Eugene City Council candidates in Ward 3 make their case to sway voters for an open seat

It’s been 20 years since anyone but Alan Zelenka represented the people of Ward 3 on the Eugene City Council. His decision to not run has left two candidates vying for his spot.

For the candidates of the district that includes the University of Oregon, questions of coexistence with the school is a topic.

During a recent City Club forum, Jennifer Smith and John Borofsky talked about the nuances of having a major presence like UO in the ward.

Smith, a UO alumna, employee and president of the classified staff union, is concerned about encroachment by the university and developers seeking to build near campus.

“There are many ways to work on these issues, and it really needs to be community conversation and we need a community process to help guide us through these complex issues," she said.

Borofsky, a restaurateur who co-owns Beppe and Gianni’s Trattoria, said a goal for the city should be to work with the university to ensure it’s being a good neighbor to the community. And its presence can create unintentional issues in Ward 3 with housing in particular.

“We have a lot of short term rentals that are being driven by our proximity to the University of Oregon. A lot of these short term rentals could be houses that my employees could have as their house and could send their kids to Edison elementary,” he said.

Issues that affect the city as a whole are also of concern for the candidates, particularly the city’s shrinking budget.

Barofsky is a member of Eugene’s Budget Committee and on the EWEB Board of Commissioners. That experience makes him reluctant to add more taxes and fees, preferring to examine more creative options.

“Amazon Pool is a very great amenity to my ward,” he said. “And I would look at, well, the YMCA is just down the street, and they're running aquatic programs. Perhaps we can partner with the YMCA and make some efficiencies there. These are the types of things that I would like to look into.”

Smith, who grew up near South Eugene High School, thinks ideas such as a vacancy tax or a tax on corporate-owned short-term rentals could help raise funds and make more homes available as well as such efficiencies.

But cuts can’t come at the expense of needed resources.

“As our personal household finances get tighter, we need to have resources in our community where we can join together civically in public spaces and free activities or near free activities like the library,” she said.

She called budgets a value document, saying it’s important to ensure it reflects the priorities of residents.

Housing is another key issue that both mentioned. Barofsky said incentives such as the Multi-Unit Property Tax Exemption can help when used properly. That tool in particular has been a topic of debate.

“We do have tools,” he said. “We need to lean into those tools. And we need to not vilify those tools.”

But the ultimate goal for him is to bring better paying jobs to Eugene so people can afford market-rate housing.

Smith sees housing incentives differently. She said that the answer is more affordable housing rather than incentivizing the building of market rate homes.

“I have yet to see a trickle down effect of market rate apartments becoming affordable,” she said. “So I'm concerned about, yes, giveaways to out-of-state developers seeking to extract value out of our community.”

She wants to ensure that public investments have measurable targets, so people know if they are working or not.

Ward 3 has also been the location of several incidents where pedestrians or cyclists have been injured or killed by cars.

Smith, who was a member of the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (now the Active Transportation Committee), advocates for lowering speed limits.

“Since COVID, people are driving faster. They're driving more recklessly. They're running red lights and they are not sharing the road with other users,” she said. “We've had some really painful, to our community, traffic deaths recently especially around the university.”

Barofsky said his experience on the Street Bond Review Panel would allow him to get safety improvements completed.

“Advocating for more of these safety projects in our Transportation System Plan and advocating for a larger percentage of street bond money to go to bicycle and pedestrian safety is something that I have leaned into and will lean into going forward,” he said.

Barofsky noted that past city councils have voted in favor of the panel’s suggestions, saying his plan is a path to affect change.