All Four Multnomah County Commissioners May Run for County Chair Next Year

The incumbent, Deborah Kafoury, is term limited.

St. Johns Village Opening Multnomah County Commissioner Susheela Jayapal at the St. Johns Village opening. (Wesley Lapointe) (Wesley Lapointe)
By Rachel Monahan

The race to succeed Deborah Kafoury as Multnomah County chair may include all four of her colleagues on the county board of commissioners, she tells WW.

Kafoury won’t run again because of term limits.

None of the four commissioners—Susheela Jayapal, Sharon Meieran, Jessica Vega Pederson and Lori Stegmann—has officially entered the race. But those who responded to WW’s requests for comment weren’t ready to rule it out, either.

“I haven’t ruled anything out, but I am considering my options, and that does include running for chair,” says Stegmann.

WW reported last month that Shannon Singleton, a policy adviser to Gov. Kate Brown, is also expected to run.

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