Ethan for Eugene

A pragmatic voice for Ward 1

Too often, Eugene’s political system is adversarial, driven by preconceived understandings of one another. But the reality is that the different stakeholders in our community want the same things – abundant and accessible housing, safe public spaces and downtown streets, and an economy that supports us all.

I’m Ethan Clevenger, and I’m running for Eugene City Council in Ward 1 to be part of a council that listens to all voices, but also leads decisively and generates results for its constituents.

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Betting on Downtown

Several years ago, I attended my first city council meeting. I couldn’t have imagined it would be an hours-long marathon for which a deep line of downtown business owners had organized to object to a temporary shelter in downtown Eugene.

I sat frustrated, as these business owners seemed to be arguing against their own interests. They were concerned about attracting more homeless folks, more of the drug-addicted, downtown. But in reality, those folks were already camping in these business owners’ doorsteps.

I was also aware that I neither lived, nor worked, in or around downtown. Was this any of my business? Did I understand all the factors at play?

A healthy downtown is the economic backbone of a city. These areas are a dense tax base spread over a tapestry of stakeholders rather than a few select beneficiaries. This part I understood. A city cannot thrive without a thriving downtown.

So fast-forward a few years, and I’ve staked my claim in downtown. In 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, I opened the doors to Porterhouse Clothing & Supply squarely within the downtown core. And in December 2023, my wife and I were fortunate enough to move into a 100-year-old arts-and-crafts fixer in Jefferson Westside. We’re betting on downtown, and in turn, Ward 1.

I’m here to listen to constituents and balance lofty and commendable goals against the realities of the challenges we face. And I could use all the help I can get.

A geographic diagram visualizing the centralized property tax revenue coming out of downtown Milwaukee, WI. Source.

Support Ethan for Eugene

Ethan has a combination of lived experience, policy knowledge, and pragmatism that is sorely lacking and desperately needed in Eugene’s city government. I don’t necessarily agree with him on everything but I believe that he is open to listening, thoughtful, and has the city’s best interests at heart. For those reasons, I support his candidacy and hope you will do the same.

Seth Revoal

Downtown Eugene Business Owner

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Platform

Housing

Proactively identify and incentivize tall, dense, diverse housing in our downtown core and along our major transit corridors. At its most basic, it’s a roof over your head. At its most powerful, owning your home is a vehicle to stability and wealth. Unfortunately, even renting is out of reach for too many Eugeneans. Eugene has a housing shortfall, and it’s driving up prices for everyone. We’re not in a position to turn down any housing projects, from market rate to affordable. The City has lofty goals for housing in Ward 1, and if we’re ever going to reach them, we should have had shovels in the ground yesterday.

Ethan’s Housing Platform

Economic Development

The City of Eugene doesn’t have an economic development plan. Participants in the most recent Blue Ribbon Business Council for Economic Development were frustrated at a lack of vision or outcomes. The City needs a plan for attracting employers offering high-paying & skilled jobs. Through infrastructure expansion in existing parcels green-lit for development and by creating an equitable and responsible regulatory environment, we can make Eugene a great place to do business and a prosperous place to build a life, all while still protecting our climate and our future.

A Downtown for Everyone

There may no longer be a pit, but Downtown remains dotted with empty storefronts. Shop and restaurant owners at small businesses we love suffer commentary about how people just “don’t come downtown anymore.” Folks question whether or not it’s safe to walk to the McDonald Theater.

We can create a thriving and economically vibrant downtown that Eugene is proud of. It will require increasing residential and commercial density downtown, disincentivizing empty storefronts, and working directly with property owners to find tenants. Downtown Eugene should be a place every Eugenean wants to spend a Friday night. I’ll leverage my established relationships as President of Downtown Eugene Merchants to make it happen.

Ethan’s Downtown Platform

Homelessness, Addiction, & Mental Health

Public safety, homelessness, drug addiction, and mental health are all inextricably intertwined in Eugene. By the letter of the law, health and human services is a function of our partners at the county and state, but as a city, we can supplement that work by helping to stabilize our homeless neighbors and being a city in which professionals in health and human services can build a life. That means building enough housing that it becomes more affordable and investing in parks and amenities that make a community livable.

Dive deeper into my platform and initiatives.

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