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Eagle Point mayoral race boils down to personal accessibility By Kevin Opsahl Oct 28, 2022 12:15 AM A A Incumbent Ruth Jenks, left, and Kathy Sell are running for mayor of Eagle Point. Issues like budgeting, population growth and who has the more “accessible” personality with voters have emerged as the major issues in the race for Eagle Point mayor. Incumbent Ruth Jenks and Councilwoman Kathy Sell are facing off for the city’s top position, which serves a two-year term. Jenks projects positivity when it comes to her mayorship, calling the past few years “challenging” yet “productive.” The challenges included the COVID-19 pandemic, which temporarily made public meetings less public than they once were. With a sense of normalcy coming back, Jenks said she feels “a sense of buoyancy, excitement and anticipation” for the things the city can accomplish going forward. “Two tough years, and I’m ready for two more,” Jenks said. Sell, a longtime Eagle Point businesswoman, initially didn’t want to run against Jenks, whom she considers a friend. But now, Sell, who is 64, doesn’t want to wait any longer to get elected. “If I am elected mayor and the people want me to serve eight years, that puts me in office until I am pretty old,” Sell said. But she feels she has a platform that gives voters a contrast to Jenks. “I’m looking forward to serving our citizens,” Sell said. Growth Population growth within Eagle Point is a priority of both Sell and Jenks. “We have stuff coming down from the state level saying we have to do more high-density homes,” Sell said. “I’m not a real fan. I know we have to have it, but I think we need to keep an eye on where we put it, how we do it.” House Bill 2001, sponsored by gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek during the 2019 legislative session and signed into law by Gov. Kate Brown, requires cities with a population greater than 10,000 or in a metro area to allow duplexes on land zoned for single-family houses. According to Jenks, Eagle Point’s population is 9,865. She acknowledged the city would have to follow Kotek’s legislation once the city reached the 10,000 mark. “I am a champion for keeping the character of the community, so I am not looking to create an urban feel to the city of Eagle Point,” Jenks said, noting she lives on a two-acre lot. “We have pockets of apartment buildings, we have pockets of hi-plexes and duplexes, and the devil is in the details in how that’s implemented. The key here will be how we work with our city planning staff.” If Eagle Point officials are going to take “a more forward-looking view” on housing, Jenks said she believes that includes examining the relationship between the planning commission and the city. “I am an advocate for us being more vocal and more involved with the planning activities,” she said. Budget Sell counts budgeting as a priority if she is elected mayor. Asked how the budget, which amounts to $31 million for the 2022-23 fiscal year, could be more important in the years ahead, Sell said the topic should be a priority for any city. “I think we have a great staff that does a very good job with that,” Sell said. “It’s very well-written. We are really good about making sure we stay in it. We don’t spend more than we have. We pay attention to what we spend. We keep a close eye on it. We’re really good about it. We plan ahead.” Jenks described Eagle Point as managing a “very conservative budget process” with a “large contingency to protect against the unexpected.” “Without a doubt, it’s important that each taxpayer within the city feels their money is being spent effectively and consistent with what their goals are,” she said. Sell said she believes her position on city budgeting closely aligns with Jenks’. “We’ve sat there together, the whole time, for 10 years,” Sell said. “I have great respect for her, I do. I just want to be the mayor.” Recreation Like a lot of Eagle Point City Council candidates, Jenks and Sell said a skate park is a top priority. “I’ve lived in this community for 40 years, and we still don’t have one, and we are barely looking at one,” Sell said. “I think we owe it to our community to build them a skate park one way or the other.” The City Council has put concepts like a skate park on hold until the Neighborhood Enhancement Commission develops a new master plan, according to Jenks. She said she is hopeful the plan can be developed by the end of spring 2023. “As an aside, the council was unanimous — including Kathy — in terms of not putting the skate park at the top of the list,” Jenks said. “In the meantime, I began working with the community … to begin the conversation on the community level about a skate park.” Sell said she believes the mayor’s influence in putting items for discussion on council agendas would be one way to further the skate park issue. “If, as mayor, I say, ‘I want to have more conversations about a skate park’ … once the discussion starts, then they can become a priority,” Sell said. Sell disagrees that Jenks has shown leadership on the skate park issue. “I don’t feel she’s been promoting it real well,” Sell said. “I have supported it all along. Every time we’ve had a conversation, I’ve put a skate park at the top of my list.” Accessibility Sell said she believes Jenks has been a mostly good mayor. Still, she sees a key difference between them in terms of leadership style. “It’s the social game I don’t think she excels at,” Sell said. “I feel strongly that as a mayor of a small community, everybody should know you. You should be very approachable. Every business should know who the mayor is, and if they have an issue, they should be able to call the mayor — and I don’t think that is the case now. Everyone I talk to says, ‘Well, who’s the mayor now?’” Jenks disagrees with the name recognition claim, adding her schedule is packed. “There’s always room for improvement, but if you look at the groups I’m involved with … it’s a wide footprint,” Jenks said. “Certainly there would be groups that I’m more well-known, but the point is you can’t be everywhere all the time, and I’m out there.” Reach reporter Kevin Opsahl at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @KevJourno.