Candidates line up for May election.

Byline: Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

CORRECTION (ran 3/19/2005): Paula Praus-Williamson has filed to run for the Bethel School District board in the May 17 special election. Her first name was wrong in a story on Page C2 on Friday.

More than 200 Lane County residents have stepped forward to do their civic duty, filing to run for positions on 65 school, water, fire, library and other special district boards that will appear on the special election ballot on May 17.

A few last-minute filers finished up their paperwork at the Lane County Elections office on Thursday afternoon, just inside the 5 p.m. deadline.

School district races usually get the most attention during the special election cycle. The Eugene School District contests may be among the liveliest ones this time around, reflecting recent heated discussions about the future of alternative school programs, which allow students to attend schools outside their geographic attendance areas that have particular emphases.

Detractors of the policy contend that better educated, higher income parents tend to send their children to alternative schools, dooming some neighborhood schools to cope with fewer "extras" to bolster the quality of instruction of the students who remain.

Whether because of that issue or others, only one incumbent member of the Eugene School Board, Beth Gerot, will appear on the ballot in May unchallenged.

In the other two races, incumbents Charles Martinez Jr. and Eric Forrest - both appointed to fill vacancies on the board - will face opponents for their positions.

Marc Alpers has filed against Martinez, while Forrest will defend his spot against Aria Seligmann and Nadia Sindi.

All three of the open positions on the Springfield School Board have drawn two candidates. Incumbent Jonathan Light will run against challenger Sally Hales, while Al King defends against Jeff Bantz, and Bill Medford faces Wade Richardson.

Three directors in the Bethel School District - Alan Laisure, Paul Jorgensen and Keith Andersen - appear headed for re-election, with no declared opponents. The other open position attracted three candidates: Kathylee On, Sherry Cunningham and Paul Praus-Williamson. Donald Sherry, appointed in November to fill a board vacancy, decided against running for re-election.

A handful of people even run for more than one office. Susie Johnston will appear on the ballot for a position on both the Lane Community College and Pleasant Hill School District boards, unopposed in both cases.

Likewise, Dennis Hijmans has no opposition for two board posts he seeks, representing the Pleasant Hill School District and rural fire protection district.

A few names carry longtime familiarity to area voters for their nearly perennial appearance on ballots.

Lee Beyer, who represented Springfield for several terms in the state Legislature before becoming a member of the state Public Utility Commission, has filed for a seat on the Willamalane Park and Recreation District Board.

Retired dentist Cedric Hayden, also a longtime representative in the state Legislature, will run this time for a seat on the Lowell School Board.

Some married couples even appear to share the desire to serve in public office. Eugene School Board member Gerot will not be the only one in the family on the May 17 ballot; her husband, Mike, will run against Marie Gray for the River Road Water District Commission.

Likewise, Kathy and Steve Keable appear headed for separate meetings as elected officials; she's running unopposed for the McKenzie School District board, while he's alone on the ballot to fill a two-year unexpired term with the Upper McKenzie Rural Fire Protection District.

Not every open seat gets a candidate, however. Nobody filed to run for 28 open positions, including two school board seats, eight positions on fire boards, 15 on water boards - none of the five openings on the Shangri-La board drew a candidate - and three on the sanitary board in Dexter.

Lane County elections official Annette Newingham said positions without candidates will be filled by write-in votes, should there be any for people qualified to hold the position. If not, the boards will appoint board members to fill the positions.