Three people have filed to run for the open seat on the Multnomah County Commission in the upcoming May election.
The seat representing a portion of the county primarily encompassing Southeast Portland was vacated when Jessica Vega Pederson, who held that position, won the countywide chair’s seat in November.
If a candidate wins an outright majority in May, they will be sworn in immediately and their term will run through 2024.
The candidates who have filed to run so far are Ana del Rocío, who previously served as Vega Pederson’s policy and research director, Portland School Board member Julia Brim-Edwards and Albert Kaufman, a board member for his neighborhood association in Southeast Portland.
Del Rocío who worked as a policy adviser to Vega Pederson from 2018 to 2021. She previously led the nonprofit Oregon Futures Lab, which builds programs to promote diversity in civil service. She also sat on the David Douglas School Board.
Del Rocío has racked up a long list of endorsements from elected leaders including state Reps. Andrea Valderrama, Hoa Nguyen, Khanh Pham, Mark Gamba and Rick Ruiz, Gresham City Councilors Dina DiNucci and Eddy Morales, Portland school board member Andrew Scott and Multnomah Education Service District Board Chair Denyse Peterson.
Brim-Edwards, who manages a small consulting firm, is in her ninth year on the Portland school board. She served as a senior director at Nike for 17 years.
“No matter who you are, or what part of the community you call home, we all want the same thing: a safe, affordable, and thriving place to live, work and raise a family,” said Brim-Edwards in a statement. “Our community has great strengths but is also under great stress. I have a long track record of fixing problems to make life better for people in this community.”
She is endorsed by former Gov. Barbara Roberts, former Multnomah County Commissioners Lisa Naito and Judy Shiprack, Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty and Portland school board members Gary Hollands, Herman Greene and Michelle DePass, among others.
Del Rocío says she wants to use her relationship building skills to collaborate across all levels of government to address the county’s housing and homelessness crisis. In preparation for her run, Del Rocío said she talked to hundreds of leaders and community members as she planned out her long list of priorities, which she said include addressing housing, homelessness, behavioral health and community safety, among other things.
“Our government has long been run by wealthy elites and corporate lobbyists,” Del Rocío. “We need a new direction, and we need it urgently. I am a leader who has earned the trust of our diverse working-class communities. I bring the experience and values necessary to help repair the systemic failures we have inherited from decades of government inaction.”
Brim-Edwards lists many of the same priorities as del Rocío, saying she would work to create more housing options quickly as well as provide more shelter options that include showers, trash collection, security and behavioral health services.
She wants to reduce gun violence, support overlooked small businesses in east Portland and strengthen county-led school programs including Preschool for All.
The third candidate, Kaufman, is a digital marketing consultant and board member for neighborhood association Southeast Uplift. He lists housing, homelessness, livability and the environment as his top priorities, according to his website.
“I’m a team player and look forward to working with the other commissioners on issues like air quality, houselessness, and reviving our community,” Kaufman said. “I believe that there are many small, achievable things that we can easily accomplish. I have been frustrated at how long these types of changes can take to implement and I hope to be a catalyst for these changes.”
Nicole Hayden can be reached at nhayden@oregonian.com or on Twitter @Nicole_A_Hayden.
