Our team of government correspondents is chugging along to keep you up to speed about the rapidly approaching May 19 elections.

With our forums finished, we are rolling out candidate profiles with overviews of the races. Voting lasts through May 19, but the ballots are mailed out to most voters April 30. With mail-in voting, residents can send ballots back to the county at any point after receiving them.

This means the voting will start well before May 19.

Here’s some reading while you’re waiting for the ballots to arrive:

Loveall faces opponents: The Lane County commissioner race for the Springfield district seat is among the most closely watched. Commissioner David Loveall is running for a second term and faces two challengers: Springfield Mayor Sean VanGordon and William Monsoor.

West Lane district race: Lane County Commissioner Ryan Ceniga faces Thomas Hiura in the West Lane district. Ceniga is running for a second term against Hiura, a member of the Lane Education Service District board.

East Lane district race: Lane County Commissioner Heather Buch faces Jake Pelroy and Bob Zybach in the East Lane district. Buch is running for a third term and represented the district through the 2020 pandemic and the Holiday Farm Fire.

Election security: We also have an overview of election security and how Lane County keeps ballots secure before, during and after Election Day. 

Registration reminder: Tuesday, April 28, is the deadline to register to vote. You can visit the Oregon Secretary of State’s page to register to vote. You also can register in person by 5 p.m. Tuesday at the county elections office, 275 W. 10th Ave., Eugene. The office is open 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.

Congressional candidates in the primary race; a Superfund site; EWEB dam review

4th Congressional District: We also have an overview of the candidates running in the congressional primaries. Both major parties have contested races — technically, at least. But the general election in November could easily be a rematch between incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle and Republican attorney Monique DeSpain.

Elections aren’t the only government story around, of course.

Superfund site: Correspondent Ashli Blow has a look at pollution concerns and unanswered questions about the J.H. Baxter Superfund site. 

Dam review sought: Conservation groups filed a petition with federal regulators about the Eugene Water & Electric Board’s Trail Bridge Dam, asking for a review to make long-term fixes to aid fish migration.

— Ben Botkin

Were you forwarded this newsletter? Sign up here to receive Willamette Watchdog every Monday in your inbox.

Inside Eugene City hall with Grace chinowsky

Elections 2026: Read up on the candidates running in the Eugene City Council races to represent wards 3 (Jennifer Smith vs. John Barofsky), 4 (Jennifer Yeh vs. Tom Stedman) and 5 (Mike Clark vs. Jasmine Hatmaker vs. Athena Aguiar). More coverage coming soon.

East campus area: Debate continued over the University of Oregon’s request to raise building heights in the area between campus and the surrounding Fairmount neighborhood at a second public hearing last week.

Checking in on Springfield With lillian Schrock-Clevenger

New councilor: Last week, councilors chose Jill Cuadros to be interim city councilor for the vacant Ward 4 seat. Cuadros is support services director at Eugene School District 4J. The Springfield City Council’s unanimous vote came after more than an hour of deliberations and several failed votes as the council became deadlocked between two other candidates, Callee Ackland and Luke McAllister. Unable to come to agreement on either of those candidates, councilors chose to consider a third option. Cuadros will be sworn in this evening.

House District 7: Three Democratic candidates are vying for the Springfield legislative seat of retiring Rep. John Lively: Ky Fireside, KC Huffman and Kori Rodley. The Democratic candidate who receives the most votes will proceed to the November election to run against Republican candidate Adam Wilson, who is unopposed in the primary.

Fire district levy: Lane Fire Authority, which provides fire and emergency medical services to western Lane County, is trying for a levy increase again after voters defeated the measure in November. Fire Chief Dale Borland said the district’s permanent tax rate is not keeping pace with its cost of service. 

beyond lane county

Rural schools funding: Most Oregon counties, including Lane County, will get a share of nearly $100 million in federal funding for rural schools, roads and counties, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reports.

Oregonian Trump appointee departs: Lori Chavez Deremer, a Republican who lost a 2024 congressional reelection race, is out as the labor secretary, the Capital Chronicle reports. 

Tariff skepticism: Also from the Capital Chronicle: Small businesses in Oregon are skeptical of the Trump administration’s tariff reimbursements. 

Public Meetings this week

Monday

  • The Eugene City Council will meet at 5:30 p.m. for a work session to review city work using funding from the Parks and Recreation Bond and Levy and additional changes to its operating agreements.
  • The Eugene council will reconvene for a regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. and will discuss extending the expiration dates for types of land use approvals, among other things. 
  • The Springfield City Council will hold a special session at 5:15 p.m. to swear in the interim Ward 4 councilor. 
  • The Springfield City Council will meet for a work session at 5:45 p.m. to provide guidance to staff on city fees and charges. 
  • The Springfield Economic Development Agency will meet in executive session at 7 p.m. to discuss downtown real property.

Tuesday 

  • Lane County commissioners will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday to discuss issues and get updates on issues like public safety funding, a push for an indoor sports facility and funding requests to stabilize a couple of covered bridges.
  • The Springfield Historic Commission will meet at 5 p.m.

Wednesday 

  • The Springfield Housing + Design Initiative Technical Advisory Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. 

Do you have story ideas or tips? Send them our way: ben@lookoutlocal.com | grace@lookoutlocal.com | lilliansc@lookoutlocal.com

Download the Lookout Eugene-Springfield app in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Our content isn’t possible without community support, so if you’re not already, please consider becoming a Lookout member.

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.

Grace Chinowsky graduated from The George Washington University with a degree in journalism. She served as metro editor, senior news editor and editor in chief of the university’s independent student newspaper, The GW Hatchet, and interned at CNN and MSNBC. Grace covers Eugene’s city government and the University of Oregon.