Dear Editor,
I first met Heather Buch on a warm, late-summer day in 2018 while weeding my yard in Cottage Grove. She was walking door-to-door, canvassing. She introduced herself and told me she was running for the East Lane County Commissioner seat.
We were both more than happy to take a break from the hot sun to enjoy a pleasant chat. We compared our different public service passions and some of the unique challenges we each faced as rural participants in local government. I learned that affordable housing for rural residents was the “gateway interest” that led Heather into local politics. I had only recently learned how the lack of affordable housing in the South Lane area was a limiting factor in our ability to attract families with potential students and staff for our schools. In addition to housing and education, we both discussed the challenges rural residents face in finding affordable, reliable transportation and the precarious future of rural healthcare.
Since that introduction, I’ve crossed paths with Heather Buch several times at a variety of events here in Cottage Grove. She helped celebrate the dedication of South Lane’s Early Learning Center. She was a champion for the development of the South Lane Clinic, the first of Lane County’s health centers outside the metro area. Heather has also worked to secure more than $14 million in funding for critically important mental health facilities in Lane County.
I hope you will join me in voting for Heather Buch on May 19. We face future challenges in our area that will benefit from her experience, expertise, and dedication. Whether it’s engaging a constituent in friendly conversation or battling capricious increases in our health insurance, I’m confident Heather Buch is the right person for East Lane County Commissioner.
Tammy Hodgkinson
Cottage Grove
