Julia Brim-Edwards Appears on Track to Win County Commissioner Race

Portland Public Schools board member Julia Brim-Edwards appears to have won a comfortable victory tonight over community advocate Ana del Rocío to serve the remainder of the term for Multnomah County commissioner in District 3 representing Southeast Portland neighborhoods. Albert Kaufman, who runs a small marketing agency, is running a distant third.

The race to replace Jessica Vega Pederson, who won the election for county chair last November, offered a choice between Brim-Edwards, 61, a former longtime Nike executive now in her third term on the Portland School Board, and del Rocío, 36, who has served as a nonprofit leader and staffer to Vega Pederson.

In the first release of voting results shortly after 8 pm, Brim-Edwards held a commanding lead over del Rocío, 60% to 31%, with Kaufman capturing about 8% of the vote.

The first tranche of votes included about 15% of all ballots distributed. That’s likely to account for more than half of all ballots returned, given voter turnout in recent May off-year elections, and that means the outcome is unlikely to change.

Brim-Edwards responded cautiously but optimistically to the early returns. “If these trends continue,” she said, “I look forward to getting to work immediately on the critical challenges facing our community.”