Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis will not seek third term, endorses architect Kaarin Knudson

Lucy Vinis will not seek a third term as mayor of Eugene, she said at a Tuesday evening event where she endorsed architect Kaarin Knudson, who announced her candidacy at the same time.

"My decision about whether or not to run for a third term in office was contingent on a strong leader stepping forward," Vinis said. "I am excited that Kaarin Knudson has decided to run to be Eugene’s next mayor. She is superbly qualified to lead us through the challenges facing our city."

Knudson is the first candidate to declare for the 2024 mayoral race. She has received endorsements from area progressives and moderate leaders, including former Mayor Kitty Piercy; city councilors Randy Groves, Matt Keating, Lyndsie Leech, Jennifer Yeh and Alan Zelenka; Lane County commissioners Heather Buch and Laurie Trieger; and Rep. Julie Fahey, D-West Eugene and Veneta, who is the Oregon House of Representative's Majority Leader.

Vinis was development director at ShelterCare, a local nonprofit organization that houses and supports at-risk Oregonians before she took office. She won reelection during a May 2020 primary by garnering 68% of the citywide vote against six other candidates.

Eugene has a council-manager form of government with eight part-time city councilors serving as the legislative body and hiring and overseeing a city manager, who runs the day-to-day operations. The position of mayor also is part-time. Vinis presides over council meetings, sets council agendas and serves as Eugene's ceremonial head. In 2022, Vinis was paid $28,178.

Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached by email at atorres@registerguard.com or on twitter @alanfryetorres

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis won't run for reelection in 2024