Program date: March 29, 2024
Air date: April 1, 2024
From the City Club of Eugene:
Four of the eight Eugene City Council seats will be decided in the May primary election, and for three of the seats there are challengers. In Ward 1, Emily Semple is stepping down, leaving an open seat sought by three candidates. In Wards 2 and 7, incumbents each face a challenger. Councilor Randy Groves runs unopposed to represent Ward 8. What are the candidates’ positions on the many issues facing the City of Eugene?
In this forum, all the candidates in two of the contested races will address such topics as homelessness, crime, transportation, and the environment. (Candidates for Ward 7 are not both available.) City councilors play a vital role in shaping the direction our city is going to take and will continue taking in the future. Listen and make an informed choice.
Our moderator is KLCC's Rachael McDonald, editor of the KLCC Extra! and the local host of the NPR’s All Things Considered.
Speakers:
Ethan Clevenger has lived in Eugene since 2016. Upon moving here, he founded Sterner Stuff, where he works with small businesses, mid-sized companies, and universities to build custom websites and applications. In 2018, he and other members of the Bethel community re-activated the Active Bethel Community neighborhood association, where he then served as chair and member-at-large.
Clevenger served as president of the Emerald Valley Professionals chapter of Oregon Networking Exchange and led the business networking group successfully through the first year of COVID. He opened Porterhouse Clothing & Supply in Downtown Eugene in 2020, also in the midst of COVID.
Today, he sits on the Local Government Affairs Council at the Eugene Chamber of Commerce and serves as president of Downtown Eugene Merchants, where he focuses on energizing local business owners to collaborate on events and marketing, to create a more vibrant Downtown Eugene. He earned a BA in Computer Science from Drake University.
Ted Coopman moved to Eugene in February 2016 and joined the Jefferson Westside Neighbors Board that April. Since 2018, he has served as chair, working with the city and county on a wide variety of initiatives including creating 80 units of affordable housing. As the Friends of Monroe Park lead for 8 years, he contributed several thousand volunteer hours. In 2021, he was the only neighborhood leader invited to join the Eugene Chamber of Commerce Business Leaders Task Force on Homelessness.
Coopman is a first-generation college student, earning a bachelor’s in theater, a master’s in mass communications, and a doctorate in communication.
He taught at San José State University for 13 years. He previously spent 15 years in the restaurant and catering industry, along with stints as a house painter, tree crew member, small business owner, retail salesperson, martial arts instructor, and 30 years as a media democracy activist.
Eliza Kashinsky moved to Ward 1 eleven years ago. In 2015, she co-founded WE CAN, the Walkable Eugene Citizens Advisory Network, which advocates for neighborhood walkability and a greater diversity in housing types, including Accessory Dwelling Units.
Kashinsky has served on the Eugene Budget Committee since 2017 and on the Lane County Planning Commission since 2021. She was a member of the Eugene Active Transportation Committee, the Housing Tools and Strategies Working Group, the Public Safety Revenue Team, and the Mayor’s Climate Recovery Ordinance Working Group.
She has nearly 20 years of experience in non-profit and public sector management, with a focus on helping organizations develop the infrastructure they need for success.
She was previously the Operations Director for the Organic Materials Review Institute and the Human Resources Director for South Lane Mental Health, and is currently a Senior Management Analyst at Lane County. She earned a BA at SUNY-Albany.
Matt Keating is the incumbent City Councilor (2021-present) for Ward 2, currently serving as Council President. In addition, he is Chief of Staff to Sen. James I. Manning, Jr. and a member of the Board of Directors of the Democratic Municipal Officials (DMO) and KLCC’s Public Radio Foundation.
Keating has been a member of the boards of Lane Community College, Lane Council of Governments, and Eugene Public Library. He has worked as a radio broadcaster for Clear Channel Communications, as an account executive and digital director for Cumulus Media, and as a political consultant for MoveOn.org.
As one of Oregon’s three Democratic National Committee members, he is active with the Western States Regional Caucus, LGBT Caucus, and the Council on the Environment & Climate Crisis. He studied radio and TV broadcasting at San Jose State University and theater arts at Lane Community College.
Lisa Warnes has lived in Ward 2 for 44 years. She has been a residential remodeling contractor for the past 25 years. Before that she worked as a member of Burly Design Cooperative. She led the successful fight to protect 40 acres of mature forest from development, and that land is now part of the Ridgeline Park System.
She has also served on the Southeast Neighbors Board and the Eugene Planning Commission, and volunteered with Save the Pets for six years as an adoption and foster care coordinator. She helped get her area organized with the Southeast Neighbors’ Disaster Preparedness Program.
Before settling into work as a remodeling contractor, Warnes took business courses in college and then dove into her love of music and helped to launch community music broadcasts on KRVM radio.
Warnes is a proud member of the Choctaw Nation.
About the City Club of Eugene:
The mission of the City Club of Eugene is to build community vision through open inquiry. The Club explores a wide range of significant local, state, and national issues and helps to formulate new approaches and solutions to problems. Membership is open to all, and Club members have a direct influence on public policy by discussing issues of concern with elected officials and other policy makers. The City Club’s mailing address is PO Box 12084, Eugene, OR 97440, and its website is cityclubofeugene.org.
Video and Broadcast
This program will be live streamed, and the videotape will be made available on the City Club of Eugene’s Facebook page and You Tube Channel, in addition to our website. It will be broadcast on Monday, April 1, 2024 at 7:00 pm, on KLCC 89.7 FM.
Contact: For more information, visit CityClubOfEugene.org.