Two incumbents seeking reelection to the Lane Board of County Commissioners were trailing election night, according to preliminary results.
Springfield District incumbent David Loveall was behind on election night with 41% of votes.
Loveall has faced controversy for hostile interactions with county employees and frequently referencing his faith from the dais and at other county events.
His challenger, Springfield Mayor Sean VanGordon, had more than 51% of votes on election night. VanGordon has said he’s hoping to calm the waters on the county commission and refocus attention onto solving regional problems.
A third candidate, William Monsoor, had about 7% of the votes.
Progressive East Lane Commissioner Heather Buch was also trailing on election night with 45% of votes.
Her opponent, conservative political consultant Jake Pelroy, had 50% of votes.
Pelroy, whose family members own a trash hauling business, has said he ran for commissioner in part out of frustrations over the county’s efforts to build a food waste diversion facility, the CleanLane project, by raising fees on haulers. Buch supported the project and has argued it has both economic and environmental win.
A third candidate, Bob Zybach came in third with less than 5 percent of votes. Zybach said he ran to encourage local governments to pursue active forest management.
West Lane incumbent Ryan Ceniga was far ahead with 61% of votes against progressive challenger Thomas Hiura, who is a Lane Education Services District Board Member and the former Eugene City Club President.
