The slow progress of rebuilding from the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire was a topic at a recent forum for Lane County Commissioner candidates.
Kyle Blain is challenging incumbent Heather Buch for East Lane County Commissioner. At a City Club of Eugene forum on Friday, he said county land use rules and red tape make it hard for community members to rebuild.
“We only have 8% of our homes rebuilt up in that area and that’s absolutely embarrassing,” he said. “I think that we needed to absolutely change that. Be more aggressive, do whatever we could to get people through that process because they lost literally everything they have.”
Buch said she worked with the state legislature to reduce red tape.
“We did waive permit fees,” she said. “We were out in the community. These people have really experienced the most incredible trauma of their lives and I am deeply, deeply invested in their rebuilding and their recovery.”
Four people are vying for the position of West Lane County Commissioner in the May 17th primary.
The seat is open since incumbent Jay Bozievich decided not to run again. He’s endorsed Ryan Ceniga, a Junction City School Board member who works in construction. Dawn Lesley, an environmental engineer, nearly beat Bozievich when she previously ran for the seat in 2014. She’s got support from prominent Democrats, including Peter DeFazio.
Terry Duman of Florence, a small business owner, is also running for the position. As is Misty Fox, a security guard from Deadwood.
The primary election is May 17. If no candidate wins the majority of votes in the primary, the two top vote-getters will compete in a runoff in November.
The Springfield seat is also contested in the primary. Incumbent Joe Berney faces challenger Dave Loveall.
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