Multnomah County ‘under the magnifying glass’ as chair tries to recast struggles in yearly address

Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson used her second annual State of the County address Monday to acknowledge the increasing scrutiny she’s facing — and to try to recast it, just days before ballots start hitting mailboxes in a primary election that could reshape how she performs her role.

Vega Pederson is the only member of the five-person Multnomah County Board of Commissioners whose seat is not up for grabs May 21, and the new composition of the board is likely to force Vega Pederson into a more moderate political position.

“Multnomah County is under the magnifying glass in a way that it’s never been before,” Vega Pederson told a crowd of over 100 at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. “It is exactly because we sit at the crux of all of these critical social issues, but it’s also because Multnomah County insists on pushing for solutions that address racial injustice, that we treat the people sleeping outside with dignity and respect, that we consider the impacts of our decisions broadly, and pushing for those things makes people uncomfortable.”

The list of challenges before Vega Pederson — who faces increasing questions about her power to unilaterally decide what proposals come before the county commission — is clear.

As the county seeks to move more homeless people off the streets, improve slow ambulance response times, craft a $4 billion dollar budget for 2024-25 and partner with city and state leaders to combat a regional fentanyl crisis, it’s also on the hook to create by Sept. 1 a brand new program to guide people caught with small amounts of illicit drugs into treatment instead of jail. And Vega Pederson also wants to make good on her signature pledge to ensure all 3- and 4-year-olds in the county have free preschool by 2030.

“The problems we’re solving aren’t easy,” Vega Pederson said. “Many of them have been decades in the making. Our community is anxious for change – and isn’t afraid to say so.”

One of those people is Commissioner Sharon Meieran, one of Vega Pederson’s sharpest critics who said she came away from the address unimpressed by its lack of specifics.

“It’s like if we just use the words collaboration, outreach, partnership, systems, ‘helping people,’ and progress often enough, people will believe we have a plan,” she told The Oregonian/OregonLive. “The problem is we don’t. And we don’t seem to have a plan for getting one.”

On homelessness, Vega Pederson reiterated a goal announced in March that the county and city of Portland would house and shelter an additional 2,700 people by the end of 2025, adding 1,000 shelter beds and improving rates of people transitioning from shelters to permanent housing. More than 11,000 people were experiencing homelessness in Multnomah County at the time of the announcement.

“We are moving quickly and urgently, bringing more and better resources to our streets,” she said.

As of Sept. 1, it will be a crime again in Oregon to possess small amounts of hard drugs following the passage of House Bill 4002, which rolled back a portion of Measure 110. But on Monday Vega Pederson pledged to have a new county program ready to go by then. Known as “deflection,” it will aim to divert people caught with small quantities of drugs like fentanyl from jail.

“This is a short and aggressive timeline, but we have prioritized this work to ensure that when law enforcement have the tools they need to keep our communities safe, they also have the tools to directly connect someone to services for their addiction,” she said. “And we will make this deadline.”

Vega Pederson’s address happened to fall on the final day of the 90-day fentanyl emergency that Gov. Tina Kotek declared for downtown Portland with the support of city and county leaders, and Vega Pederson took the opportunity to remind her audience that, “We are successful when we work with collaboration, community involvement and investment.”

Following her 30-minute address, Vega Pederson took questions from moderator Cynthia Gomez, the director of community and civic impact at Portland State University.

One of Gomez’s questions broached the increasingly pointed criticism of Vega Pederson’s power as chair to unilaterally set weekly commission agendas, an authority that can thwart dissent among commissioners. Gomez asked if having that much authority is appropriate.

Vega Pederson said the system, which has been in effect since 1984, has worked for many years. But she skirted discussing any of the criticism of how she uses it.

“It is a lot of power,” Vega Pederson said. “That’s why I think it’s important to be working in partnership with our commission and to be making sure that we have a vision we can be working towards together.”

— Austin De Dios covers Multnomah County politics, programs and more. Reach him at 503-319-9744, adedios@oregonian.com or @AustinDeDios.

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