Springfield opens filings for Ward 4 City Council seat in November election

Springfield’s Ward 4 seat is back on the ballot, and the district’s next councilor will help steer decisions that shape the city’s central-east neighborhoods for the next two years of the term. Candidate filings open June 3, and the winner of the November 3, 2026 general election will serve through December 31, 2028.

The race matters well beyond City Hall. Ward 4 stretches across a busy slice of Springfield, generally bounded by Highway 126, 21st Street, 42nd Street and the southern city limits near the Middle Fork of the Willamette River. It includes the Bob Keefer Center for Sports and Recreation, Agnes Stewart Middle School, Mt. Vernon Elementary, Maple Elementary, the Springfield DMV, Jerry’s Home Improvement Center and the Walmart Supercenter, putting the ward at the center of the city’s daily traffic, school routes, neighborhood growth and commercial development.

The seat opened after Councilor Beth Blackwell resigned, effective December 31, 2025. Springfield then filled the vacancy on an interim basis, appointing Jill Cuadros after a public application process that drew six candidates. Cuadros will hold the seat until voters pick a councilor in November. The council has used the same appointment process before, including a 2023 interim fill after Leonard Stoehr’s resignation.

Springfield residents interested in the Ward 4 seat can pick up filing materials from the City Recorder’s Office at City Hall, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, or access them online. Allyson Pulido serves as the city recorder and elections officer. The city says the first day to file is June 3, 2026, and non-incumbent candidates must file by 5 p.m. on August 18, 2026. Incumbent candidates must file by August 11, and the last day to withdraw candidacy is August 28.

Lane County Elections administers local elections in Lane County, and Springfield says its paperwork is submitted to the county for approval. City materials also note that filing deadlines can differ from countywide deadlines, making the city packet the key document for anyone seeking the Ward 4 seat.

The appointment and the election both carry the same weight for Ward 4 voters: the person chosen will have a direct vote on how Springfield handles growth, roads, public safety and housing in a district that sits squarely between the city’s commercial corridors and its neighborhood schools.