With Rep. Alan Bates’ House seat up for grabs, three Ashland residents have entered what will be a strongly contested race.

Two Democrats, Peter Buckley and Judy Uherbelau, and one Republican, Joanna Lofaso, have filed with the Secretary of State’s Office for the District 5 seat.

The filing deadline was Tuesday.

Bates will seek the Senate position formerly held by Lenn Hannon, who has taken a job with the state Parole Board.

Lofaso, a political newcomer, will take on either Buckley, who ran in 2002 against U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, or Uherbelau, who is a former state representative.

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Democratic voters will decide between Buckley and Uherbelau in the May 18 primary election.

Buckley, who is executive director of the citizen involvement organization Democracy’s Edge, said he isn’t concerned about the primary race against Uherbelau.

"It gives me a chance to practice what I preach," said 47-year-old Buckley. "Democracy is about people getting involved."

Buckley said politically, he isn’t that different from Uherbelau.

"Judy is a great person," he said. "It’s mainly a difference in style."

His style, he said, is a desire to communicate with people and get them involved in the political process.

One of his main goals is to find a way to fund education and basic social services.

He did take issue with a comment made earlier by Lofaso, who wants to make sure that education dollars are being used in the classroom and not being wasted.

He challenges her to spend a day in a classroom to see how well the money is being spent.

Lofaso, who admits she still needs to more fully analyze Oregon’s educational system, said she doesn’t think there is waste in the classroom, but said she wants to make sure money isn’t being wasted on bureaucracy.

"I think it’s important to put the money into the classroom," she said. "I don’t want to shortchange the students."

With a background in banking and finance, 55-year-old Lofaso said she will put her skills to use in the Legislature to resolve the fiscal problems that have plagued the state.

She does think teachers shouldn’t be forced to buy their own supplies for classrooms, and she thinks the school year shouldn’t be shortened.

Lofaso, a business relationship manager/commercial loan officer for Wells Fargo Bank, said she doesn’t have any specific cuts in mind to alleviate budget problems, nor does she know of any particular areas where there is waste in education.

She says she has a group of volunteers who will help campaign for her and is ready to take on either Democratic challenger, despite her limited political background.

Uherbelau, who was a state representative for three terms but left when term limits were imposed, said she couldn’t comment on how her style would differ from Buckley’s, saying she doesn’t know him that well.

"The best people to talk to are all the constituents I represented all these years," said the 65-year-old attorney.

Her primary interest will be to get Oregon’s education system back on track after its pummeling by budget cuts.

"My daughters went through Ashland schools," she said. "They had a wonderful education. It’s not nearly as good now."

Throughout the state, schools have lost teachers and been forced to increase class sizes and eliminate extracurricular programs.

While she agrees that egregious examples of government waste should be eradicated, Uherbelau said it is impossible to eliminate waste altogether.

"We are all human beings and we all waste," she said. "I don’t think you can find a private business or a public agency and not find waste."

When Republicans talk about waste, she said, they typically talk in generalities, but rarely describe specifics.

Uherbelau said people persuaded her to run because the local delegation was losing a lot of experience with the departure of Hannon and Rep. Rob Patridge, who won’t seek re-election because of personal and professional commitments.

"I think that our Legislature has become too polarized," she added. "We are going to miss people like Lenn Hannon and Rob Patridge. When I was in the House, we would talk to each other and respect each other."

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com