It’s the East and West Lane County Commissioners Candidates’ Forum at First United Methodist Church, 1376 Olive Street Eugene, on April 29, 2022 at Noon, or via livestream at: https://youtu.be/XDKBem_cqEM
The East and West Lane County Commission districts offer a wealth of opportunities for leadership. Each district stretches from the more densely populated areas of the central county over half its long span, one from the Willamette Valley west to the Pacific and the other east to the Cascades. West Lane residents are fishers, farmers, and foresters, with a strip of high-traffic tourist destinations and a concentration of health care providers along the coast, several small school districts, and a few rural towns surrounded by sparsely populated miles of woodlands and family farms. East Lane surrounds Eugene, encompassing the bigger towns like Cottage Grove and Creswell, and then stretches into the Cascades. It also has a few small towns (some recovering from recent fires) and school districts, vast tracts of productively harvested forests, some river sport hubs, and skiing on the slopes at the eastern end—many economic activities that are weather dependent. Somehow, the East and West Commissioners have to master the intricacies of the core social and economic needs of these diverse regions and figure out how to work with the other three commissioners to create policies and programs that work for the whole county. This is no small assignment!
Anyone who wins 51% of the vote in this local race gets the position; if no one does, the race continues in November.
In this program, the four candidates for the West County seat being vacated by the incumbent and the two candidates for the East County seat will describe their ideas and priorities for serving the people of Lane County and their qualifications for leading. A fifth candidate, Rodney Graves, dropped out of the race.
KLCC News Director Rachael McDonald will moderate this forum. Questions can be submitted by the audience and texted by those watching the livestream.
Speakers
Name: Ryan Ceniga
Website:https://www.ryanceniga.com/
Ryan Ceniga has worked as a farm hand, diesel mechanic, house framer, and utility contractor. He is a member of the Junction City School Board and serves on its Long-Range Planning Committee. He is an active member of the Lions Club, and was a volunteer coach for youth teams and a member of the Junction City Athletic Board. He is a graduate of Junction City High School and earned an Associate Degree from in Diesel Technology from the Arizona Automotive Institute.
Name: Terry Duman
Website:https://m.facebook.com/voteduman?ref=py_c
Terry Duman has been a small-business owner for his entire career. He has done commercial fishing and logging and currently operates an excavating and hauling company with more than 20 employees. During five years as a member of the United States Marine Corp Reserve, he attained the rank of sergeant. He is serving his third term as president of the Siuslaw Port Commission. He graduated from Siuslaw High School.
Name: Misty Fox
Website:https://m.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=122212323715220&id=111943321408787&locale=ne_NP&_rdr
Misty Fox is a private security officer. She is a graduate of Junction City High School and studied veterinary science at Portland Community College.
Name: Dawn Lesley
Dawn Lesley is an environmental engineer with 30 years of experience promoting energy efficiency and cleaning up dirty water. She evaluates the cost-effectiveness of wastewater operations and leads Strategic Energy Management trainings that help wastewater plant operators use energy efficiently to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save money. She is Vice- Chair of the Lane County Budget Committee and an executive board member of the Santa Clara Community Organization. She earned an MS in engineering from OSU and is licensed by the State of Oregon.
Name: Kyle Blaine
Website:https://www.facebook.com/LaneCountyTribune/posts/lane-county-tribune-is-running-a-series-of-informative-posts-during-this-electio/4965080003572410/
Kyle Blaine is a Senior Portfolio Consultant on private financing on real estate. He has also worked in the timber and the insurance industries. He contributed to COVID-19 relief programs for small businesses and deliberations on land use and building code issues. He has been on the Coburg Budget Committee since 2017 and was elected to the Coburg City Council in 2018. He is a graduate of Marist High School and Oregon State University.
Name: Heather Buch
Website:https://www.heatherbuch.com/
Heather Buch spent 15 years running a small real estate business that specialized in affordable housing and was the Special Projects Director for St. Vincent De Paul Society of Lane County, Inc. Since being elected East Lane County Commissioner in 2019, she has led work responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and helping to rebuild after the Holiday Farm Fire. As a commissioner, she serves on the County’s Finance and Audit Committee and the Technology Management Team, and she is the board liaison to the Lane County Planning Commission, Transportation Advisory Committee, and several watershed councils. Regionally, she serves as chair of the Cascades West Economic Development District. She earned a bachelor’’ degree from Seattle University.
