Who's on the 2023 special ballot for Lane Community College, Lane ESD?
Nine elected positions that reach across Lane County are up for election on the May 2023 special ballot.
Campaigns are kicking off for five open positions for Lane Community College and four open Lane Education Service District positions.
Lane Community College
Position 6
Five out of the seven positions for the Lane Community College Board of Education are on the 2023 ballot. Out of the five open offices, two incumbents are running.
Two candidates are facing off for the director position 6, at-large: Kevin Alltucker, a former University of Oregon professor with 20 years experience, and Bob Baldwin, who recently retired from working at LCC for 25 years as the purchasing coordinator and as part-time faculty.
Baldwin also served at the president for LCC's classified staff union for 15 years. On his campaign website, he said that LCC is facing a "financial crisis" and he wants to work to fix that if elected.
Alltucker has put the focus on students in his campaign, stating he wants to prioritize access to LCC, work with local partners in supporting student career paths and improve the student experience overall.
Both Alltucker and Baldwin are LCC alumni.
Read more:Here are your school board candidates in Lane County's May 2023 election
Position 7
Two candidates are running for the director position 7, at-large: Lisa Fragala, a former elementary school teacher running for reelection, and Kyle Reallon, a credit analyst.
Reallon has previously worked as a lab technician. He has studied at the Oregon Institute of Technology and Lane Aviation Academy.
Fragala was first appointed to the LCC board in October 2018 to fill a vacancy left by former board chair Tony McCown who resigned. Fragala was elected in 2019. Her platform prioritizes student success, innovation and a move to engage community partners. Fragala is an LCC alum.
Zone 2
Three candidates are running for the director zone 2, which covers North Eugene.
Rich Cunningham, a retired insurance broker, is the current vice chair on the Bethel School District Board of Education where he has served for 12 years. He has run for Oregon House of Representatives District 14 twice, losing to Rep. Julie Fahey in 2018 and 2020.
Nick Skelton is co-owner and vice president of Markus-Thompson Construction Inc. in Springfield. Skelton graduated from UO in 1995 with a degree in architecture.
Zach Mulholland works as a contractor with Beyond Toxics, a Eugene environmental advocacy nonprofit. Mulholland ran for office in the U.S. House position for Oregon District 4 in 2022, but he withdrew in March 2022.
Zone 5
Steve Mital, who is running for reelection, is the only candidate who has filed for director zone 5, which covers downtown Eugene, South Eugene and the Harlow neighborhood.
Mital was first elected to the LCC board in 2021. He is the founding director of UO’s Sustainability Office, working to reduce the university's environmental footprint. In all, he has been on UO's faculty for two decades as an instructor and director.
Mital also served as a commissioner for the Eugene Water and Electric Board for eight years − from 2012 to 2020.
Zone 1
Denise Diamond is the only candidate who has filed for the two-year unexpired term to fill director zone 1, which represents the western Lane County part of the college district. Holli Johnson, who currently holds the position, is no longer a resident of zone 1 due to boundary changes approved during a redistricting process in 2022.
Diamond is a retired-professor-turned-artist living in Florence. She taught English at the College of the Desert in Palm Desert, California. Diamond now creates art out of natural elements found on the coast and is a member of Eugene Saturday Market.
Lane Education Service District
All four positions for the Lane Education Service District Board of Directors are uncontested. All four candidates are incumbents. Lane ESD provides services to all school districts in Lane County such as special education supports, professional development, career and technical education and legal resources.
Running for reelection for position 2, which represents South Eugene, is Leslie Harris. Harris is a law professor at UO where she has been for more than years. She is co-director of the Oregon Child Advocacy Project, which provides education and assistance to attorneys advocating for the interests of children.
Nora Kent is running for reelection for position 4, which represents the north and west regions of Lane County. Kent was elected on the Lane ESD board in 2019, coming off a loss in the 2018 west Lane commissioner election. Kent has been in education for decades. She currently teaches GED test preparation classes at LCC where she has been for 30 years.
Longtime board member Sherry Duerst-Higgins is running for reelection for zone 5, which represents the east and south regions of Lane County. Duerst-Higgins is a real estate broker in Cottage Grove.
Linda Hamilton is running for reelection for position 7, which is an at-large position. Hamilton was first elected in 2015 and previously served on the Eugene School District 4J Board of Directors. Hamilton is a correctional counselor/parole and probation officer for the Lane County Sheriff's Office.
Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Guide for Lane Community College, Lane ESD 2023 special ballot
