Multnomah County Chair’s Contest Begins With Unusual Ad

Shannon Singleton says she won’t use the ad in the race.

Shannon Singleton Shannon Singleton in 2018. (Multnomah County)
By Nigel Jaquiss

The four-way race for Multnomah County chair got off to an odd start Oct. 7 when Here Together, a group that campaigned successfully for Metro’s $2.5 billion homeless services measure in 2020, released a short video featuring Shannon Singleton, an aide to Gov. Kate Brown.

Singleton announced her candidacy for county chair Sept. 14. The video doesn’t mention Singleton is running for chair but shows her speaking about housing and homelessness, which will certainly be the focus of the chair’s race.

Here Together represents a coalition of dozens of nonprofits and elected officials, including Singleton’s three opponents, County Commissioners Sharon Meieran, Jessica Vega Pederson and Lori Stegmann.

They are not thrilled.

“It looks like a campaign commercial,” says Meieran’s campaign spokeswoman Jessica Elkan. Vega Pederson’s and Stegmann’s campaigns say they agree.

Singleton says she won’t use the ad in the race.

Here Together executive director Angela Martin says the video was produced long before Singleton entered the race, is not an endorsement, and has nothing to do with the election. Therefore, she says, it won’t be reported as an in-kind campaign contribution.

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