What you need to know to run for local office

ROSEBURG, Ore. – The filing period will soon open for candidates who would like to run for Roseburg mayor and City Council seats in the Tuesday, Nov. 8, general election.

Prospective candidates are encouraged to set up an appointment with Roseburg City Recorder Amy Sowa to review the election process before completing any filing forms. Appointments will be held at City Hall, 900 SE Douglas Ave. in Roseburg and can be made by emailing asowa@cityofroseburg.org or calling 541-492-6866.

Candidates can also find information about the election process, including how to file to run for office, and nomination petition forms on the City website’s Election Information page. The forms must be filled out and turned in to the city recorder with a certain number of voter signatures between Wednesday, June 1, and 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23.

The following offices are up for election:

Mayor – Two-year term ending Dec. 31, 2024;

Councilor, Ward 1, Position 1 – Four-year term ending Dec. 31, 2026;

Councilor, Ward 2, Position 1 – Four-year term ending Dec. 31, 2026;

Councilor, Ward 3, Position 1 – Four-year term ending Dec. 31, 2026;

Councilor, Ward 4, Position 1 – Four-year term ending Dec. 31, 2026.

Winning candidates would take the oath of office and begin serving in January 2023.

Local candidates who run for office must file nomination petitions that include voters’ signatures. Candidates for mayor must get 50 signatures from registered Roseburg voters on their nomination petition. Candidates for City Council must get 20 signatures from registered voters living in their ward. Ward boundaries can be found on the online City Ward Map.

“Candidates often choose to knock on doors and collect signatures. Please be courteous while campaigning in the city,” Sowa said.

Once candidates turn in nomination petitions and voter signatures, the city recorder verifies petitions were filled out correctly and verifies signatures with the Douglas County Elections Division by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30.

Sowa would like to remind certified candidates that they must follow Oregon state law (ORS 377.720) and the Roseburg Municipal Code to legally post campaign signs and other campaign materials in the 90-day period before the general election. By law, campaign signs can be up from Wednesday, August 10, through Friday, Nov. 11 – three days after the election.

Campaign signs must adhere to the following rules:

• Signs must not be placed on sidewalks or any other public right-of-way, which is generally the area from the street to the property line and can include sidewalk, grass, gravel, a planting strip, etc.;

• Signs should be no more than 32 square feet and the entire campaign message must be contained on one sign;

• Permission from the property owner is required to post signs on private property;

• Signs are not allowed on or within:

• public parks;
• utility poles;
• bridges or other scenic areas;
• fences, trees or other publicly posted signs.

Campaign signs found to be violating state law or City Code will be removed and stored at the Roseburg Public Works Shop at 425 NE Fulton St. Signs will be held for 10 days to give owners time to collect them but then discarded.

Candidates and campaign workers should remove campaign signs that were not placed legally, but members of the public who see campaign signs that were placed illegally should report them as soon as possible to the Roseburg Public Works Department at pwd@cityofroseburg.org or 541-492-6730.

Candidates also must adhere to state law by filing campaign finance reports online with the Oregon Secretary of State’s office. Learn more about deadlines and other requirements in the Oregon Secretary of State’s online 2022 Campaign Finance Manual.

For more information about the Roseburg election process, contact City Recorder Amy Sowa at asowa@cityofroseburg.org or 541-492-6866.