Former county race bias analyst hired as top-tier Portland auditor

Former Multnomah County employee Amanda Lamb. (Image courtesy of Multnomah County)

Amanda Lamb, a former Multnomah County analyst fired for disclosing racial disparities data, has been hired as a chief deputy auditor for the City of Portland.

Lamb began the job Monday on an interim basis, said Auditor Mary Hull Caballero.

Lamb previously worked on a county project to create a public dashboard melding police, prosecutor, court and parole officer data. The interface was intended to shed light on racial disparities in the county's criminal justice system.

She gave a presentation on the data last year at a conference in Las Vegas and was fired shortly after. County officials said Lamb had disclosed confidential information. Lamb contends, through her attorney, that she is not bound by a county non-disclosure agreement because she never signed it.

After her firing from the county, Lamb, who holds a masters in public administration, went to work as an analyst for the city's Independent Police Review, a police oversight body housed in the office of the city auditor.

Before working at Multnomah County, Lamb was also a state and local government auditor. She worked as an auditor in the office of former Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton, who  dismissed her days after she produced a report highlighting evidence that Staton's jail deputies used disproportionate force against black inmates.

Lamb's attorney filed paperwork with Multnomah County and Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum's office on April 3 to put the county and state on notice that Lamb may sue to seek damages for what they believe is her unlawful firing.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

503-221-8209

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