With the Nov. 8 election approaching, Bend City Council candidates are vying for a chance to win one of the four seats up for election.

Ron “Rondo” Boozell, 55, and Justin Livingston, 39, are competing for Bend residents’ votes for Position 1, being vacated by Councilor Victor Chudowsky.

Ronald Boozell

Ronald “Rondo” Boozell is a U.S. Navy veteran, bike commuter and 25-year Bend resident. He identifies himself as a community advocate who will bring an unusual perspective to the Bend City Council.

“There’s a certain type of person that runs for City Council, and they, by and large, follow all the rules,” said Boozell. “I live outside the box — my solutions come from outside the box.”

Finding a way to pay for Bend’s $80 million backlog in road repairs is one of his top priorities, Boozell said. While he supports a fuel tax to help pay for streets, he was critical of the special election held in March for a 5-cent gas tax, he said.

Hosting the special election cost the city $70,000, and the measure was rejected by voters by nearly 2-to-1.

Another big issue for Boozell is addressing growth and livability for Bend’s residents. He wants more City Council oversight for Visit Bend, the city’s tourism marketing agency, and aims to redirect tourism dollars to help combat tourism’s negative effect on some parts of the city.

“What we have to do is redefine those tourism dollars that are coming in so they can benefit the whole community and not just certain interests,” said Boozell.

In the past, Boozell has a run into legal trouble that ranges from assault charges, violating restraining orders and bringing a pot leaf to a Bend City Council meeting.

But Boozell says he’s not a criminal and plans to focus on finding solutions to help populations in Bend that are underrepresented by the makeup of the current City Council.

“I have different challenges that also bring unique opportunities because now I’m seeing a lot of what happens on the street that councilors don’t have,” said Boozell. “They don’t have the same information stream that I have and as a result, I carry a different message that they don’t even know is on the table.”

For instance, Boozell said his rent was recently hiked, and he’s been struggling to find an affordable place to live. If elected, Boozell wants to address affordability for residents who have been pushed out as Bend has grown more expensive, he said.

“We do have a certain segment of our community and our culture represented,” said Boozell. “But there’s a lot of other people who are not represented at all.”

Justin Livingston

Livingston, 39, works as a real estate broker and partner in a business that rehabilitates homes. He’s a member of the city’s affordable housing committee and served on the committee tasked with advising city councilors on how to fund street maintenance.

Making housing more affordable in Bend, increasing collaboration with the city staff on projects and building relationships with government officials in Salem are some of Livingston’s top priorities.

“Obviously, I think the biggest one is housing because real estate and housing affects everything we do,” said Livingston.

Making the building permit process more efficient and working with lawmakers in Salem to tailor land use laws to fit Central Oregon’s needs are some of the ways he intends to address the problem. For instance, easing state restrictions that protect farmland could allow unused land to go housing, he said. Plus, some land around Bend that’s zoned as farmland isn’t suitable for farming to begin with, he said.

“We need to go to Salem and we need to lobby for some changes for Central Oregon,” Livingston said.

Livingston said figuring out how to pay for street maintenance is another priority. At least $4.3 million is needed each year just to keep up current road conditions, according to city officials. Livingston also opposed the 5-cent gas tax, and was staunchly against holding a special election, he said.

“Mostly, I opposed the spending,” said Livingston. “You can’t do that, it’s just the wrong thing to do. Now, your citizens — whether they would’ve voted for it or not — don’t trust you.”

Increasing collaboration with city staffers is another focus, Livingston said. Working with them directly to get feedback on city problems or proposed laws could better inform councilors’ decisions and save time in the long run, he said.

“I’m not an expert in every field that the city is involved in,” said Livingston. “But we do have experts in all of those departments and we need to rely on their advice.”

As a resident of Bend’s east side, Livingston also aims to make it easier for east-side residents to participate in city government. For example, holding city councilors’ office hours at different times to accommodate people’s schedules and offering residents a way to give city councilors feedback without attending City Council meetings could be options, said Livingston.

Setting up a kiosk where residents could leave video comments at City Hall while running errands downtown could be an alternative to requiring residents to show up at meetings, he said.

“People’s lives are busy,” Livingston said. “And they can’t just come down to the City Council meetings just to say something for three minutes.”

The other City Council positions up for election Nov. 8 are held by Mayor Jim Clinton and Councilors Sally Russell and Doug Knight. Russell and Knight have filed for re-election; Clinton is not seeking re-election.

In Position 2, Knight is challenged by Bill Moseley, owner and founder of GL Solutions.

In Position 3, Russell faces challenger Wade Fagen of Fagen Tree Service & Wood Chips.

In Position 4 (Clinton’s), former Bend City Councilor and Mayor Bruce Abernethy is running unopposed.

— Reporter: 541-633-2160,

mriker@bendbulletin.com