Community Voices Weekly: Endorsement deadline

Happy Sunday, Lookout Eugene-Springfield,

May 1. Also known as, this Friday. That’s the last day we’ll be accepting letters endorsing candidates or measures for the May 19 primary election.

Lookout’s Community Voices section has been chock full of endorsements lately — we’ve published 50 this election cycle, with more on tap to publish in the next few weeks.

Are they repetitive to read? Yes. Is there value in giving Lane County residents a forum to make their voices heard? Absolutely, if you ask me.

So if you’ve been thinking about weighing in on a race that matters to you, now’s the time! Send letters to lte@lookoutlocal.com.

The week in endorsements

It was a busy week for letters. We published 18 of them, 10 of which were endorsements:

Eugene letter writer Joy Marshall weighed in on the Ward 3 Eugene City Council race between John Barofsky and Jennifer Smith, calling Barofsky “a leader, a listener, a doer” with big-name endorsements.

Derek Johnson of Eugene agreed, outlining three reasons why he supports Barofsky in the race.

In Ward 5, Eugene writer Paul Berger endorsed Athena Aguiar over incumbent Mike Clark and fellow challenger Jasmine Hatmaker, arguing that “it’s time to pass the torch in Ward 5.”

On the Lane County commissioner side, Don McLean, a River Road resident in Ryan Ceniga’s West Lane district, recalled a time when city and county officials ignored a sidewalk problem in his neighborhood — everyone except Ceniga, whose responsiveness earned his support.

Springfield letter writer Jenny Potter endorsed mayor Sean VanGordon for the Springfield commissioner seat, saying VanGordon “truly listens to people, no matter where they fall on the political spectrum.”

Eugene writer Alan Cohen had thoughts on all three commissioner races. Cohen attended Lookout’s recent county commissioner election forums, which he said “covered a wide variety of issues and provided a good opportunity to compare the candidates.”

Lane County also has a rare contested race for circuit court judge, with incumbent Amit Kapoor facing a challenge from attorney Katina Saint Marie. Eugene letter writer and juvenile justice professional Priscila Hasselman urged voters to see Kapoor’s “ability to balance accountability with compassion” and reelect him. And Greg Rikhoff, Lane County’s director of Community Justice and Rehabilitation Services, argued that “we need his experience, thoughtfulness, fairness and decency now more than ever.”

One Eugene ballot measure appears on track for a perfect endorsement record: The Eugene Public Library levy. Kelly Johnson of Eugene sought to remind readers that “the library is one of the few places that truly belongs to everyone.” And sisters Sienna and Inara Hove, ages 12 and 9, asked those old enough to vote to “please support the library levy so kids like us can keep reading.”

Endorsement scoreboard

I know, I know. This doesn’t matter at all. But I find it interesting, and hey, I write this newsletter. So with that, here are the current Lookout letter-writer endorsement tallies.

By the way, the Lookout Eugene-Springfield editorial board is working on its own election endorsements. Look for those in the next week or so.

Lane County Commissioner

District 1, West Lane

Ryan Ceniga — 2

Thomas Hiura — 2

District 2, Springfield

Sean VanGordon — 11

David Loveall — 1

District 5, East Lane

Heather Buch — 9

Jake Pelroy — 3

Eugene City Council

Ward 3

John Barofsky — 7

Jennifer Smith — 2

Ward 4

No endorsements

Ward 5

Athena Aguiar — 2

Ward 6

Greg Evans — 1

Ballot Measures

Lane County Watersheds Bill of Rights

Support — 3

Oppose — 2

Eugene Public Library levy

Support — 5

Oppose — 0

Has PeaceHealth ‘lost its soul’?

Credit: Isaac Wasserman / Lookout Eugene-Springfield / Catchlight / RFA

Last week wasn’t all about elections. On Sunday, April 19, Lookout reported on emails showing PeaceHealth Oregon Chief Hospital Executive Jim McGovern going beyond the scope of his administrative license to intervene in medical decisions at Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend.

The reactions from readers was swift. Eugene letter-writer Chris Cunningham said there’s only one explanation for the decisions hospital administrators have made at RiverBend lately: PeaceHealth has lost its soul. Springfield writer James Mough wondered if patients at RiverBend may have had their care affected by McGovern’s interventions. Fellow Springfield writer Chris Daniel said PeaceHealth’s decision to switch ER staffing providers is emblematic of problems with the wider U.S. health care system. And Dorothy Crafts of Eugene wrote that, while it’s understandable hospitals must make difficult financial decisions, we need to examine how to better fund medical care.

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