[Read all of our 2026 election endorsements here.—eds]
Multnomah County Chair
Three candidates—each with experience serving on the County Board of Commissioners—are running for the top leadership position. Sharon Meieran previously served as a commissioner for two terms. Julia Brim-Edwards and Shannon Singleton are currently on the board. Multnomah County’s current chair, Jessica Vega Pederson, is not seeking another term.
Here’s the Mercury’s endorsement for county chair.
#1: Shannon Singleton
Voters will choose new leadership at Multnomah County this election, amid budget strains that have seen core services cut and transformational programs that are testing residents’ faith in local government. Many voters feel the county government is plagued by dysfunction and siloed operations.
For these reasons and more, we think Shannon Singleton is the right person to lead the Board of County Commissioners.
Singleton, a current commissioner serving District 2, has the visionary leadership and executive experience to move the county forward. A former policy adviser in Governor Kate Brown’s office, Singleton has also worked in Portland’s Housing Bureau and served as executive director of JOIN, an organization that helps transition unhoused people into stable housing. Her background gives her the lens to understand some of the county’s most pressing and complex issues surrounding homelessness. That matters because Multnomah County is responsible for delivering homeless services and administering Supportive Housing Services money. Singleton was instrumental in getting the stagnant Walnut Park redevelopment project moving in Portland’s Albina District, which will hopefully see the addition of housing and small businesses at the county-owned site in the future.
Earlier this year, Singleton, along with Commissioner Meghan Moyer, introduced a proposal aimed at delaying the Preschool For All tax increase by one year, while still stabilizing the program’s revenue.
Aside from matters immediately relevant to her background, she’s continued to advocate for county employees concerned about the implementation of an upcoming hybrid work initiative that will come with return-to-office mandates. It’s reflective of her last two years in office.
Singleton has spent the bulk of her career working to uplift some of the most marginalized people and trying to find solutions big and small to prevent them from falling through the cracks.
To her credit, Singleton’s current board colleague and opponent for the chair position—Julia Brim-Edwards—has also raised concerns about the costs and the degree of employee engagement that went into the return-to-work mandate on behalf of county employees, but we’ll be ranking Singleton #1 on our ballots.
Singleton may not be an entrenched figure in the local political scene, and that’s what makes her uniquely qualified. Her track record is one of digging in and getting to work without much fanfare. Right now, Multnomah County needs just that.
Thanks…but no thanks
While voters can rank all three candidates, we opted to rank only one.
Current Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards and former County Commissioner Sharon Meieran both offer experience and tenacity, but both have also demonstrated unsavory elements in their leadership styles, as well as questionable decision making.
Meieran—an emergency room physician who spent much of her last term as a commissioner criticizing the leadership of the chair—has big ideas for how to completely overhaul current county systems and replace them with her own plan. She’s painted herself as the outsider during this campaign, and recently posted a video of herself alongside Kevin Dahlgren, a former Gresham homeless services employee convicted of identity theft and official misconduct after using a government procurement card on personal expenditures like groceries and gas. It’s unlikely Meieran would be able to unify the board around a shared vision or build healthy relationships with key government partners.
As for Brim-Edwards, a commissioner and former Nike executive who previously served on the Portland Public Schools Board and the Oregon State University Board of Trustees, she’s so deeply entrenched in the current business and political landscape that it’s hard to know whose interests she’d prioritize. She’s been known to divert staff time and resources toward peripheral issues, and has a tendency to engage in what several former PPS board colleagues described as “counterproductive micro-managing.” Most of her community leadership roles have been done in a volunteer capacity, and that shouldn’t go overlooked, but we have concerns about how she’d lead and whether she’d bring everyone along, or ultimately silo herself from the board.
Multnomah County Commissioner, District 2
Seven candidates are running to serve District 2 on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. The district covers most of North and Northeast Portland. The seat is currently held by Shannon Singleton, who is running for county chair. This November, voters will use ranked choice voting to select candidates in the county commissioner race.
Here are the Mercury’s endorsements for District 2 commissioner.
#1: Nathan Ong Norris
Multnomah County residents in District 2 deserve a representative in county government who’s thoughtful, action-oriented, and can articulate plans and policy goals based on where we want to be, not where we’re currently stuck. Nathan Ong Norris is best suited for the role. He’s data-driven and willing to evaluate programs based on the success of their long-term outcomes. That’s important in a county whose unhoused population continues to grow, despite millions spent on a variety of responses to homelessness. Ong Norris, a former hazardous waste technician with a master’s degree in emergency management, doesn’t bring the years of experience working at the county that some of his opponents do, but he brings clear vision and a robust knowledge of county systems and how they intersect with other local government sectors. Ong Norris is resolute in his promise to protect Preschool For All and provided specific, measurable goals to improve the program for children and providers. We also appreciate his strong commitment to the county’s climate justice work, particularly as climate issues have slipped down the county government’s agenda. In office, Ong Norris would likely push Multnomah County to do more to address the climate crisis and help its most vulnerable residents amid increasingly frequent and extreme weather events. He’s also got practical ideas for eviction prevention and would likely lend his voice to push the county to implement the long-overdue recommendations in the 2022 jail audit.
#2: Bri Williams
Williams has deep roots in Portland, and her family’s history in the area is a point of pride for her. A current employee at Multnomah County and former Preschool For All staffer, Williams has a social work background that would inform her policy decisions and leadership. She understands the importance of good governance and the impact it can have on people’s lives. We appreciate her advocacy for culturally responsive services and programming in everything from the corrections system to preschool, and mental health programs. She’d bring a holistic approach to many of the issues facing the county.
#3: Serena Cruz
Serena Cruz is sharp and experienced. Cruz served on the Board of Commissioners previously and says a lot has changed since her last stint in public office, but she’s clear-eyed about where she sees room for improvement and what it would take to get there.
The Mercury Election Strike Force is News Editor Courtney Vaughn, Reporters Taylor Griggs and Jeremiah Hayden, Managing Editor Katherine Chew Hamilton, and Editor-in-Chief Wm. Steven Humphrey.