With the appointment of Sean VanGordon as Mayor of Springfield, the City Council seat elected from Ward 1 has become vacant. Eight individuals have applied to fill the vacancy. The individual appointed will serve until December 31, 2022.

The Council interviewed four the applicants at a work session on February 16. Interviews will continue at the February 22 work session. The Council anticipates that an appointment will be made at the March 1 meeting of the Council.

Members of the public may comment at  March 1 meetings of the Council, may give feedback by email, send comments by mail or by delivering them to the City Managers office.

Eight individuals applied for the position. They are Troy Allen, Grace Bergen, Tim Canter, Thomas, Lawrence, Kelly Mason, Damien Pitts, Ray Suit, and Michelle Webber. Springfield City Club has invited all eight applicants to a webinar scheduled for noon on February 18. City Club received statements from five of the candidates. They are each reproduced below. Four of the candidates were available for the forum on the 18th. You may view that forum on the City Club Facebook page.

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On October 22, Springfield City Club will host a candidate forum for the Springfield City Council Ward 3 seat. The forum will begin at noon and will be held as a Zoom webinar

John Lively

Born in La Grande, OR I grew up in Wallowa until a Junior in HS when we moved to Springfield in 1963. Graduated from Thurston HS, Lane Community College, and the University of Oregon. Served in the US Army Security Agency from Jan 1968 to Oct 1971.

Tresa and I have been married for 46 years. Raised our two Daughters, Maria and Marcia, here in Springfield and are now fortunate to have them and their families (6 grandchildren) also living in Springfield.

My lifetime of work has been in the private sector except for a brief period when I served as a Regional Business Development Officer for Oregon. I have worked in manufacturing, retail, economic development, software contact center management, land use consulting, public relations and communications and others.

Previously served on the Springfield City Council and as Mayor. Have served as State Representative for HD 12 since January 2013. Currently serve as Chair of the House Economic Development Committee, serve on the Natural Resource Committee, the Behavioral Health Committee, Oregon Growth Board, the Road User Fee Task Force, the DMV modernization oversight committee and on the Interoperability Executive Committee. Previously I have served on the Joint Transportation Committee, Joint Student Success Committee, Joint Carbon Reduction Committee, Health Care, Veterans and Emergency Preparedness and many others during my time in the Legislature.

  Ruth Linoz

Personal background

• grew up in rural and urban communities in the Midwest and California before moving to lane County 35 years ago, looking for a more family friendly environment to raise my daughters.
• While a stay-at-home mom, I volunteered regularly in their classrooms, coached their Kidsports teams, and worked part-time in retail while completing my undergraduate education at Lane Community College.
• later, I earned a B.A degree in Management at Northwest Christian (Bushnell) University.
• My husband of 23 years is a Vietnam veteran and retired business owner.
• We have lived in Springfield for 22 years.
• I consider myself a board (of directors) junkie and enjoy road trips, singing along with musicals, and the challenge of different puzzles.
Professional

• While developing a 26-year public transportation career from a part-time, union bus operator to my current role as executive director of a rural transit agency in Cottage Grove
o expanded my Involvement as a volunteer
o co-owned a leadership development business
o built strong relationships with city, county and social service agencies through management of projects like
• the UO Duck Shuttles,
• Project Homeless Connect,
• and Western Oregon Women’s Conference.
• As a business leader,
o I have served on several Lane Transit District Advisory Committees;
o the Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce Board and its Tourism and Ambassador Committees;
o Cottage Grove Community Development Corporation;
o Main Street Cottage Grove Board;
o Beds for Freezing Nights Board;
o and Rotary Club of Cottage Grove Club President/Interact Advisor.
o In support of our veterans, I am a Reboot Recovery board member.

• In 2007, Mayor Kitty Piercy presented me with the First Citizens Award for Project Homeless Connect for helping advance the City Council homeless elimination agenda.
• Later in 2014, the Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce recognized I with the First Citizen Award and her agency, South Lane Wheels, was named Business of the Year in 2015.