County Commissioners set policy and adopt budgets for their counties. They supervise County departments either directly or, when there is a County Administrator, indirectly. Counties provide a wide range of important public services, from managing elections to maintaining roads. To qualify, a candidate must be a U.S. citizen, a registered voter, a resident of the district for at least a year prior to the General Election, and 18 years of age or older.Term: 4 years. This position is nonpartisan.
Campaign Phone (public)
503-701-4096
Town Where You Live
Portland
Your Experience/Qualifications
Multnomah County Commissioner (11 months, partial term). Focused on getting the County back on track; leading efforts to fund/prioritize more shelter, mental health services, drug treatment & neighborhoods safety. Small business owner, Nike Sr. Director (2004-23); Oregon State Board of Trustees; Portland Public Schools Board member; mom of three; 30-year Community Leader with a track record of taking action, working for East Portland, and getting results on our community's biggest problem.
County
OR
Term
4 years
Term Expires
Dec. 2028
Eleven months ago, you elected me to a partial term to get the County back on track. County leadership had failed to effectively act on the crises in our neighborhoods. If elected, my priorities remain: a) Fund and expand shelter beds and alternative housing to transition people off the streets to basic services, safety, and provide a path to housing. b) End unsanctioned camping. c) Lead the work to re-open a 24/7 Drop Off Sobering Center with connections to detox/drug treatment. d) Improve neighborhood safety, by prioritizing critical community corrections funding and first responder staffing to reduce response times to emergencies. e) Ensure accountability, transparency so tax dollars are effectively spent. f) Advocate for East Portland!
No, much more needs to be done. When I was elected 11 months ago, Multnomah County’s mental health system had been underfunded with revolving leadership. There continues to be a lack of access to mental health services, unprecedented numbers of drug-related deaths, unsafe conditions, and individuals without access to addiction treatment. As a County Commissioner, I am pushing for and have supported: creation of a countywide, holistic plan for drug addiction treatment that runs the entire continuum, from prevention to treatment and recovery; expansion of capacity for detox and treatment beds, both inpatient and outpatient; and I led the planning and design work for a new 24-7 Drop Off Sobering Center and helped secure funding for it.
The County had been slow to act and locked in a rigid ideology of thinking that there was one way to address this humanitarian crisis while record number of individuals were homeless on our streets. More urgent action was needed. When I joined the Commission last summer, I pushed hard for immediate action on the millions of unspent funds and to fund--which we did--hundreds of new shelter beds and alternative shelter types to transition people from the street and camps to shelter, basic services, safety and a path to housing. Investments were made in day centers, sober and recovery housing, and treatments beds. That needs to be prioritized. Mental health and addiction treatment services must be integrated with supportive homeless services.
Town Where You Live
Portland, OR
Your Experience/Qualifications
Housing navigator, organizer, and advocate
County
Multnomah
Term
4 years
Term Expires
2029
LOWER THE RENT: Demand local rent control to cap rent & utilities such that anyone working full time on minimum wage can afford an apartment with 30% or less of their income.
END EVICTIONS: 90% of evictions in Multnomah are for nonpayment. Only 7% of tenants have representation vs. 82% of landlords. We must provide an eviction lawyer to all.
DECOMMODIFY HOUSING: By creating a public social housing developer, the county should aim to become the #1 provider of housing rather than private equity.
A HOME FOR EVERY UNHOUSED PERSON: Converting vacant offices & other quickly developable permanent housing projects
BUILD TENANT POWER: Pass a Renters' Bill of Rights to cap fees, ban rent hikes when code violations exist, and other protections.
Absolutely not. We have been without a center for 4 years already and the current commissioner in District 3, Julia Brim-Edwards, in charge of planning & designing the new center has failed to put forth a plan that addresses our serious and immediate needs. The first 15 beds are projected to open in July 2025, more than a year from now, but folks living on the streets & going through crisis do not have that long to wait. The 90 day declaration of fentanyl emergency will soon be over. We must open an immediate temporary center with longer limits on stays while we develop the larger permanent facility.
Research shows that the #1 cause & predictor of houselessness is a region's cost of housing. We cannot build lasting change while the private market raises rates every single year. We must keep people that are already housed in their homes, and move unhoused & unsheltered folks into permanent affordable housing immediately.
In the meantime, we must also stop the disruptive and abusive street sweeps that make it impossible for houseless folks to achieve stability. We need public access to more clean, safe restrooms and showers. We need more permanently subsidized housing vouchers for folks with fixed or no income. We need to fund more case managers & outreach to connect folks with the resources that exist but are underutilized.
