Lane County commissioners vote 3-2 to ask David Loveall to apologize

The Lane County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 at a public meeting in Eugene to urge Commissioner David Loveall to apologize after an outside investigation’s summary concluded he retaliated against three county employees who filed Human Resources complaints. Commissioners David Loveall and board chair Ryan Ceniga opposed the motion; the board directed county staff and county attorneys to prepare a public statement of unity and to place any apology from Loveall on the March 3, 2026 agenda.

The county released a 12‑page summary of the third‑party investigation on Feb. 10 that, according to the summary, found Loveall threatened to fire three employees after they filed complaints. The investigative summary cited allegations that included repeated religious references by Loveall and one complaint that said he compared a nonprofit director to a “stripper.” Lookout Eugene‑Springfield and other outlets reported at least one of the three complainants was the county administrator.

Loveall vigorously disputed the factual framing of incidents in the summary. He told reporters the June 13, 2025 conversation described in the summary was mischaracterized, saying, “June 13th, 2025 conversation is framed that I knew of family religious trauma before I signed a birthday card with well-wishing comments, ‘Thanks for doing Kingdom work. Blessings, Commissioner Loveall.’ This is categorically untrue.” He also said the board was being asked to act without the full record: “I am being asked to respond to a summary of a report and the board of commissioners is being asked to make decisions without access to the full record.”

Loveall’s attorney, Jill Gibson, told reporters the public summary contains errors and advised legal action. “There are numerous factual inaccuracies in the report that was released to the public and there's evidence that these factual errors were known before it was ordered to be released. It was released anyway. That violates his right to liberty interest,” Gibson said. She later added, “Commissioner Loveall has very strong legal claims that the investigative process violated his rights to due process, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, his liberty interest and I have advised him to file a lawsuit.”

Procedural disputes marked the Feb. 18 meeting. Commissioners met in closed-door executive session for more than two hours before reconvening in public; KLCC reported the executive session lasted over two hours. Loveall said he voluntarily left that session “under objection” and accused the board of violating assurances about topics that would be discussed. Commissioner Pat Farr, who voted in favor of the motion, pushed back publicly: “No disciplinary decision was made,” and “The motion as stated was subject to it, was an advice to you, Commissioner Loveall; it wasn't discipline reaction.”

The board’s nonpunitive motion asks county staff and county attorneys to draft a statement of unity for employees who have reported discrimination and harassment and seeks an apology from Loveall that would acknowledge harm and the investigative findings. The statement of unity and any apology were added to the March 3 board meeting agenda; whether Loveall will comply remains unsettled as he and his counsel weigh legal options and dispute the release and framing of the investigative summary.