This January, Kaarin Knudson was inaugurated as Eugene’s new mayor. With a background as an Oregon Duck and architect, Knudson’s platform largely focused on improving affordable housing in Eugene.

I sat down with Knudson for an interview to discuss her roots in Eugene, her career, and her vision for Eugene over the next four years. 

Knudson first came to Eugene from Anchorage to pursue her undergraduate degrees at the University of Oregon. She studied journalism and creative writing, and later came back to get her Master’s degree in architecture. 

While at the University of Oregon, Knudson was a track and field athlete, specializing in mid-distance events. 

“I ran at U of O on the track team and was captain of the track team and ran on the cross-country teams,” Knudson said, “And so my first experience in Eugene was running at the Prefontaine meet, the Pre-Classic, in the spring of 1993 when I was still in high school and just had a wonderful experience.”

When asked why she ran for mayor, Knudson said, “I have some roots in our community, certainly. And as an architect and a person who’s done a lot of work in housing advocacy, and has volunteered a lot in our community and cares a lot about our community, it really felt like I was the right person at the right time and that I could be helpful. When people ask why I wanted to run for mayor, it’s because I think I can be of use as our community is navigating some pretty significant challenges and opportunities related to our housing crisis, the crisis of homelessness, the need for our public spaces to be beautiful and accessible and sustainable, and, you know, a city that wants to grow in ways that are more sustainable and more equitable overall.”

Addressing Eugene’s persistent homelessness is one of Knudson’s top priorities.

“Part of the reason why we’re in the position we’re in is that we just haven’t produced enough housing that is affordable to people earning average wages in our community,” Knudson said. “We absolutely need more housing for people with very low incomes, for people with low incomes, for people who are in our workforce, and even earning median incomes.”

According to Knudson, the housing market in Eugene is plagued by two main issues: high cost and low vacancy. 

“When you have an unaffordable median housing cost and you have a very low vacancy rate, what you have created is an extremely brittle, unforgiving housing market,” she explained “That does not accommodate for the lives that most people are living in 2025.”

Knudson is optimistic that addressing Eugene’s housing market is not only achievable, but necessary to address other community priorities. 

“We have a lot of work to do as a community on incrementally increasing the housing options that are available, growing into a more age-friendly community for both older and younger residents as we change,” she said. “The good news is that all of that work helps us to meet our sustainability goals. It helps us to meet our community planning goals. It helps us to meet our equity goals. It helps us to be a community that is better connected to one another.”

Knudson also views youth being civically engaged as a pressing matter. “We need young people who will be left with the consequences or the opportunities of the decisions we’re making today to be involved in the shared work of building a future.”

Article by Zev Wacks