Current City Councilor Megan Perkins is running against Nick Cerveny, a veteran and engineer at Deschutes Brewery. The two recently participated in an interview with the Source Weekly, discussing issues they hope to advocate for on the council.
Both candidates spoke of the importance of infrastructure funding, addressing houselessness and managing water resources. Both also spoke a lot about housing, and the need for more affordable options in the City of Bend.
Perkins celebrated the current council's success in adding affordable housing and adding shelter capacity, but noted that there's still more work to do. The City has done a great job working with developers, she said, and she hopes to continue to streamline the process of building more affordable homes, making it more efficient. She also touted her work on the Coordinated Houseless Response Office as evidence of her commitment to addressing that major community problem.
Cerveny also discussed the need for more housing, and if elected, said he would advocate for adding all types of housing. He hopes to do this through easing burdens on developers and using more local developers in the homebuilding process.
When it comes to infrastructure funding, Perkins highlighted the work the council has done to pursue grants for things like the Hawthorne Bridge. She added that she has and will continue to advocate for more money from the state to help with getting infrastructure projects done.
Cerveny touched on the importance of some infrastructure projects, but said he's fearful of pushing people on bikes that "shouldn't be there." He hopes to find better funding mechanisms to make the roads safer.
