Our endorsement: Sharon Meieran for Multnomah County Chair
Incumbent commissioner, who is an emergency room doctor, promises to treat homelessness with the needed urgency Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran was Pamplin Media Group's recommended choice for county chair during the May primary. Now heading into the November general election and with the field of candidates narrowed to two, she remains our top pick.
During our earlier interviews, Meieran was the candidate who stood out as having the greatest sense of urgency for responding to the humanitarian crisis of homelessness from downtown Portland to the suburbs of Gresham, Troutdale, Fairview and Wood Village.
Meieran, an emergency room doctor, is unrelenting in her message that she'll treat homelessness like a physician treats a patient: first with triage to quickly assess immediate needs and stabilize the situation before turning attention to long-term solutions.
Meieran outlines a plan that includes a network of microsites with restrooms and trash collection, a network of safe parking sites, and much-needed coordination to ensure that the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on homelessness and treatment are not wasted.
In our earlier endorsement of Meieran, the Pamplin Media Group editorial board agreed that if voters are unhappy with the response to homelessness, they should vote for the candidate who is equally dissatisfied â Sharon Meieran.
But in that early endorsement, we mentioned that Meieran needs to sharpen her message. All too often, she comes across as combative. That won't work to her advantage while building future partnerships.
In a second meeting with our editorial board earlier this month, both Meieran and her general election opponent, fellow Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson, seemed more interested in throwing verbal jabs at each other and less interested in covering new ground. That didn't sit well with the Editorial Board, which was hoping for substance over zingers.
The county government has the greatest control over the city and county Joint Office for Homeless Services. The county is responsible for human services in general, and it administers huge contracts with nonprofit providers.
Because of that, it's a fair conclusion the chair will set the tone for the county's next steps in addressing homelessness. Meieran should be careful to set the "right" tone.
Aside from that admonition, we are convinced Meieran is the best hope for making speedy progress on the homeless crisis.