Contact Phone
503-752-9713
Campaign Phone (public)
503-752-9713
Town Where You Live
Portland
Your Experience/Qualifications
I have over 35 years of experience as a mental health consumer advocate and grassroots activist in Oregon. I co-founded the Oregon Mental Health Consumers Association, and have been serving as its Executive Director since 2003. I have also worked as a front-line worker in mental health services.
County
Multnomah
Term
4 years
Term Expires
2029
Multnomah County is facing multiple, very visible crises at the intersection of mental health, addiction and homelessness. My policy priorities are mental health, addiction and housing. My record shows tangible results in driving progress on these issues. I’m running for County Commissioner because I have the work experience and productive working relationships with key stakeholders to revitalize the energy among leadership and their community partnerships. As a person with lived experience of these challenges myself, I will bring a fresh perspective to supplement my deep policy knowledge. Additionally, as a community builder at heart, I will work tirelessly to forge a holistic, vibrant, economically sustainable future for Multnomah County.
Overall, I have been unsatisfied with the delays caused by lack of collaboration among key stakeholders. It’s good to see progress recently, though. The recent action of sharing the draft plan with the press before the plan is finalized, may encourage faster stakeholder input. The Facilitator Operator Procurement and Community Impact Survey sections of the draft plan shared publicly are still so vague, though-- those elements are really important. I support finetuning center performance measures. Soliciting more input on performance measures from consumers with lived experience of withdrawal recovery could be useful. Performance measures about staff safety solicited from unions could also be added. Moving forward with urgency is important.
In general, policy change ideas are in flux until the outcome of the Supreme Court's pending consideration of Grants Pass v. Johnson. For now, I support Oregon's HB 3115 as policy guidelines. I also support improving coordination between housing providers, houseless services and behavioral health. Mental health and addiction difficulties are often major elements in people losing their housing. A coordinated network of crisis response services should also include eviction prevention services as an integral piece that is even included as part of the 988 crisis system planning and implementation. I also support resources for the expansion and additional marketing about the County’s eviction prevention services, so more people know they exist.
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Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Contact Phone
503-432-5777
Town Where You Live
Portland
Your Experience/Qualifications
I’m running for County Commissioner because I want to ensure we have the safe and supportive communities we need for everyone in our county to thrive. I am currently the Public Policy Director at Disability Rights Oregon, and I have 20 years of experience successfully passing policies that provide services and support to those who need them most. I am also a former business owner, having run my own building contracting company, building affordable housing in the Willamette Valley.
County
Multnomah
My first priority will be to fix our broken mental health and addiction services system. By increasing funding, improving access, and integrating these services into broader healthcare, we can provide comprehensive support for those in need.
I also recognize the burden of childcare costs, and will advocate for the expansion of affordable, high-quality childcare to support working families.
And I will focus on investing in infrastructure to stimulate economic development and create family-wage jobs. We need to invest in structural improvements and new technologies to create a sustainable foundation for economic growth and job creation. By investing in infrastructure, we’re investing in every community member’s opportunity and well-being.
I support the concept of a 24-hour mental-health crisis and sobering center, but I would advocate for distinct areas for those facing mental health emergencies and those using the sobering center, recognizing the unique needs of those two populations. The sobering center must have medical oversight, and we need to carefully and compassionately evaluate the duration of holding individuals. It’s also essential to provide the appropriate treatment and support post-detox. I’d like to see the county follow the Deschutes model for the crisis stabilization center, which offers a secure environment to stabilize, meet basic needs, and facilitate connections to services and professional support.
To effectively address homelessness, we must significantly expand our housing-with-support options for those with mental health, disability, or addiction challenges requiring comprehensive support. Our current infrastructure is not even close to providing enough of these crucial spots. Long-term care for individuals unable to self-care and living on the streets is essential, along with sober housing, detox beds, women's shelters, and more transitional housing to progress individuals from shelters to stability. We need to ensure that on-demand mental health and detox treatments are the norm. By providing strong and compassionate intervention as early as possible, we can help avert the cycle of repeated hospitalizations and incarcerations.
Town Where You Live
Portland
Your Experience/Qualifications
U.S. Administrative Law Judge; Director-Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization, Metropolitan Youth Symphony. Education: UT Austin; UT School of Law. Prior Governmental Experience: Portland Charter Commission; Committee on Community Engaged Policing; Citizen Review Committee; Commission on Disability. Community Experience: President, Goose Hollow Neighborhood; President, Neighbors West-Northwest/District 4 Coalition; Vice-Chair, NAACP PAC; Regional Vice President, IFPTE (AFL-CIO)
County
Multnomah
Term
2025
Term Expires
2028
1) Make faster progress to end homelessness.
Unsheltered homeless people need access to services to deal with poverty, addiction, and mental health challenges. I will rapidly expand temporary shelters and sanctioned camping sites to provide care while banning camping everywhere else. I will move with urgency and hold our government and contractors accountable for results.
2) Improve public safety.
When you call 911, you expect a fast response. The county must move immediately to fix the ambulance crisis. I will work with the DA, law enforcement partners, and judges to deter crime and keep our neighborhoods safe.
As an experienced public servant and administrative law judge, I can make these systems finally work for our community.
I’m happy that after four years of inaction, the County Commission is finally moving toward opening a sobering center. However, the sobering center will not be completed until late 2025 at the earliest, so as County Commissioner I will work to establish a stop-gap facility utilizing county workforce and space so that individuals experiencing acute drug addiction have a place to stabilize.
Moreover, we need a better plan for a continuum of care including residential withdrawal management, transitional housing, ongoing psychiatric services, and recovery housing. I will use my experience building private-public partnerships to stand up this continuum of care and ensure that those needing help are not left on the streets.
Multnomah County must work with the City of Portland as a partner, not an adversary. I’ve been endorsed by three leading candidates for Mayor – because they know that I will be able to work collaboratively to solve homelessness, while demanding accountability of anyone that holds us back from succesfully tackling this crisis.
Washington and Clackamas Counties have been able to reduce chronic homelessness. Multnomah County can, too: Open more shelter beds, end unsanctioned camping, and provide a continuum of care using the proven Built for Zero methodology.
I will improve coordination and accountability with the 100+ service providers funded by the county to help people off the streets and into stability and recovery.
Contact Phone
9719153010
Campaign Phone (public)
9719153010
Town Where You Live
Portland
Your Experience/Qualifications
Multnomah County Treasury Project Manager skilled in developing strategic roadmaps and delivering impactful results (3+ years) Strategy & Operations Consultant experienced in facilitating implementation of strategic initiatives and change management (9+ years) Finance & Data Analytics expert at interpreting data and communicating key information (15 years)
County
Multnomah
My priorities are streamlining County operations, improving spend transparency, and eliminating program underperformance. Multnomah County needs to utilize tax dollars efficiently and for the purposes they were intended. Multnomah County has a duty to be accountable for program administration to deliver impactful results. I will prioritize monitoring performance of contracts with service providers and make sure contracts and payments are executed in a timely manner.
Multnomah County has not utilized resources and assets. We have a huge deficit in mental health services and substance abuse treatment. There is a lack of detox beds and in-patient treatment which is fueling the decrease in livability in our community. Unity Center for Behavioral Health and local emergency rooms are acute care options that provide only short-term intervention. Multnomah County needs comprehensive supportive care to stop the cycle of addiction and homelessness.
My plan to improve public services:
Review current providers and executed contracts to gauge capacity and effectiveness
Maximize funding for effective providers to increase capacity
Enforce current agreements
I plan to address homelessness by improving the contracting management process with service providers and increasing the services provided directly by Multnomah County. I will work together with the County Departments, the State of Oregon, City of Portland, and private organizations like Bybee Lakes Hope Center (Wapato) to maximize joint efforts to reduce homelessness in our community. Prioritizing safety and accessibility is critical for the revitalization of our beautiful county. It is unacceptable to continue facilitating unsanctioned camping and drug use. Allowing individuals to remain on the street when they cannot care for themselves is inhumane. It is the responsibility of local government to address the needs of the community.
