Bruce Abernethy to seek Bend mayor’s council seat
Bruce Abernethy, a former Bend mayor and member of several local boards, announced late Tuesday that he will run for current Mayor Jim Clinton’s council seat this November.
“After several months of careful consideration and talking with many people in the community, I have decided to once again seek election to the Bend City Council,” Abernethy said in a news release.
“I am therefore announcing today my intention to run for Position #4, the seat currently held by Jim Clinton,” he said.
Clinton has not declared publicly whether he will seek re-election this fall.
Clinton told NewsChannel 21, “I did know that Bruce intended to run, but no, I have not made a firm decision. There are more than two months left in the filing period, and look what happened two years ago — a number of last-minute filers.”
Here’s the rest of Abernethy’s announcement:
“Bend is a very special place to live,” Abernethy said, “but it faces many challenges that will require thoughtful deliberation, creative partnerships, and the leadership to make some hard choices.
“From building more affordable housing to maintaining neighborhood livability, ensuring public safety and health, creating a robust business environment, maximizing the benefits of our 4-year university and community college, and helping to bridge the east-west divide (both real and perceived), these are all things that are important to Bend’s future – and they are all issues that are important to me.”
“My approach has always been to listen and to learn, and to recognize there are tradeoffs in any policy decision. I believe that difficult decisions often require compromise and may result in some level of disappointment on both sides of an issue. That is a tension with which I am comfortable as I firmly believe there is a middle ground here in Bend that is not being represented by the voices of the far right and the far left.”
Abernethy’s past civic experience includes serving on the Bend Park and Recreation District Board, the Bend-La Pine School Board, the Bend City Council for eight years (as mayor 2007-2008) and currently on the Central Oregon Community College Board.
He also serves on a number of other boards/committees including Bend’s Community Center, Rotary Club of Greater Bend, and Deschutes Safe.
Professionally, Abernethy works for the Bend La Pine Schools as its grant writer, a position he has held for 12 years.
Abernethy earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science from Swarthmore College (1985) and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University (1989).
