Commissioner, challenger build up campaign funds

Handy, a landscape contractor, has raised nearly $70,000, much of it in donations of $100 or less, according to state election filings. Green, a 13-year incumbent and the board’s longest-serving member, has amassed $50,000, toward a goal of bringing in $120,000.

Where money is concerned, the battle to represent north Eugene on the board is, to date, a two-horse race. The other candidates, translator Nadia Sindi and Steve Sherbina, an employee of the Eugene Water & Electric Board, have not yet registered fundraising committees with the state.

The county board faces daunting challenges in the months ahead, including a possible end of federal timber payments and what to do with the aging fairgrounds complex near downtown Eugene.

While the commissioners’ personal politics don’t regularly play into county issues, a Handy win “would tilt the board farther to the left,” said Jack Roberts, executive director of the Lane Metro Partnership business recruitment organization and a supporter of Green.

Handy appears more likely to line up with liberal Commissioner Peter Sorenson and, at times, positions taken by Commissioners Bill Dwyer and Bill Fleenor, Roberts said. Green seems to identify with conservative values, Roberts added.

Handy has been endorsed by the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, and some of his bigger backers embrace environmental goals: Deborah Noble, who runs an ecologically sensitive wood-products company and regularly backs progressive candidates, has loaned Handy $5,000; Eugene physicians Byrke and Klarissa Beller, who have pledged $10,000 total, are unhappy with Green’s environmental record, Handy said.

Builder Carlos Barrera, who has donated $10,000, is a neighborhood leader in south Eugene.

Green’s biggest donors, on the other hand, include captains of industry: gravel-company operators Vern Egge, Avon Lee Babb and the Wildish family, wood-products executive John Murphy and Coburg RV executive Kay Toolson.

However, Green’s largest gift to date comes from Jon Jaqua, a former professional football player and member of one of Eugene’s more prominent families, who has loaned $25,000.

“I’ve made a commitment to this community,” said Green, a New Orleans native who moved here at age 18 to attend the University of Oregon. “That’s something that he and his family value.”

Handy could be said to be taking the “Fleenor” approach to campaigning, after the board’s newest member.

Fleenor, a businessman from Mapleton, said he knocked on 5,000 doors in his district over a two-year campaign to defeat Commissioner Anna Morrison in 2006; he notched the most lopsided upset of an incumbent on the board in 20 years.

Handy said he has reached out to almost 12,000 households over the past four months during his own pound-the-pavement effort.

Handy said his purpose is to listen to constituents — not raise money — but the visitsnevertheless appear to be paying off: He’s raised more than $20,000 in contributions of $100 or less — almost 30 percent of his total collections. Green, by comparison, has raised $1,750 in minor donations.

Said Handy: “I’m hearing it at the doorstep of regular people, people on fixed income, people with not a lot of money — they want a voice in this district. That would be a change from the incumbent and who his constituents appear to be.”

While Handy has outpaced Green in the money race so far, he predicted that the commissioner will ultimately outspend him 2-to-1.

Green compared his fundraising goals to the $100,000 total he collected in 2000, when he defended his seat against Kitty Piercy, then a state representative. But he said he’s motivated by the issues facing the county — not the threat of challengers.“This is going to be a critical time for Lane County,” Green said. “I have ideas, and I would like to make sure we advance those ideas.”

The advertising wave that the Green and Handy money will buy will be unleashed soon, as the May 2 ballot mailing approaches.