWEB Commissioner Mindy Schlossberg has drawn more total fundraising and spending than many recent EWEB races.

Tim Morris, the EWEB commissioner for Wards 1 and 8 since 2025, raised $8,107 and spent $7,848 in the lead-up to the May 2024 primary election when he faced one opponent. Morris’s opponent didn’t report any campaign donations on ORESTAR, which means the candidate didn’t raise or spend more than $5,000. (Those vying for elected office in Oregon don’t have to report in the ORESTAR database until they reach the $5,000 threshold.)

An EWEB race from a decade ago also tells a similar tale. Sonya Carlson, the EWEB commissioner for Wards 6 and 7 since 2017, hasn’t faced an opponent since the May 2016 primary election, when she faced one opponent. In the lead-up to that election, Carlson raised $4,589 and spent $4,569. Carlson’s opponent didn’t report any campaign donations on ORESTAR.

However, the current fundraising and spending levels in the at-large EWEB race aren’t entirely unprecedented.

Schlossberg, who has served on the utility board since 2019, hasn’t faced an opponent since the May 2018 primary election, when she faced two opponents. Schlossberg raised $5,699 and spent $5,680, while candidate Zachary Mulholland raised $7,469 and spent $4,892 in the lead-up to that election. The third candidate didn’t report any campaign donations on ORESTAR.

Who is donating?

The campaign finance records for Miller and Dziura provide a window into political support networks forming around the contest, including a few out-of-state donors.

According to the city of Eugene voters’ pamphlet, Miller and Dziura are both endorsed by the Democratic Party of Lane County.

As of Wednesday, the top two donors to Miller’s campaign are California resident Kyle O’Keefe Sally and a trust associated with Silicon Valley tech billionaire Tom Preston-Werner. Sally and Preston-Werner are the only out-of-state donors who have contributed to Miller’s campaign. Both Sally and the trust each contributed $1,000, accounting for nearly 40% of the $5,434 in donations that Miller has reported.

The rest of Miller’s donors have given no more than $500, and they include family members, environmental advocates, Eugene City Councilors Eliza Kashinsky and Lyndsie Leech, along with Christopher Edwards, the president of the Oregon Forest Industries Council. Miller said Edwards is a family friend.

Sally, who lists a Marin County, California, address on ORESTAR, is the co-founder of CampChimp, an AI tool that helps users find the best campsite reservations. Miller said Sally has been his best friend since birth, and that they both grew up in Eugene, where they went to high school together.

Preston-Werner is the co-founder of GitHub, a software development platform. He is known for supporting progressive political causes and has donated $25,000 to the Eugene Clean Energy Fund political action committee, which is collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would require large corporations operating in Eugene to pay fees into a fund supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency programs.

Preston-Werner has also donated to other political campaigns, including $2,000 to Eugene City Council candidate Athena Aguiar and at least $20,000 to Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist mayor of New York City.

Miller said he hasn’t met Preston-Werner. He said Lead Locally, an environmentalist political advocacy organization that he recently took a class with, recommended him to the managers of Preston-Werner’s trust.

Miller also said he made no promises to donors to get donations, and that he doesn’t foresee any potential conflicts of interest with regard to EWEB. But he said if conflicts arise, he will recuse himself from those decisions.

Dziura doesn’t report receiving any money from out-of-state donors.

The top two donors to Dziura’s campaign are the Eugene-based Wildish Land Co. and the LIFT Lane political action committee, which is affiliated with the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. LIFT, which stands for Leaders Investing in a Flourishing Tomorrow, has donated $3,000, while Wildish has contributed $750. The donations from Wildish and LIFT account for about 70% of the $5,221 in donations that Dziura has reported as of Wednesday.

The rest of Dziura’s donors have contributed no more than $500, and they include EWEB commissioners John Brown and John Barofsky, who is running for Eugene City Council.

According to Wildish’s website, the company has corporate offices in Eugene and provides services that include general road work, wastewater plant construction, underground utility work and asphalt construction. The website also states about 80% of the company’s projects are for the public sector.

According to the Oregon Secretary of State, LIFT Lane is managed by Eugene Chamber Board Chair Erik Parrish, Eugene Chamber President and CEO Brittany Quick-Warner and ​Tiffany Edwards, the chamber’s vice president of policy and community development.

The chamber is a nonprofit organization, which means none of its revenue will be donated to LIFT Lane, but its members and others can support the political action committee independently. The Eugene Chamber’s May 19 election guide states that LIFT Lane donates to candidates whose priorities support a “strong and stable regional economy.”

Dziura said he has made no promises to donors to get donations, and that if any potential conflicts of interest arise as an EWEB commissioner, he will recuse himself from those decisions. He also noted the donation from Wildish came as a surprise, and that the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce has endorsed him.

“The Chamber of Commerce represents a large number of businesses, which are run by people who have families here in Eugene. They’re a part of our community,” Dziura said. “As an EWEB commissioner, I’m going to try to represent the interests of everyone in Eugene.”