County races __
South Eugene commissioner
Image an issue in the Nathan, Rust contest
By Paul Ertelt
Of the Kmerald
Images often supersede issues
in political races, but image is
the issue in Lane County, says
one candidiate for the south
Eugene position on the Lane
County Board of Com
missioners.
T o n i e Nathan, who is
challenging incumbent Jerry
Rust in the nonpartisan race,
says Rust is perceived as an op
pone nt of business and
economic growth and that im
age has made new businesses
reluctant to locate in Lane
County.
Rust denies that he is anti
business, pointing to the fact
that he founded his own tree
planting company. As commis
sioner, he says he has worked
closely with businesses to
develop jobs for the county.
Rust also maintains that
business location decisions are
complex and are not based on
the perceived attitude of one
commissioner.
Rust has served as a commis
sioner for eight years. Nathan a
former journalist, has done
community relations work for
the county.
The board, which includes
five commissioners, is the
county’s legislative and ad
ministrative body. As an arm of
the state government, it super
vises the county’s courts, jail,
elections department and social
services. The board also
oversees a budget in excess of
$100 million and is responsible
for county-wide planning and
setting the boundaries of urban
growth.
Nathan blames Rust for many
of the county’s economic woes,
which have caused an exodus
from the county. Nathan cites a
study by Dunn & Bradstreet
showing Lane County to be the
ninth fastest shrinking county
in the country.
“We need people to come
here and help pay taxes.’’
Nathan says.
But Rust blames the economic
downturn on high interest rates,
which have hurt the housing
market and have caused the
decline in the demand for
timber.
"The county is wracked by
economic forces not of our mak
ing” he says.
Rust says his accomp
lishments on the board include
reducing county staff by one
half and helping to develop a
job training program that he
says has served 400 businesses
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and retrained 1,600 workers.
Nathan traces Rust’s anti
development image to his
mid-1970s lawsuit against Data
General Corp., a high-tech firm
that had planned to build a
plant in Eugene. When the firm
decided to locate in North
Carolina instead, the county
lost about 7,500 jobs. Nathan
says.
Rust calls the Data General
lawsuit ancient history and says
its purpose was not to block the
plant, but to establish urban
growth boundaries. Two land
use plans that have been
developed since he took office
“ended the land use wars in the
county"
Nathan also criticizes Rust's
opposition to plans for a resort
at Big Creek, on the. Oregon
coast. She says the resort would
help give the county the
economic diversity .it needs.
Rust says that Big Creek is
one of the last wild streams on
the coast and the project will do
irrevocable evironmental
damage, disrupting spawning
grounds for steel head, cutthroat
trout and coho salmon.
“You can’t move an estuary
or a stream, but you can move a
destination point resort,” he
says.
Nathan believes the county
must loosen its land use plann
ing rules and speed, up the pro
cess of granting building per
mits.“People should be allowed
to do what they want on their
own land,” she says.
North Eugene commissioner
Ball, Weinstein provide a colorful match
The race for the north Eugene position on
the Lane County Board of Commissioners pro
vides a Contest between Eugene City Coun
cilman John Ball and former-commissioner Ar
chie Weinstein.
The winner will replace retiring
Commissioner Scott Lieuallen. “ *
The outspoken Weinstein has promised
to trim the cost of county •government by
over $2.5 million through the reduction of
36 positions in Lane County government.
He also promises to reduce spending
through, realignment of county worker
salaries and the elimination of waste in
county government.
Ball charges that his opponent has not
been totally open about his plan for budget
reductions.
■ Although opposed to Ballot Measure 2.
the 1.5 percent property tax limitation. Ball
believes that the current property tax system
must be readjusted. Measure 2 would
devastate the education system, Ball says.
Weinstein has not taken a stand on the
measure during the campaign, claiming that
businessmen should vote their pocketbooks.
“I want to be a I.ane County commis
sioner. and I’m only concerned with issues
affecting l.ane County. I will not discuss the
ballot measures; I will not go to Cuba to
meet with Castro, and I won’t go to China,”
Weinstein says, alluding to Commissioner
jerry Rust’s spring trip to China.
Sheriff
Patrol shortage, tight budget face winner
In the race for Lane County sheriff, the
questions of patrol manpower and jail over
crowding have dominated discussion between
incumbent Dave Burks and his challenger
Dave Salyers.
Burks is seeking a fourth term as Lane
County's chief law enforcer. Over the past four
years, the sheriff’s office has been plagued by
budget cuts, resulting in reduced patrols in the
county, particularly in the outlying areas.
Overcrowding at the Lane County Jail is
another issue that Salyers has seized upon
since he and Burks emerged as the top vote
winners in the five-candidate primary race in
May.
Salyers, a former sheriff’s deputy who cur
rently works as a special investigator for the
Lane County district attorney's office, pro
poses opening a large-scale restitution and
work release center to ease jail overcrowding.
The idea was called “poppycock” by Burks at
a news conference in October.
The Jail Overcrowding Task Force will
release its recommendations in December, and
Burks wants to wait until then to make any
decision.
Salyers is critical of Burks’ staff make-up,
claiming that there are too many supervisors
on its roster. He also blames Burks for a
lawsuit, now in appeal, that seeks to force the
county Board of Commissioners to provide
enough money to run the jail and to serve the
law enforcement needs of rural areas.
By cutting two captain positions in the
sheriff's administration, reducing the number
of lieutenants and sergeants, and reorganizing
the jail staff. Salyers says he can restore
24-hour rural patrols within two months of
taking office.
Burks defends his administrative
organization, maintaining that it compares
favorably to similar-sized sheriff's offices in
other areas. He says he will try to restore the
patrol services as the budget allows.
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