Portland for All endorsements: MULTNOMAH
COUNTY

For the last four years, the County has struggled under Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, who chose not to run for re-election.

The County success is also challenged by a harmful District Attorney, Nathan Vasquez, who wastes our limited public resources by charging thousands of people in unwinnable cases. If Vasquez's close ally, Julia Brim-Edwards, is elected County chair, the County will be in the hands of two toxic and conservative leaders who will put our County at risk with Trump in the White House. (Learn more below).

Now is the moment to choose an effective leader who will serve the interests of all people across the county, not just a limited few. Singleton's thoughtful, collaborative approach to governance, coupled with her ability to identify root causes and fix systemic issues, makes her a strong leader for the County. These qualities benefit all of us.

Singleton often says, “Let's invest in what works.” She demonstrates this in her approach to housing and homelessness by advocating for shelters as a transition to stable housing, pushing for a coordinated, county-wide system of case management, and supporting workforce development programs to give people real opportunities to make a living.

Singleton has been a successful nonprofit executive, worked in Governor Kate Brown's administration, and served as an executive at a Portland-based consulting company. She understands how to lead and deliver results for people across the County. She knows how to negotiate deals and create effective policy to improve government.

From the start, she pushed for a better, fairer Moda Center deal that benefited the region, including labor agreements for employees and contractors, as well as transferring development rights to the Albina Vision Trust to return parcels of land near the site that were taken from Black families when the Memorial Coliseum was built. She also found a workable solution that allowed the County to contribute to the Moda Center renovations, raising car rental taxes, that will preserve county services and not put any more job cuts at risk.

Singleton is endorsed by: SEIU Oregon, Portland Association of Teachers, Oregon Working Families Party, Basic Rights Oregon, Building Power for Communities of Color, Collective PAC, Color PAC, East County Rising PAC, The Ebony Collective, Latino Network Action Fund, Next Up Action Fund, Oregon Futures Lab, Portland For All, Sierra Club Oregon Chapter, The Street Trust Action Fund, NAYA Action Fund, Sunrise Movement PDX, and UNITE HERE Local 8.

Serena Cruz has extensive senior leadership experience, including a stint as the County Commissioner representing District 2 in the early 2000s. She also served as Multnomah County's Chief Operating Officer for three years and has a deep understanding of the county and how it operates. Previously, she served as Executive Director of the Virginia Garcia Memorial Foundation for eight years.

Cruz was the first Latina to serve on the Multnomah County Commission and championed civil rights during her time there, including marriage equality, and co-led the landmark protections adding gender identity as a protected class. Cruz's worldview was shaped by her mother, who immigrated from Mexico, and her father, whose educational opportunities were cut short.

As a Commissioner, she will prioritize addressing homelessness, Preschool for All, workforce development, and creating economic opportunity, all critical parts of serving on the Commission. We also expect Cruz to be a tenacious advocate for the District.

Cruz's endorsements include: APANO Action Fund, Building Power for Communities of Color, Color PAC, Columbia Pacific Building & Construction Trades Council, East County Rising PAC, Ironworkers Local 29, Latino Network Action Fund, NAYA Action Fund, North Coast States Carpenters Union, Northwest Oregon Labor Council, Portland Association of Teachers, Planned Parenthood Action Oregon, SEIU Oregon, The Street Trust Action Fund, and United Food & Commercial Workers Local 555.