© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KLCC News will be covering many aspects of the May 2014 Primary Election. Visit this page for all election related stories.

East Lane County Commissioner Candidates Comment On Redistricting

At noon on Friday, KLCC hosted a candidate forum for the East Lane County Commissioner race. Incumbent Faye Stewart and challengers Joann Ernst, Jose Ortal, and Kevin Matthews answered questions from KLCC listeners and local leaders.

Candidates gave opening statements, then took questions. Issues ranged from rural homelessness to public safety and discrimination laws. Some candidates were prepared with scripts. Everyone was able to answer questions completely in the one-minute response time.

Credit Karen Richards
Kevin Matthews

Kevin Matthews, a Dexter-based magazine editor, was first to comment on the controversial redistricting of East Lane County after the 2010 census:

Matthews: "When the conservative commissioner majority voted to spend tens of thousands of dollars of county money on an unnecessary redistricting, they took what had classically been a kind of a pure rural district in East Lane County and added the Churchill neighborhood of west Eugene."

Credit Karen Richards
Jose Ortal

Jose Ortal, a business consultant from Blue River, had a stronger opinion on the issue:

Ortal: "I would posit that what happened in 2010-2011 is not redistricting. It’s called gerrymandering. Insofar as the actual redistricting is concerned, it was done for no other reason than to make East Lane County much more habitable for a Republican to win."

Ortal also contended Commissioner Stewart voted for the redistricting after he was asked by the Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce to vote against it.

Credit Karen Richards
Joann Ernst

Joann Ernst, a former EWEB Commissioner, also mentioned Stewart's vote against the advice of the Cottage Grove Chamber. She said redistricting cost the county in other ways:

Ernst: "The conservative commissioners went and bought a new type of software that was used in other areas to redistrict, to put the advantage for Republicans. And as taxpayers we paid for that new software."

Credit Karen Richards
Faye Stewart

Incumbent Faye Stewart argued the County Administrator bought the software. On the redistricting itself, he said census counts provide an opportunity for assessment. He said the goal is to have five districts with similar populations. In this case, the districts were within tolerances. Stewart clarified:

Stewart: "Our charter states that the Springfield Commissioner was to represent the Springfield citizens and the E. Lane County district represented nearly 7 thousand constituents in the Springfield city limits that should have been represented by the Springfield commissioner."

County Commissioner positions are non partisan, four-year jobs. In order to win on May 20th, a candidate must have over 50 percent of the vote. If that doesn't happen, the top two candidates will face off in November.  

Karen Richards joined KLCC as a volunteer reporter in 2012, and became a freelance reporter at the station in 2015. In addition to news reporting, she’s contributed to several feature series for the station, earning multiple awards for her reporting.
Related Content