By Kat Tabor
With the election season heating up, Jerry Rust has declared his candidacy for the Lane Community College Board of Education, seeking the Director position for Zone 1, a four-year term. Zone 1 represents western Lane County, including West Eugene and Florence. Rust has experience in government, education, and public service.
Rust, a Democrat, has a professional background that includes work as an author, farmer, University of Oregon dorm counselor, carpenter, Peace Corps volunteer, Hoedad forest worker, Lane County commissioner, English teacher, and caregiver. He earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Oregon in 1965 and holds an Oxford English Certificate.
Rust previously served as a Lane County commissioner from 1977 to 1997. His governmental experience includes roles with the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Gypsy Moth Task Force, the State of Oregon Covered Bridge Commission and the Columbia Slough Watershed Council. In 1984, he was selected as an Oregon delegate to China’s sister province.
Photo courtesy of Jerry Rust.
Rust has been involved with LCC teaching courses in English as a second language on the Florence campus. In 2018, he traveled to China with LCC’s Nikki Li to promote the college internationally.
In an interview with The Torch, Rust outlined his vision for the LCC Board and the qualities he believes make him a strong candidate.
“I believe in the power of education, and I want to be part of a board that can deliver a wide range of educational opportunities while keeping costs as low as possible for students,” Rust said.
Rust noted that education remains a valuable asset. “Education is the one thing that, once you have it, no one can take it away,” he said.
Rust stated that he wants to contribute to improving collaboration on the LCC Board. “The board is having a hard time getting its act together,” Rust said. “They are bordering on dysfunctionality.”
As a former Lane County Commissioner Rust worked with individuals across different viewpoints and aims to bring that approach to the LCC Board. “I got things done as county commissioner because I could reach across and work with people who were not in my party,” he said. “That’s what I promise to do. I can bring this board together.”
Rust noted that LCC may seek a levy to address deferred maintenance on buildings and infrastructure and emphasized the need for a board that earns public trust.
Rust expressed support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. “I want to support diversity, equity and inclusion, especially for immigrants and transgender folk, I’ll have your back.” he says.
Rust also discussed the importance of multilingual education at LCC, particularly in East Asian languages. “If we were to teach East Asian languages, probably starting with Chinese, it would serve an underserved component of our education system,” he said.
Having spent the past 15 years intermittently teaching English in China, Rust supports expanding language education and cultural exchange programs.
Rust previously ran for election as a Democrat to the Oregon House of Representatives to represent District 9 in 2022. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022, to incumbent Republican Boomer Wright. Wright won with 60.1% of the vote (20,686 votes), while Rust received 39.8% (13,705 votes). There were 45 write-in votes, accounting for 0.1% of the total.
At the time of publishing, candidates who have filed for the Lane Community College Board of Education election include Jeffrey Cooper and Jerry Rust for Director Zone 1, Julie Weismann and Devon Lawson for Zone 3, Richard Andrew Vasquez and Austin Fölnagy for Zone 4, and Jesse Alejandro Maldonado for At-Large Position 7 (2-Year Unexpired Term).
The deadline for new voter registration is April 29. For more information on Lane County’s special elections, visit LaneCounty.org. Voters can check their registration status at SOS.oregon.gov.
The Torch will cover the candidates throughout the election process. If you would like to share information or be featured, please email kattabor.journalism@gmail.com.
