Oregon daily emerald., May 21, 1980, Section A, Page 7, Image 7

Keller wins second term as Eugene mayor
Mayor Gus Keller will spend another
four years in Eugene's top office, after
defeating former City Council member
Catherine Lauris by 8,076 votes.
Keller, who said Tuesday night he
did not expect to pass Lauris by such a
wide margin — 25 percent — will begin
his second term as mayor Jan. 1.
“I think people looked at what I'd
been trying to accomplish in the last
three-and-a-half years,” said Keller,
general manager and president of John
Warren sports centers in Eugene. ' I’m
looking forward to four more years of
serving the citizens of Eugene.”
The incumbent based his re-election
campaign on his record of support for
economic diversification — specifically,
Spectra Physics’ move to the area and
the development of the city’s convention
bureau — and his success in getting
voter approval for the Performing Arts
and Cultural Center. He also pointed to
his backing of City Council conservation,
transportation and planning policies.
Keller said in an interview before the
election that he decided to run because
"there are some things I still would like to
see done.”
He mentioned further efforts to move
the city's economy away from its depen
dence on the timber industry and an
intergovernmental committee to facili
tate cooperation between the two cities
and the county, issues which Lauris also
said needed attention.
In the interview, the mayor said he
thinks Eugene will have to think about
making his office and the City Council
full-time, paid positions to accommodate
the volume of work city government
demands.
Keller seemed almost as pleased by
Eugene’s tax-base victory at the polls as
he was with his own, and with reason —
the city's request for a new financial base
was one of few that passed locally.
The returning mayor said he ran a
"hard race” against Lauris because
"we've always had a lot of respect for
Mrs. Lauris” and her Eugene supporters,
A former 12-year City Council veter
an who also has served on the Lane
Community College board for the past
decade, Lauris campaigned as a pro
social service and neighborhood- and
arts-supporting candidate who would
make city government more accessible
to Eugeneans. She emphasized her
record for fiscal responsibility in both
positions.
Emerald photo
Gus Keller
omith, Wooten squeeze into council posts
Brian Obie and Mark Lindberg
easily outdistanced their op
ponents to capture their Eugene
City Council seats, but Betty
Smith and Cynthia Wooten won
their councilor seats by narrow
victory margins.
Betty Smith, running to retain
her Ward 2 councilor position,
narrowly defeated Sharon
Posner with 46 percent, or 2,133
votes, to Posner’s 45 percent, or
2,091 votes.
“I’m pleased with my victory,”
Smith said.
Smith added that she was
pleased Eugene voters ap
proved the city tax base — even
if it was by a narrow margin.
"I think the effort the council
and the budget committee made
was very important,” she said.
“No one wants to vote for higher
taxes, but the tax proposal we
made showed we're trying to
keep the line drawn.”
Smith said she is committed
to maintaining a vital downtown
area and a strong business
community. The city should be
active in attracting clean, light
industry and should consider
ways to boost the current in
dustry in the city, she added.
Fly to England for
Theater Study
Winter Quarter ’81
The University Theater is
now organizing for its second
study tour of England. This
program allows for continuous
enrollment at the University.
Interested students should
contact Dr. Faber DeChaine,
Villard Hall, 686-4205
Organizational meeting May
22,8 pm, 201 Villard
Lindberg easily won the Ward
3 councilor position with 55 per
cent of the vote, or 2,179 votes,
to Jennings’ 27 percent, or
1,066 votes.
Lindberg, an associate profe
ssor of community develop
ment, said his victory is a vote of
confidence for the democratic
process. He ran a "people poli
tics” campaign that addressed
“real city issues,” not a media
campaign with an impersonal
approach, Lindberg said — an
obvious swipe at Jennings’ use
of ads in the campaign.
Lindberg said he plans to
spend a lot of time learning
about city government in
preparation for his councilor
position.
Lindberg said his priorities
include making the council
responsible for neighborhoods
and building self-supporting
coalitions in the residential
areas.
He added that he’d like to see
the city's neighborhoods
become less dependent upon
outside sources of funding and
concentrate on developing
private-sector sources of
revenue. He also said he will
encourage neighborhood
groups to work with the city in
designing their future growth.
Wooten narrowly defeated
John Perry to capture the Ward
7 councilor seat. Wooten
grabbed 51 percent of the vote,
or 1,790 votes, to Perry's 38
percent, or 1,328 votes.
Wooten said she’ll begin do
ing her “homework” on city is
sues in preparation for the po
sition. She added that’s she’s
looking forward to working with
senior citizen and neighbor
hood groups and putting
together alternative programs
for the council early next year.
Wooten said the “issues of
the ’80s” include finding new
sources of revenues for city
services and “lessening the
abyss between government and
the people.”
Wooten added that she’ll en
courage people to become
more involved with neighbor
hood and senior citizen groups.
“We need to move together. If I
had to move by myself, there’d
be no difference,”
Wooten, a staff assistant for
Congressman Jim Weaver since
1976, said the city’s budget and
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housing problems will be her
main concerns as a councilor.
Wooten said she favors
stimulating the housing industry
to build low- and moderate-in
come housing through issuing
bonds. She also favors a
comprehensive economic plan
that includes cultural develop
ment as well as diversity in in
dustrial planning.
Obie, who was running to re
tain his Ward 8 seat, nabbed 70
percent of the vote, or 3,857
votes, to Bill Groesz’s 19 per
cent, or 1,038 votes.
"I love it. How's that for a
quote?” Obie said after early
election results deary showed
his victory.
r
Obie said he agreed with the
passage of the city’s tax base.
‘‘The passage of the measures
makes my job as city councilor a
lot easier."
Obie, president of Obie Com
munications Corporation,
favors more growth and invest
ment in the downtown core
area, better cooperation with
Lane County government, and a
voluntary weatherization pro
gram.
Obie said his business
background allows him to be
effective in working with
members of the business com
munity, adding that his value as
a councilor is his ability to get
people to work together.
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