Multnomah County Chair is ready to work with new city leadership in partnership to fight homelessness

Think Out Loud

On Wednesday, three Portland Commissioners - Mingus Mapps, Rene Gonzalez and Dan Ryan - decided to pull an ordinance they had filed to end the city’s 8-year partnership with Multnomah County to fight homelessness. The decision was made as Portland is poised to elect Keith Wilson, the owner of a trucking company as its next mayor, who opposes the city leaving the Joint Office of Homeless Services. The newly elected 12-person city council, along with the new mayor, will get to decide the fate of the intergovernmental agreement with the county in just two months.

In a letter she sent on election day, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said she was ready to work with Portland’s next mayor and new Multnomah County and Portland city commissioners on “solving the most pressing and challenging issues this community will face in the coming months and years.” Chair Vega Pederson joins us to talk about how new Portland city leaders might affect the future of the Joint Office on Homeless Services.