BEND, OR -- Bend's City Council will look different, come January. Bend businessman Bill Moseley managed to unseat incumbent Councilor Doug Knight for Position Two, 64% to 35%. Justin Livingston easily beat Ron Boozell for Position One, 77% to 21%; and Bruce Abernethy ran unopposed for Position Four.
It was Moseley's first run for public office, and he believes he tapped into the dissatisfaction with the direction of Council. He tells KBND News, "What the Council didn't realize is that they were really just ignoring the basic 'bread and butter' issues that effect the residents in our community and the business owners and employers. They're focusing on things like climate change and more taxes for gas. There's a lot of people in our town that are upset by the gentrification of our community, the disappearance of the middle class that shrunk by 10%, and they were focusing on these kinds of fringe issues. They really underestimated how upset people were about that." He added, "The gas tax was huge because it was kind of a red flag indicator that this Council was misguided and not listening to constituents. When I was out on the trail, you could just mention the gas tax and that was just a symbol of government waste and distraction, essentially. It had a huge impact on the turnout."
Voters re-elected incumbent Bend City Councilor Sally Russell, with 58% of the vote over Bend businessman Wade Fagen. "I just feel overwhelmed and thrilled. I didn't know whether or not I would be able to win this election," Russell told KBND News shortly after results came in. "I knew it would be a difficult race. And, I feel really overwhelmed and happy with the vote of confidence that I got from our community."
Russell says providing more affordable housing will be one of her top issues. "As Councilors, I think we're all grown-ups and I think we have to always work together. And, we're always going to have our differences too, and that's healthy. I look forward to forging a way forward with Bill Moseley as a colleague, as well as Justin [Livingston], and, as well as Bruce Abernethy; there's a pretty big change-up on Council, actually. But, you know, we're all good people and we're all committed to Bend."
