QuickTake:

Kathleen Jones-McCann, one of three siblings who inherited the Seneca sawmill business, has made large campaign contributions to two county commissioners who voted in her favor Tuesday. The issue sparked a lively exchange at a commissioners’ meeting.

For Lane County commissioners, campaign contributions cast a wide shadow as they debated a land-use decision Tuesday, Sept. 29.

The property in question is owned by Kathleen Jones-McCann, a former timber executive and co-owner of the Seneca sawmill and timberlands business before it was sold. This campaign season, she donated to two of the county commissioners, Ryan Ceniga and David Loveall. She’s also contributed to Jake Pelroy, who’s running against incumbent Commissioner Heather Buch. 

The donations are legal. But they came up frequently as the commissioners voted 3-2 to overturn a hearing officer’s denial of Jones-McCann’s application for county permits for a pair of structures on her property. The structures were initially constructed without the permits.

The property in question is 12.5 acres along the McKenzie River, about 1.5 miles east of Springfield’s urban growth boundary. The commissioners’ decision allows the nonfarm dwelling and an outbuilding, though the county’s action can be appealed to the state Land Use Board of Appeals.

Buch, who opposed the decision in favor of the property owner, said county codes are in place for life and safety purposes.

“It just sends a message to all those people upriver,” Buch said, “all those people that rebuilt after the Holiday Farm Fire, who went through all the right steps to rebuild, that ‘Well, gee, if I had just paid off the commissioners after the fact I could have just done this and got rebuilt right away.’” 

Commissioner Pat Farr, who supported overturning the hearings official’s decision, pressed her on that point.

“You said, ‘paid off’ commissioners,” Farr said. “What does that mean?”

Buch responded: “In this case, we have seen the applicant contribute enormous amounts of money to commissioners in the middle of a land-use quasi-judicial proceeding. I don’t think that should be allowed.”

Buch added that with the county and commissioners spending time reviewing the case, taxpayers are footing the bill. 

Farr was unsatisfied, saying the term “paid off” should not be used.

“I take a personal affront to the term ‘paid off’ commissioners,” Farr said. State records show Farr has not received donations from Jones-McCann, and Buch said her comments were not directed at Farr.

Previously, Ceniga and Loveall said the donations do not impact their neutrality on the decision. 

Ceniga and Loveall are not up for election in November: Ceniga won reelection in May with a majority of votes and Springfield Mayor Sean VanGordon beat Loveall and will take office in January. 

Loveall, before the vote, reminded commissioners the proceeding is a quasi-judicial proceeding and shouldn’t be based on emotions or politics.

When that happens, Loveall said, “You obscure the law and its intent.”

Loveall also said the county can issue retroactive permits that correct a mistake. 

“I do believe that there’s a path forward for this,” Loveall said.

Commissioner Laurie Trieger, who joined Buch in opposing the reversal, said the rules for people who live in a floodway are there for a reason, to keep them safe.

“I think this also sends a really bad message to unscrupulous contractors,” Trieger said.

Longstanding issue 

The controversy dates to 2023, when a county officer issued an order to Jones-McCann to comply with county code because the structures were within the floodway of the river and built without prior land-use approval or permits. 

Jones-McCann filed an application in 2024 for the unpermitted structures, county memos state. The county planning director denied the application. That decision was appealed in 2025 to the county hearings official, who also denied it.

The denial was on the grounds that the buildings did not meet road requirements or 100-foot setback requirements from the McKenzie River’s channel.

The matter was sent to commissioners, who held a hearing May 12. At that hearing, the campaign-contribution issue emerged when an attorney with the environmental group LandWatch Lane County, which opposed the application, questioned Ceniga and Loveall about the contributions from Jones-McCann and asked both if the donations would affect their impartiality. Both commissioners answered that they would not.

Ceniga has received about $40,000 from Jones-McCann and Loveall has received over $30,000, campaign finance records show.

Pelroy also has received more than $100,000 in donations from Jones-McCann or companies that list her as a manager. Pelroy has received $57,000 in donations directly from Jones-McCann. He’s picked up another $50,000 from limited liability companies that list Jones-McCann as a manager: Weiser River Paradise ($25,000) and Gerking Ranch ($25,000).

Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.