The City Club of Eugene Podcast

Eugene voters will decide this November whether to establish the Eugene Clean Energy Fund, a proposed program intended to provide long-term funding for local climate action, energy efficiency, renewable energy, green infrastructure, and clean-energy workforce development.

The measure would impose a 2% license fee on the Eugene gross profits of large retailers with more than $1 billion in annual national gross profits and at least $500,000 in annual gross profits from retail sales within Eugene. Groceries, medicines, residential garbage and recycling services, and health care services would be excluded from the calculation. Revenue would be placed in a dedicated fund, with recommendations for expenditures made by a nine-member committee.

Supporters argue the measure would create a substantial, dedicated source of funding to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions while expanding access to clean-energy investments and jobs. Opponents raise concerns about consumer costs, economic impacts, accountability, and whether the proposal would produce measurable emissions reductions.

City Club of Eugene will bring representatives of the supporting and opposing campaigns together to examine these competing arguments and answer questions about what the measure could mean for Eugene residents, businesses, and climate policy. The forum will be moderated by Nathan Wilk, a KLCC reporter.

As Eugene voters prepare for the November 3, 2026, general election, City Club of Eugene will host a public candidate forum featuring contenders for Eugene City Council in Ward 5, Athena Aguiar and Mike Clark. Eugene faces a series of interconnected and high-stakes challenges. This forum will provide voters with an opportunity to hear directly from candidates about their priorities, values, and governing approaches.

The discussion will focus on issues at the center of current public debate, including housing affordability and supply; homelessness and public safety; economic development and downtown revitalization; climate policy and infrastructure. Like many cities, Eugene faces fiscal constraints that require difficult tradeoffs in funding public safety, housing programs, and basic services. Local leaders are navigating increasing polarization and the challenge of building consensus across a diverse and engaged community, due to erosion of public trust and civic divisions.

Candidates will respond to moderated questions posed by KLCC reporter Zac Ziegler, and submitted by the audience. The program will highlight both shared priorities and key differences in how candidates propose to address Eugene’s most pressing challenges.

In this program, four primary election candidates for Eugene City Council's Wards 3 and 4 positions speak to City Club of Eugene attendees.

The speakers include Ward 3 candidates John Barofsky and Jennifer Smith, and Ward 4 candidates Tom Stedman and Councilor Jennifer Yeh.

You may watch the program on City Club of Eugene's YouTube channel.

This program was recorded on April 24, 2026.

Listen to this primary candidate forum for the 4th Congressional District. Candidates for the Democratic Party nomination include Daniel Bahlen, Melissa Bird, and Rep. Val Hoyle.

You may watch the program on City Club of Eugene's YouTube channel.

This program was recorded on April 17, 2026.

Ballet! Symphony! Arts in the community! Listen to this City Club of Eugene podcast and learn about current and future plans for Eugene Ballet and Eugene Symphony.

Speakers are the two new leaders of the groups: Jennifer Martin, artistic director, Eugene Ballet; and Alex Prior, music director, Eugene Symphony.

You may watch the program on City Club of Eugene's YouTube channel.

This program was recorded on March 20, 2026.

@EugeneBallet @Eugene Symphony @AlexPriorMusic

The Lane County District Attorney's office has a "looming crisis" says Chris Parosa, the DA. On this City Club of Eugene podcast, Chris Parosa explains his concerns.

You may watch the program on City Club of Eugene's YouTube channel.

This program was recorded on March 13, 2026.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident." Which truths, though? Dr. Johnny Lake discusses the truths of our black history, its inseparable part of American history, and its impact on our thinking today. 

Dr. Lake spoke in 2025 on reframing DEI. That podcast is available here.

You may watch the history program on City Club of Eugene's YouTube channel.

This program was recorded on March 6, 2026.

What makes a public board effective? With all of the boards in our area, represented by mainly volunteers, good governance matters.

This program's speakers are John Brown, then-president of the Eugene Water & Electric board; Randy Groves, City of Eugene councilor; and Emielle Nischik, Executive Director, Oregon School Boards Association.

You may watch the program on City Club of Eugene's YouTube channel.

This program was recorded on February 27, 2026.

The foster system is evolving, and various programs are examples of how the state and local resources serve children and families. City Club of Eugene attendees heard about these ways to support.

Speaker include Hon. Valeri Love, Lane County Circuit Court judge; Heather Murphy, early learning administrator for South Lane School District; Sheila Wegener, district manager for Lane County, Oregon Department of Human Services; and Hannah Storms, program manager for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Lane County.

You may watch the program on City Club of Eugene's YouTube channel.

This program was recorded on February 20, 2026.

What is the history of black exclusion in Eugene? How has it shaped today's culture? City Club of Eugene talked to Talicia Brown-Crowell, executive director of the Black Cultural Initiative, to learn about our past as well as the planned Across the Bridge memorial.

You may watch the program on City Club of Eugene's YouTube channel.

This program was recorded on February 6, 2026.