The Multnomah County Commissioner District 1 seat, currently occupied by Sharon Meieran, is up for grabs in a runoff. The district includes Portland’s west side, including downtown, and a small portion of the central eastside spanning from Interstate 84 to Cesar E Chavez Boulevard and south to include Sellwood.
Meghan Moyer and Vadim Mozyrsky are the two candidates on the ballot this Nov. 5. Street Roots sent both candidates questions regarding their plans if elected, concerning downtown, intergovernmental approaches to homelessness solutions and more. Mozyrsky, a judge who ran a well-funded business-centric campaign, did not respond to Street Roots.
Meghan Moyer
In District 1, many voters are concerned about the county’s approach to homelessness and the state of downtown. Moyer currently works as director of public policy at Disability Rights Oregon with past experience as a campaign director, business owner and policy strategist and at least two decades of experience in politics and with public policy issues. Moyer previously championed increasing services and rights for people with disabilities and seniors. She supported Portland’s Preschool for All initiative and says she understands the difficulties of accessing childcare as the parent of a toddler herself. More recently, a proposed tax reform measure would delay the planned tax increase responsible for the long-term funding of Preschool for All. The program is currently well-funded, but its model was designed to build a savings fund during the program’s early years, granting stability for future budget shortfalls, according to Multnomah County’s Preschool for All website.
Meghan Moyer, Multnomah County Commissioner, District 1 (SW, NW, Downtown, Inner SE Portland)
“I’ve also pledged to review the proposed tax increase for middle-income families if we’re collecting more revenue than is needed to fully fund the program,” Moyer said.“We should consider easing the tax burden on families who are struggling; we can secure the program’s future without overtaxing our community.”
However, she also said she would not support any delay or reduction in funding that would prevent full implementation of the program.
While the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the rights of homeless residents in Grants Pass v. Johnson, voters in the county remain steadfast in their concern and desire to see problem-solving when it comes to homelessness in Multnomah County. Following the Grants Pass v. Johnson ruling, which determinedit is constitutional to punish homeless residents in public even when there is no other place to go, some are suggesting a countywide sleeping ban. Moyer said she strongly opposes the Supreme Court ruling and sees it as both inhumane and counterproductive.
“In Multnomah County, rather than adopting a sweeping sleeping ban, we should focus on more compassionate and practical solutions. I believe any restrictions on public camping should be limited to daytime hours in specific, designated areas,” Moyer said.
The county and city have been at odds in planning an intergovernmental approach to addressing homelessness. When it comes to these challenges, “we need to come together to establish clear, unified priorities, improve transparency, and align our strategies with a shared definition of success,” Moyer said. “This means creating a plan where both the city and county can hold each other accountable while measuring our progress in ways that are realistic and data-driven. By streamlining services, improving communication and fostering a more collaborative relationship, we can begin to address homelessness more effectively and ensure that people experiencing homelessness get the support they need more quickly.”
When asked how Multnomah County plans to support residents and employees impacted by Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, Moyer acknowledged that the impacts of the conflict are felt by many. Moyer describes herself as a woman of faith and says she prays for peace and an end to the conflict. “I stand firmly in support of a ceasefire and believe that the county’s resolution was an important statement of our shared values of peace, justice, and human dignity,” Moyer said of the Multnomah County Board’s unanimous resolution supporting a ceasefire in Gaza.
Moyer works in downtown Portland and recognizes the challenges there. However, she noted that exaggerated narratives about downtown’s total disrepair are often thrown around come election season. “I work downtown, and I don’t agree with the narrative that everything is falling apart. However, I’m concerned about the amount of vacant commercial space and the lack of corresponding rent decreases,” Moyer said. Her proposed solutions include a collaboration between city and county to create a new building code to simplify the process and affordability of converting commercial spaces into residential units.
DISTRICT 2: Shannon Singleton and Sam Adams
In the Multnomah County District 2 race, voters will decide between a candidate with a long and bittersweet history in Oregon politics (Sam Adams) and one with a long history of working on the region’s ongoing homelessness crisis (Shannon Singleton). While most of both candidates’ rhetoric around homelessness is similarly geared toward a liberal audience, their policy proposals and resumes couldn’t be much further apart.
This race is a runoff after the May primary did not yield a winner. Singleton came up just short of the 50% needed to win, while Adams took a narrow edge over the politically similar, pro-business Jessie Burke.
Singleton is a longtime social worker and racial justice advocate. She was executive cirector of the SAFE Shelter and JOIN, leader of Oregon’s Racial Justice Council, and manager of the behavioral health organization Cascadia Health. For nine months in 2022, she was the interim director of the oft-contentious city-county Joint Office of Homeless Services. Singleton said the relationship between the city and county remains stuck in a cycle of finger-pointing, and many political leaders are beholden to the false belief that there is only one right way to end people’s homelessness.
Adams served as the first openly gay mayor of a large U.S. city from 2009 to 2012. He previously served in Mayor Vera Katz’s office and on the City Council from 2005 to 2008. After losing a bid for City Council in 2020, he worked in Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office as director of strategic innovations. In 2022, he proposed mass tent encampments for up to 3,000 homeless residents, guarded by the National Guard. Adams said the Joint Office is intended to streamline efforts around homelessness, but in practice, it creates confusion over leadership and accountability.
The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners will take up issues of housing affordability, homelessness, environmental justice, allocation of high-income taxes for social investments and supporting county residents and staff impacted by wars. Adams appears inclined to uphold the status quo ban-and-sweep approach to homelessness, while Singleton remains focused on removing barriers and preventing evictions.
Sam Adams
To anyone who’s lived in Portland since before a certain satirical television show, myriad national news headlines admiring the city from afar and the ensuing sky-high rental market, there may be no more familiar face in local politics than Sam Adams.
As with anyone running for office, reducing visible homelessness is a high priority for Adams, with Multnomah County voters demanding a quick fix to the ongoing crisis, particularly in the county’s largest city.
Adams says he knows how to address those challenges on a win-win basis and that homelessness, mental illness, substance use disorders, affordable housing and public safety are key issues where partnership between the city and county is essential.
Recent communications around the city-county intergovernmental agreement and Homelessness Response Action Plan laid bare the tensions over leadership and accountability, revealing issues over funding, priorities and decision-making.
“As someone who has worked with leaders in Multnomah County since the early 1990s and held leadership roles within the City of Portland, I am well-positioned to help bridge the gap between these entities,” Adams said.
As county commissioner, Adams said he would focus on fostering a culture of collaboration by setting clear, shared goals, sharing real-time data and frequent communication—from frontline service providers to leadership. He wants to include community stakeholders, service providers and people with lived experience in joint decision-making processes.
He also wants to appoint a homelessness czar with emergency powers to coordinate between governments, create a unified budget, coordinate client care systems and enforce a phased camping ban — a countywide ban on encampments as new shelter options become available.
As mayor of Portland, Adams passed a sit-lie ordinance, which a Multnomah County judge ruled unconstitutional. Since then, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled the same approach is constitutional.
“The goal is not to criminalize homelessness, but to offer safe, structured environments while addressing public health and safety concerns from outdoor camping,” Adams said.
By expanding shelter capacity, increasing affordable housing and offering support services, Adams believes individuals can transition off the streets and into stable and permanent housing.
He said temporary outdoor shelters — like his 2022 proposal for large-scale encampments, ultimately realized as Wheeler’s Temporary Alternative Shelter Sites — are a necessary step in addressing immediate homelessness. He cited a recent PSU study showing the village model is more effective than congregate shelters in moving people into housing, and said he supports the model and the opening of new sites in the future.
Adams also proposes an affordable housing production plan and wants to redirect funds from voter-approved ballot measures when revenues exceed forecasts. That includes the Portland Clean Energy Fund, Portland Children’s Levy, Arts Tax, Preschool for All and other programs.
Asked how Multnomah County could continue supporting its community members and staff most impacted by Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, Adams said if he were on the Board when it passed a ceasefire resolution in March, he would have voted in support but added no further context.
During his time in official office, he faced multiple controversies, including reports of harassment and intimidation. He contends that in taking on the most controversial issues of the day, he’s become more collaborative, willing to listen and eager to bring diverse voices to the table.
“I don’t get up in the morning to make people upset,” he said. “But my core commitment to getting tough things done remains unchanged.”
Shannon Singleton
Local voters remain primarily concerned about the homelessness crisis, and Shannon Singleton has been working to address it for years. She is hoping voters will elect her to continue doing just that, and a whole lot more, as a District 2 county commissioner.
Shannon Singleton, Multnomah County Commissioner, District 2 (North, NE Portland)
Singleton said elected leaders must serve the community, not their egos, by ensuring a wide variety of pathways back into permanent housing. She said people sleep on the streets because they have no alternative left as housing has become unaffordable.
“People are not widgets,” she said. “Every person, housed or not, has a unique set of needs. We need shelter, we need recovery housing, we need behavioral health treatment, and we need rent assistance and permanent supportive housing.”
While ending homelessness is unique to each person and family experiencing it, Singleton said any social plan to end homelessness must bring together local, state and federal resources.
“Sleeping bans don’t end unsheltered homelessness,” she said. “Instead of jail, I support the continued expansion of shelter and housing placements.”
Working with the city and Home Forward — the Portland Housing Authority — to build more affordable housing, reduce barriers that prevent people from renting those homes and prevent evictions are all priorities for Singleton in lieu of time, place and manner ordinances. She called the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson “horrible” on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, the day it published its opinion, June 28.
Asked how Multnomah County could continue supporting its community members and staff most impacted by Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, Singleton said she has been vocal about her desire for peace.
“What I read about is heartbreaking, but I remain hopeful that our national leadership can bring people together around a ceasefire,” she said. “The County Board can best support those impacted by the conflict — including county staff — by continuing to be outspoken and united in our call for peace and an immediate ceasefire.”
District 2 is just across the river from the Critical Energy Infrastructure, or CEI, Hub. Singleton said she will insist on seeing an environmental justice impact analysis for all major investment decisions, support existing efforts to limit the impacts of toxic emissions on Black and brown communities and work with jurisdictions to implement a CEI Hub action plan.
“I will work with my fellow commissioners to stop Zenith Energy from receiving air quality permits and other licenses to continue or expand their trans-loading of dangerous fuels,” she said, adding that she will seek to address the health impacts of leaded gasoline usage at Portland International Raceway as well.
Singleton’s critics say she had time to address the homelessness crisis as interim director of JOHS and while working in homeless services. But Singleton said voters should be wary of politicians who attempt to use the crisis for political gain, saying she has worked for her entire life to get people off the streets.
While the social safety net helps get some people into housing, there are not enough resources today to end homelessness, according to Singleton.
“Not now, and not when I was interim director,” she said. “But we can make progress.
“I know what works, and I know what doesn’t. Politicians pointing fingers at each other doesn’t get anyone off the streets.”
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