Editor's note:This story was last updated March 16.
Deadlines have passed for people to file for local, state and federal seats in Oregon.
There's not a presidential election in 2022, but voters still have plenty to turn out for, from city hall to the Oregon Capitol to Congress.
First up: The primary on May 17, when voters will select party nominees for partisan offices and help narrow the field for nonpartisan seats.
Here's what you need to know about open seats and who's running.
What seats are up this year?
There are multiple county and cityseats up for election this year. Here they are broken down by county-level and city-level seats.
Lane County
- Board of Commissioners District 1, which covers the western portion of the county
- Board of Commissioners District 2, which covers Springfield
- Board of Commissioners District 5, which covers the eastern portion of the county
- Assessor
- Circuit Court Seat 5
- Circuit Court Seat 9
- Circuit Court Seat 11
- Circuit Court Seat 13
Eugene
- City Council Ward 3, on the eastern partof the city from Franklin Boulevard to the Amazon neighborhood area
- City Council Ward 4, on the northeast side and east of Oakway Road
- City Council Ward 5, on the northeast side between the river and Oakway Road
- City Council Ward 6, north of Royal Avenue and west of State Highway 99
- Eugene Water & Electric Board, Wards 4 and 5
- Eugene Water &Electric Board, at-large seat
Springfield
- City Council Ward 1, representing the northwest portion of the city including the Gateway area
- City Council Ward 2, representing the western portion of the city south of State Highway 126
- City Council Ward 5,representing the city between 42nd and 55th streets and part of the city just east of Straub Parkway lining the Thurston Hills Natural Area
Other cities in Lane County will only hold a general election for nonpartisan council and mayor spots.
Federal and state seats will appear on the ballot this year, too. Lane County voters will weigh in on theU.S. Senate seat held by Ron Wyden and the 4thCongressional District seat.
There also are stateseats up that Lane County residentscan cast votes for, with state Senate and House districts varying depending on where someone lives:
- Oregon governor
- Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries
- State Senate districts 4, 6 and 7
- State House districts 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14
Voters will weigh in on state-level judicial seats, as well, but those aren't included in this wrap up.
Who's filed so far?
Here's who's filed so far, broken down by seat from city up to federal government.
Eugene
Seven people have filed for city seats:
- John Brown for EWEB Commissioner Wards 4 and 5, the seat he currently holds
- Mike Clark for City Council Ward 5, the seat he currently holds
- Greg Evans for City Council Ward 6, the seat he currently holds
- Mindy Schlossberg for EWEB Commissioner at-large, the seat she currently holds
- Jennifer Solomon for City Council Ward 4. Solomon is a former city councilor for Ward 6
- Jennifer Yeh for City Council Ward 4, the seat she currently holds
- Alan Zelenka for City Council Ward 3, the seat he currently holds
There's more information about Eugene elections ateugene-or.gov/518/Elections.
State of City address:Pandemic 'altered trajectory across the board' for Eugene in 2021
Springfield
Four candidates have filed for city seats:
- Victoria Doyle for Ward 5
- Steve Moe for City Council Ward 2, the seat he currently holds
- Mark Molina for City Council Ward 5. Molina currently sits on the Springfield Utility Board
- Michelle Webber for Ward 1. Webber currently sits on the Lane Transit District Board of Directors
There's more information about Springfield elections atspringfield-or.gov/city/city-recorder-elections/
State of City address:Springfield residents pulled together, showed city 'was resilient and thriving' in 2021
Lane County
Two people are running for Lane County Assessor—Faith Bowlsby and Mary Vuksich-Shafer, both of whom work in the assessor's office. Michael Cowles was running for re-election but withdrew for personal reasons.
Commissioner Joe Berney has filed for re-election to District 2. In a press release, he touts a record that includes the creation of the first Lane County Climate Initiative, "steady and focused leadership" amidst crisis and his role in helping residents purchase The Patrician mobile home park.
He's challenged by David Loveall, who saidin a press release that he's running because the commission has "become very Eugene-centric" and is overlooking Springfield.Jeremy Sherer, an employee in the county's public works department, had filed but withdrew on March 10.
Commissioner Heather Buch has filed for re-election to District 5, saying in a press release that there's "more work to bedone to make our communities more resilient" and she's "not done fighting" for residents.
"As we continue to battle COVID-19 and rebuild from last year’s unprecedented fires, I’m committed to jumpstarting the local small business economy and expanding housing with supported services for our unsheltered neighbors," Buch said in a statement.
She's challenged by Kyle Blain, a city councilor in Coburg who says he's "grown disappointed in the current direction" of the Board of Commissioners.
"There are significant challenges that our county currently faces: equitable access to housing, the growing homeless crisis, timber and land management, as well as an uptick in criminal and drug-related activity," Blain said in a statement. "I believe I have the right skill set to help solve these problems."
District 1 is open after Commissioner Jay Bozievich announced he would be retiring at the end of his term on Jan. 3, 2023, instead of running for re-election.
Bozievich said he's proud of what the county has accomplished during his three terms as commissioner.
"We went from being on a list of counties that could go bankrupt to the highest financial stability rating from Moody’s in the history of Lane County," he said in a statement. "We went from scandals and secret meetings to earning enough trust with citizens in May of 2013 to pass the first public safety levy in a generation after 14 unsuccessful attempts and renewed that levy in May of 2017 by an almost 3-1 vote."
Bozievichthanked people in western Lane County for trusting him for the past 11 years and said he looks forward to serving them "to the best of my ability through the end of my term."
Five people have filed to run for the open seat:
- Ryan Ceniga, a Eugene Water & Electric Board employee who serves on the Junction City School Board
- Terry Duman, a small business owner from Florence
- Misty Fox, a private security officer
- Rod Graves, a former EMT who's served on boards for the Santa Clara Fire District and the Santa Clara Water District
- Dawn Lesley, anenvironmental engineer who serves as vice-chair of the Lane County Budget Committee and lives in Santa Clara. She ran for the seat in 2014
State of Lane County:2021 gave 'tangible cause for hope' as officials shift to recovery mode
State Senate
Floyd Prozanski, a Democrat from Eugene, has filed for re-election to District 4.
Cedric Hayden, a Republican from Lane County currently representing Oregon House District 7, has filed for District 6. Ashley Pelton, a Democrat from Cottage Grove, also has filed for the seat.
James Manning Jr., a Democrat from Eugene, has filed for re-election to District 7.Raquel Ivie, an auto broker from Eugene, is running for the seat as a Republican.
State House
John Lively, a Democrat from Springfield, has filed to continue representing the city in District 7 (he represented District 12 until redistricting changed district lines). Two Republicans are seeking to challenge him − Raiph Huber and Alan Stout, both of whom live in Springfield
Paul Holvey, a Democrat from Eugene, has filed for reelection to District 8.Michael Moore, a Eugene resident, is seeking the Republican nomination.
Boomer Wright, a Republicanfrom Douglas County, has filed for reelection to District 9.
Five Linn County residents have filed to run for District 11 after redistricting drew the current representative out of the district:
- Nina Brenner, a Democrat
- State Representative Jami Cate, a Republican who previously has represented District 17
- Tyler Collins, a Republican
- Mary Cooke, a Democrat
- Heather Dillon, a Republican
Five people have filed to run for District 12:
- Charlie Conrad, a Republican and the operations supervisor at Lane Events Center
- Nicole De Graff, a Republican and small business owner from Springfield
- Michelle Emmons, a Democrat from Oakridge who works for Willamette Riverkeeper
- Jeff Gowing, a Republican serving as mayor of Cottage Grove
- Bill Ledford, a Republican from Eugene
Nancy Nathanson, a Democrat, has filed for reelection to District 13. Timothy Sutherland, a Eugene resident, is seeking the Republican nomination.
Julie Fahey, a Democrat, has filed for reelection to District 14. Caleb Clark, who currently serves on the board for Bethel School District, and Stan Stubblefield, a small business owner from Eugene, are running for the Republican nomination.
Oregon governor
More than 30 people have filed to run for governor and been determined eligible:
- Raymond Baldwin, a Republican from Clackamas County
- Bridget Barton, a Republican from Clackamas County
- David Beem, a Democrat from Marion County
- Julian Bell, a Democrat from Jackson County
- Court Boice, a Republican who serves on the Curry County Board of Commissioners
- Wilson Bright, a Democrat from Multnomah County
- David Burch, a Republican from Marion County
- George Carrillo, a Democrat from Washington County
- Reed Christensen, a Republican from Washington County
- Michael Cross, a Democrat from Marion County
- Ifeanyichukwu Diru, a farmer from Washington County running as a Democrat
- Christine Drazan, a Republican from Clackamas County who's currently serving as a state representative and the House minority leader
- Jessica Gomez, a Republican from Jackson County
- Peter Hall, a Democrat from Baker County and current Haines City Council member
- Nick Hess, a Republican from Washington County
- Tina Kotek, a Democrat from Multnomah County who's served as a state representative since 2007 and House Speaker since 2013
- Tim McCloud, a Republican from Marion County
- Kerry McQuisten, a Republican and the current mayor of Baker City
- Keisha Lanell Merchant, a Democrat from Benton County
- Brandon Merritt, a Republican from Deschutes County
- Bud Pierce, a Republican from Polk County
- John Presco, a Republican from Springfield
- Stan Pulliam, a Republican from and the current mayor of Sandy
- Tobias Read, a Democrat from Washington County who's served as state treasurer since 2017
- Amber Richardson, a Republican from Jackson County
- Bill Sizemore, a Republican from Deschutes County
- Patrick E. Starnes, a Democrat from Linn County
- Dave Stauffer, a Democrat from Multnomah County
- Stefan Strek, a Republican from Eugene
- John Sweeney, a Democrat from Multnomah County
- Marc Thielman, a Republican from Lane County who's served as superintendent of the Alsea School District and made news forcoaching parents on getting their children out of wearing masks
- Bob Tiernan, a Republican from Clackamas County who's a former state representative
- Michael Trimble, a Democrat from Multnomah County
- Genevieve Wilson, a Democrat from Multnomah County
- Peter Winter, a Democrat from Clackamas County
Former New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof filed, but officials declared him ineligible because he doesn't meet a three-year residency requirement. The state's supreme court deliberatedhis appeal of the decision. On Feb. 17, the court ruled the Oregon Secretary of State appropriately determined Kristof did not meet the Oregon Constitution's three-year residency requirement to run for Oregon governor.
BOLI Commissioner
Seven people havefiled to lead the state agency:
- Aaron Baca, a small business owner from Washington County
- Brent Barker, a banker and small business owner from Washington County
- Cheri Helt, a business owner from Deschutes County
- Chris Henry, a union linehaul truck driver from Clackamas County
- Casey M. Kulla, a Yamhill County commissioner who was running for governor until recently
- Robert Neuman, a Baker County resident who describes himself as a general laborer
- Christina Stephenson, a civil rights attorney and small business owner from Washington County
4th Congressional District
There's the potential for a wide field in the race for Oregon's 4th Congressional District after Peter DeFazio announced he wouldn't seek reelection.
Read more:After more than three decades in office, Oregon U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio will not seek reelection
Various people have filed with the state for the open seat:
- Sami Al-Abdrabbuh, a Democrat from Benton County who's serving on theCorvallis 509J School Board
- Doyle Canning, a Democrat from Eugene who ran against DeFazio in 2020.
- ValerieHoyle, a Democrat and the currentOregonCommissioner of Labor & Industries
- Andrew Kalloch, a Democrat from Eugene who's on leave from his job as an Airbnb lobbyist
- Steven Laible, a veteran and children's author from Josephine County running as a Democrat
- John Selker, an Oregon State University professor running as a Democrat
- AlekSkarlatos, a veteran and Republican from Douglas County
- G. Tommy Smith, a Democrat and personal banker from Eugene
DeFazio announced he's endorsing Hoyle, saying she's proven she can win tough races and is the right person for the seat.
"We need someone who has progressive values and a proven track record of results," DeFazio said in a statement. "We need someone with deep roots in this district, who knows this district and has put in the work for our communities."
Related:
- 1 GOP, 1 Independent and a slew of Democrats look to replace DeFazio in Washington, D.C.
Senate
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, is seeking reelection.
He faces two primary challengers, and more than half a dozen Republicans are seeking to get the party nomination to run in November:
- William E. Barlow III, a Democrat from Yamhill County
- Jason Beebe, a Republican and the current mayor of Prineville in Crook County
- Chris Christensen, a Republican from Washington County who ran for the First Congressional District in 2020
- Robert M. Fleming, a Republican from Multnomah County
- Darin Harbick, a Republican business owner from Lane County whose name people might recognize from Harbick's Country Inn
- Sam Palmer, a Republican and current commissioner in Grant County
- Joe Rae Perkins, a Republican from Linn County
- Ibra A Taher, a Republican from Eugene who describes himself as a self-employed philosophy teacher
- Brent Thompson, a Democrat from Curry County
Contact city government watchdog Megan Banta at mbanta@registerguard.com. Follow her on Twitter @MeganBanta_1.
