Common Fields: The City Council Race
Coordination? Connection? Community? Or just a small town?
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Politics has a way of feeling personal, especially in a smallerish town. Candidates know one another before they file for office. Oregon State University serves as a pipeline for civic involvement and a place where activists, volunteers, and elected officials often cross paths.
This year’s City Council election presents an unusually interconnected web of relationships. There is probably much more there behind closed doors than we will ever know. And we most likely missed something. Maybe we’ll post a Craigslist “missed connection.”
Several candidates running for City Council share some unique public connections, and their paths frequently cross. Those connections also extend to current City Council members and the mayor. None of this means the candidates are coordinating their campaigns, but it does paint a picture of a small political community, with a significant amount of overlap.
We'll try to paint this picture, but we're neither artists nor scientists... and you'll probably need a Venn diagram to really understand it all. Whether you, as a voter, see anything worth considering is up to you.
And so it begins…
Ward 7 candidate Asa Jorg is an OSU bioengineering student. Jorg has publicly participated in events connected to the Corvallis Young Communist League and appeared as a panelist during a discussion hosted by the Platypus Affiliated Society, an international organization dedicated to studying Marxist thought.
Jorg is pictured below with Evrek Smith. Evrek Smith is running in Ward 4, who is also a bioengineering student at OSU. Who is also a member of the Corvallis Young Communist League.
(Pictured from far left Evrek Smith, Asa Jorg. Photo: yclcorvallis/instagram)
Bre Irish, who is running in Ward 1, is also a former OSU student. She recently attended Danielle Chambers' campaign kickoff party at Common Fields and was photographed there with Jorg and Chambers. Chambers is running for Ward 7, the same Ward as Jorg. Both candidates attended the same campaign kickoff party on August 1st.
(Pictured from far left Danielle Chambers, Bre Irish, Asa Jorg. Photo: bre.irish.forcorvallis/instagram)
Also attending Danielle Chambers' campaign kickoff party was Briae Lewis, the current Ward 2 City Councilor. Lewis is pictured below (second from the left) with Bre Irish, Danielle Chambers, Asa Jorg… and to add another element to the mix… current Mayor Charles Maughan.
(Photo: bre.irish.forcorvallis/instagram)
Speaking of the mayor, another candidate has entered the mayoral race: Kasey Haxton. Haxton is also connected to the Platypus Affiliated Society, along with Jorg. Current Mayor Charles Maughan has also spoken at Platypus events.
Maughan is seeking reelection while Kasey Haxton is challenging him for mayor. Despite being opponents in the race, this network of candidates and activists continues to overlap at public events, community gatherings, and political discussions.
(Photo: Charles Maughan, Kasey Haxton. Image via Platypus Affiliated Society YouTube)
It could be said, or inferred, that Corvallis has a relatively small pool of politically engaged residents who decide to run for office, making repeated interactions almost inevitable, and overlapping ideologies. It is considered a liberal town, after all.
The number of connections among candidates in this year’s races is hard to ignore. Not only is it among candidates, but it is also among candidates and current City Council members. No, you’re not getting a Venn diagram (you’re welcome), but we have tied together Asa Jorg (Ward 7), Evrek Smith (Ward 4), Bre Irish (Ward 1), Briae Lewis (Ward 2), Danielle Chambers (Ward 7), Kasey Haxton (Mayor), and Charles Maughan (Mayor).
Democracy is built on informed choices, not just names on a ballot. Like most elections, every candidate brings a network of friends, colleagues, mentors, and political influences. There is nothing unusual or improper about that.
What is unusual this year is how many of those public connections overlap.
One opinion might be that a healthy democracy benefits from a diversity of viewpoints. When elected officials come from the same organizations, political movements, or personal networks, voters may wonder whether the council accurately reflects a fair cross-section of the community.
Another opinion might be that shared backgrounds and similar priorities can lead to a more cohesive council, allowing elected officials to work together more efficiently… and move initiatives forward with less gridlock.
Either way… Bandit got adopted… we trust this community in their character, their beliefs, and their ability to make their choice based on what is best for the city we call home.
This article was written by Brian Lindensmith, a contributor to The Corvallis Inquirer. Feel free to send us your stories or articles to publish at: editor@corvallisnow.com
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I think your article about our city council races would have been more useful if it had included, not only the unsurprising fact that we live in a small town with overlapping relationships, but also the platforms of the candidates, rather than reducing them to members of Communist or Marxist organizations. Forgive me if I'm wrong in thinking your article smacks of red-baiting.
I was particularly curious about the inclusion of our mayor, Charles Maughan. You post a photo from 2019, with Charles at a table with Platypus, an organization said to be dedicated to the study of left politics, particularly Marxism. Another photo shows a campaign kickoff for Danielle Chambers, who Charles has endorsed. You act as if his attendance is nefarious and not, simply, normal.
Not to disparage Marxists or Communists –– our mayor is a proud Social Democrat––but I've seen Charles at many events and in the company of many types of people. You might find photos of him at town halls, state of the city addresses; Chamber of Commerce, Corvallis Pride, community radio, Fall Festival, Septemberfest, sustainability town halls, the Sager concerts, the public Hanukkah celebration, and Mayors for Peace events; or groundbreaking and ribbon cuttings for housing, ODOT, Benton County, and local businesses. I've run into him at the No Kings rally, at Open Streets, the Farmer's Market, and The Reader's Choice Award.
In short, Charles shows up.
I realize the point of this article was the overlapping nature of our local politicians, but its narrow and distorting lens, especially given the fact The Inquirer seems to have written nothing else about these political figures and particularly in an election year, when we need real information, is a disservice.