In the May 19 primary, Eugene voters are being asked to change some language in the city charter.
Measure 20-377, if approved, would remove a requirement that department heads live within city limits. At a work session last September, then-City Manager Sarah Medary said the requirement puts Eugene at a disadvantage for recruiting.
“We have real life examples of execs on our team that have had to sell and uproot their families to move into the city at great cost to themselves. I'm surprised they did it,” she said. “And, we've also had candidates that have not been able to compete, that live in the area, not in Eugene, that are other very qualified candidates that may live in Springfield or Cottage Grove and have not been able to apply.”
At that meeting, Councilor Mike Clark mentioned that Eugene Springfield Fire Chief Mike Caven had to move to Eugene from Cottage Grove when he took his leadership position.
Measure 20-376 would remove gender-specific pronouns like “his” and “her” but instead use the title of the person, or more specific or gender-neutral language.