Ceniga tops Lesley in race for West Lane County Commissioner

KLCC | By Brian Bull

Published November 10, 2022 at 3:12 PM PST

Ryan Ceniga (left); and rival candidate Dawn Lesley (right) for West Lane Co. Commissioner.

The race for West Lane County Commissioner has ended with a win for Ryan Ceniga. At last check, he had 55% of the vote compared to his opponent Dawn Lesley, who had 45%. Ceniga had been encouraged to run by outgoing commissioner Jay Boziewich.

Ceniga - a Junction City coach, school board member, and utility contractor - ran on a platform championing rural concerns including public safety.

In an email, Lesley said she congratulated Ceniga over the phone Wednesday, and urged him and the Lane County Board of Commissioners to prioritize public safety as well, and added climate action and affordable housing as concerns.

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Brian Bull

Brian Bull is a part-time reporter for the KLCC News department, and first began working with the station in 2016. He's been a senior reporter with the Native American media organization Buffalo's Fire, and a journalism professor at the University of Oregon.

In his 30 years working as a public media journalist, Bull has worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (25 regional), the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from the Indigenous Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.

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