{"id":99,"date":"2025-06-14T12:24:56","date_gmt":"2025-06-14T12:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fixmultnomah.com\/?p=99"},"modified":"2025-09-29T19:12:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T19:12:42","slug":"the-structure-of-county-government-in-many-ways-a-rigged-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/p3.alidigitalmedia.com\/?p=99","title":{"rendered":"The Structure of County Government \u2013 In many Ways a Rigged\u00a0Game"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

In my first post, I explained what Multnomah County does and why it\u2019s the most important government you\u2019ve never heard of when it comes to the biggest issues affecting our region: homelessness, mental health, addiction, public health, ambulance response, ageing, and disability.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Today, I will begin to describe how the County’s governance is structured, and why that very structure is largely responsible for the County\u2019s dysfunction.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Multnomah County government<\/strong> is composed of a board, or commission, of elected leaders. The elected leaders include a single County Chair, elected by the County at large, and four individual commissioners, each elected by district.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

On its face, this seems like a reasonable governance structure that can lead to solid and collaborative decisions, driving positive change and ensuring shared accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Unfortunately, the realities of how the system is set up by the County Charter and governed by existing County Code have resulted in a self-reinforcing consolidation of power in a single leader \u2013 the Chair \u2013 who is accountable to no one. That power can be wielded in a way that is collaborative and constructive, or in a way that is alienating and destructive.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Either way, the game is rigged in favor of the Chair.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Chair alone prepares the $4 billion budget<\/strong>, including the budgets for the Sheriff\u2019s Office, jails, and District Attorney. She alone dictates board meeting agendas and can hear people out or cut them off at will. She is the \u201cChief Personnel Officer<\/strong>\u201d of the County and hires and can fire the directors of all County departments and divisions. She directs County Communications and the County Attorney. She is the Chief Procurement Officer and can enter into most contracts without board approval or even knowledge. She is the gatekeeper for information. And she has a massive personal staff. In the FY 2026 budget alone, the allocation for the Chair\u2019s office was over $4.7 million<\/strong>, with a dedicated staff of 15 employees (including the Chair\u2019s salary but not including her security detail). Commissioners have three staff members, with around $950,000<\/strong> budgeted for each of their offices, including the commissioners\u2019 salaries.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Theoretically, there are some checks on the Chair\u2019s power, but these are all dependent on commissioners receiving unobstructed, objective information. Unfortunately, the Chair is the gatekeeper for information, controlling the timing and content of information received by the rest of the board. As a commissioner, I often did not learn about crucial decisions until they showed up in the news. I would receive press releases after the press.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Chair oversees all department directors, and so she can direct how department directors engage with individual commissioners. The Chair can demand that department directors notify them whenever a commissioner is spoken with, and while I was on the board, this happened regularly.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Chair not only has her own communications staff, but the entire County Communications office operates under her exclusive authority\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

I used to think that county commissioners, as independently elected officials, had unfettered access to information, county communications, and departmental leadership. It turns out I was very wrong. The structure of County governance and the exclusive power of the Chair make for a rigged game.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

I will be delving deeper into all of this in subsequent posts in order to illustrate how this plays out in terms of policy and board dynamics. In the meantime, the takeaway is that the Chair wields virtually absolute power at the County. You should never assume that individual commissioners know what the Chair knows, or that they agree with her decisions.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my first post, I explained what Multnomah County does and why it\u2019s the most important government you\u2019ve never heard of when it comes to the biggest issues affecting our region: homelessness, mental health, addiction, public health, ambulance response, ageing, and disability. Today, I will begin to describe how the County’s governance is structured, and why that very structure is largely responsible for the County\u2019s dysfunction.\u00a0 Multnomah County government is composed of a board, or commission, of elected leaders. The elected leaders include a single County Chair, elected by the County at large, and four individual commissioners, each elected by district.\u00a0 On its face, this seems like a reasonable governance structure that can lead to solid and collaborative decisions, driving positive change and ensuring shared accountability.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the realities of how the system is set up by the County Charter and governed by existing County Code have resulted in a self-reinforcing consolidation of power in a single leader \u2013 the Chair \u2013 who is accountable to no one. That power can be wielded in a way that is collaborative and constructive, or in a way that is alienating and destructive.\u00a0 Either way, the game is rigged in favor of the Chair.\u00a0 The Chair alone prepares the $4 billion budget, including the budgets for the Sheriff\u2019s Office, jails, and District Attorney. She alone dictates board meeting agendas and can hear people out or cut them off at will. She is the \u201cChief Personnel Officer\u201d of the County and hires and can fire the directors of all County departments and divisions. She directs County Communications and the County Attorney. She is the Chief Procurement Officer and can enter into most contracts without board approval or even knowledge. She is the gatekeeper for information. And she has a massive personal staff. In the FY 2026 budget alone, the allocation for the Chair\u2019s office was over $4.7 million, with a dedicated staff of 15 employees (including the Chair\u2019s salary but not including her security detail). Commissioners have three staff members, with around $950,000 budgeted for each of their offices, including the commissioners\u2019 salaries.\u00a0 Theoretically, there are some checks on the Chair\u2019s power, but these are all dependent on commissioners receiving unobstructed, objective information. Unfortunately, the Chair is the gatekeeper for information, controlling the timing and content of information received by the rest of the board. As a commissioner, I often did not learn about crucial decisions until they showed up in the news. I would receive press releases after the press.\u00a0 The Chair oversees all department directors, and so she can direct how department directors engage with individual commissioners. The Chair can demand that department directors notify them whenever a commissioner is spoken with, and while I was on the board, this happened regularly.\u00a0 The Chair not only has her own communications staff, but the entire County Communications office operates under her exclusive authority\u00a0 I used to think that county commissioners, as independently elected officials, had unfettered access to information, county communications, and departmental leadership. It turns out I was very wrong. The structure of County governance and the exclusive power of the Chair make for a rigged game. I will be delving deeper into all of this in subsequent posts in order to illustrate how this plays out in terms of policy and board dynamics. In the meantime, the takeaway is that the Chair wields virtually absolute power at the County. You should never assume that individual commissioners know what the Chair knows, or that they agree with her decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-blogs","category-multco-101"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/p3.alidigitalmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/p3.alidigitalmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/p3.alidigitalmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p3.alidigitalmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p3.alidigitalmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=99"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/p3.alidigitalmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":853,"href":"https:\/\/p3.alidigitalmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions\/853"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p3.alidigitalmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/p3.alidigitalmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=99"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p3.alidigitalmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=99"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/p3.alidigitalmedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=99"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}