Lucy Vinis (born 1952/53) is an American politician. She was elected mayor of

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, in 2016, and started her term in January 2017.

Education

Vinis is a graduate of

Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...

in Ohio and earned master's degrees from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

and the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

Career

Her position as mayor of Eugene is her first time in public office. She is a member of the Democratic Party. During her two terms as mayor she has been an advocate for the environment and addressing climate change and has helped to navigate Eugene's housing and homelessness crisis. Vinis was appointed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Local Government Advisory Committee in 2021 and serves as Vice Chair. In 2020, Vinis created the Youth Advisory Council to create an opportunity for youth to influence policy at the local government level. In 2023, Vinis convened a Blue Ribbon Panel on Economic Development, which resulted in 12 recommendations to promote a healthy local economy including workforce development, development of all housing types, and understanding the needs of BIPOC businesses. On July 27, 2020, after the Eugene City Council deadlocked at 4–4 on a vote to refer a measure allowing

STAR voting STAR voting is an electoral system for single-seat elections. The name (an allusion to Star (classification), star ratings) stands for "Score Then Automatic Runoff", referring to the fact that this system is a combination of score voting, to pi ...

to be used in city elections to the November 2020 ballot, Vinis cast the deciding vote against the referral. In September 2023, Vinis announced that she would not seek a third term as mayor, instead endorsing architect Kaarin Knudson. Knudson went on to win the mayoral election with 74.1% of the vote.

Personal life

Vinis has lived in Eugene since 1991. She has worked for non-profit organizations in Eugene, including EarthShare of Oregon, Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, and ShelterCare.

Electoral history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinis, Lucy Mayors of Eugene, Oregon Women mayors of places in Oregon Oregon Democrats 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century mayors of places in Oregon Kenyon College alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni University of Michigan alumni Living people 1950s births Year of birth missing (living people)