95th Anniversary - Commissioners

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EWEB Home > What's New > Publications > 95th Anniversary

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Your commissioners: Uniquely Eugene

L to R: Mel Menegat, Sandra Bishop, John Simpson, Ron Farmer and Patrick Lanning.

The Eugene Water & Electric Board is somewhat unique as municipal utilities go. In many cities, such as Seattle, the utility is governed by the city council. But in Eugene, a separate elected board governs the utility and makes all important policy and rate decisions.

The independent governing board concept was established from the get-go 95 years ago and remains strong under EWEB’s current leadership. This separate board, elected by the citizens, is spelled out in the Eugene City Charter.

All commissioners are elected to four-year terms. Four board members represent specific wards of the city, while a fifth member is an “at-large” commissioner and is elected by all voters.

Commissioners are not paid. They volunteer their time on the EWEB board. And they come from all walks of life. President Sandra Bishop (at large) owns and operates her own government relations firm. Mel Menegat (Wards 6 and 7) is a retired attorney and administrative law judge. John Simpson (Wards 1 and 8) is an engineer at VersaLogic in Eugene. Patrick Lanning (Wards 2 and 3) is vice president of instruction at Lane Community College. And Ron Farmer (Wards 4 and 5) is the regional president for Bank of America.

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