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Posts published in “Day: April 29, 2012”

The Lane County tug

If you're among those who think of Oregon's Lane County, seat Eugene, as a liberal bastion, take a look at today's Register Guard piece on the county commission race between incumbent Rob Handy and challenger Pat Farr.

The contest is technically non-partisan, but you wouldn't be far off describing Handy as the functional Democrat in the race, and Farr, a Eugene City Council member, as the functional Republican. There's also a third candidate in the race, but it will surely boil down to Handy and Farr; both have strong cadres of supporters, from the usual suspects. This is not one of the rural-based districts, either: This hot contest is in the north side of Eugene, which is more politically marginal than many people would expect.

And the five-member board is marginal too. It had an effective conservative majority after the 2006 election, then a liberal majority after 2008, then conservative again after 2010. So what will come of it this year? We'll be watching.