With Ward 7 Corvallis City Councilor Paul Shaffer declining to seek reelection, two candidates have emerged for the seat. Jerry Ingersoll and Danielle Chambers.
Many will know Ingersoll for his former role, Forest Supervisor of the Siuslaw National Forest, headquartered in Corvallis. He was known for collaborative stewardship, bringing people together to restore old growth and salmon habitat. He went on to lead the Forest Service’s Job Corps program, providing vocational training and education to underserved youth across the country. Ingersoll retired from Federal service in April 2026.
Ingersoll says, “The City of Corvallis works for you through dedicated firefighters, librarians, police officers, wastewater technicians, lifeguards, and others under the City Manager.” He sees his career as a civil servant as preparing him to build connections between Corvallisites and their civil servants and elected officials.
Ingersoll says he’s been a sixteen-year resident and homeowner in Corvallis, that he’s raised three children here, graduates of Corvallis High School. His wife, Amelia Valadez Ingersoll, teaches at Garfield and Lincoln Elementary Schools and Linus Pauling Middle School.
“I love Corvallis,” says Ingersoll. “This is a special, welcoming, and safe place in today’s complex world, and I want it to continue to thrive. Service on the City Council is my way of giving back, humbly, to a community that’s given so much to me and to my family.”
Danielle Chambers is a member of the Corvallis Charter Review Task Force and serves as a Precinct Committee Person for the Benton County Democratic Party. She is a 2026 Leadership Corvallis Graduate. Professionally, Chambers is a software engineer.
Her platform centers on developing small locally owned businesses as a driver for economic development. On housing and homelessness, Chambers supports developing land trusts for affordable housing, grace periods for tenants that are missing paychecks and a tenant/landlord bill of rights. Chambers’ platform also includes the idea that transportation and zoning reform need to be examined, and that the City may be able to further reduce its carbon footprint.
According to her campaign website, she fled Oklahoma following rising political persecution of trans people under the second Trump administration. “Now, Corvallis is her beloved home, and she’s going to continue fighting to keep it that way,” says the website’s homepage.
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