Buch files for re-election to board

Last Thursday, Lane County Commissioner Heather Buch (District 5) filed to run for a second term representing the East Lane County district.

As Chair of the County Commission in 2020, Buch led Lane County's response to crises on multiple fronts. Through the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating Holiday Farm Fires, Buch notes she ensured her East Lane County district received critical CARES Act and American Rescue Plan funding. She worked with two simultaneous emergency operations centers, and partnered with mayors and other local leaders to publicize critical and dependable public health information to all Lane County residents.

During the aftermath of the megafire, Commissioner Buch worked with an incident command team, the Oregon Office of Emergency Management, and FEMA to protect Lane County families' lives and livelihoods. She successfully secured $27.5 million from the Oregon Legislature's 2021 Special Committee on Wildfire Recovery to support the McKenzie area's recovery.

"As we continue to battle COVID-19 and rebuild from last year's unprecedented fires, I'm committed to jumpstarting the local small business economy and expanding housing with supported services for our unsheltered neighbors," Buch said. "I'm running for re-election because there's more work to be done to make our communities more resilient, and I'm not done fighting for Lane County's families."

Before her election to the Lane County Commission, Buch spent her professional career running a small real estate business for 15 years, specializing in affordable housing. She also worked as the Special Projects Director for St. Vincent DePaul Society of Lane County, Inc.She is the mother of a young daughter and wife of a Merchant Mariner and U.S. Navy reservist.

Buch was first elected in 2018, when she defeated incumbent Commissioner Gary Williams in a November run-off. District 5 includes the cities of Cottage Grove, Creswell, Oakridge, Lowell, Westfir, Coburg, portions of West Eugene, and numerous unincorporated communities like those along the McKenzie River.