Getting it done in the primary - Lane County Commissioner races

As you know, the primary is upon us. We have our ballots and voters pamphlets and are sitting down to decide who to vote for on May 18th. In Lane County, OLCV has been working hard to get voters out for two candidates- Pat Riggs-Henson for Springfield County Commissioner and Jerry Rust for West Lane County Commissioner.

I cannot empahsize enough how truly important the primary is in these races.  In fact, we can actually elect these great candidates on May 18! That's because in non-partisan races, the candidate who receives 50% of the vote plus one will be the only candidate on the November ballot, and therefore wins.

So what does this mean? It's pretty simple: If we put the time, energy and money into these campaigns now, we can be done with these races now. The alternative? A costly and time-intensive run-off.  For me, that is one of the most motivating reasons to get involved and to make sure to vote in the primary. I don't think I would be alone in my anquish if, on May 18th, we fell only a couple hundred votes short.

The commission's pro-conservation majority is at stake. In 2006, OLCV worked hard to get Bill Fleenor elected as the West Lane County Commissioner. Then in 2008, we worked on Rob Handy's campaign for the North Eugene seat, securing a pro-conservation majority on the commission. Since then, we have seen some great victories for the environment due to the work of the Board of Commissioners.  

Both candidates promise to be champions for the environment. Jerry Rust served on the Lane County Board of Commissioners for 20 years, and has stepped up to the plate to run for West Lane.  If there had been a local OLCV scorecard when Jerry was in office, he would have received 100%. Pat Riggs-Henson brings years of political experience to the table. She's committed to keeping Lane County's neighborhoods healthy and our drinking water clean.

This is an extremely important race for Lane County. There are many ways you can get involvedand help us push it over the edge in the last 12 days. Just think, you could be the one to help us reach that plus one!   

PS - Don't forget to vote all the way down the ballot!  OLCV has also endorsed state ballot measures 68 & 69, as well as Lane County ballot measure 20-158 to help save the Lane County Extension Service.