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Seven former and current members of the Portland Public Schools board released a letter Wednesday morning across social media, warning former board member Julia Brim-Edwards is not fit for Multnomah County chair.
Brim-Edwards, who is currently a county commissioner, launched her bid for chair in February. She served on the School Board for three terms, first with a term in 2001–2005, and then consecutively for two terms from 2017–2025. She was elected to the County Commission in 2023.
Signatories of the letter include two of the board’s most prominent members, Chair Eddie Wang and Michelle DePass, who just recently wrapped up a term as the board’s vice chair. Both Wang and DePass are listed as endorsers of county commissioner Shannon Singleton’s campaign for county chair. All seven board members served terms that overlapped with Brim-Edwards’ board service. (Other signatories are Scott Bailey, Amy Kohnstamm, Eilidh Lowery, Rita Moore and Andrew Scott.)
The letter, which is currently featured across its signatories’ personal social media accounts on platforms including Facebook and BlueSky, outlines concerns about Brim-Edwards’ leadership qualities, which they characterize as “ineffective,” noting she struggled to make hard decisions.
“We served in leadership roles alongside Julia Brim-Edwards on the Portland School Board,” it reads. “We are deeply concerned about Ms. Brim-Edwards’ readiness to serve as Multnomah County Chair, and we believe it is important for voters to be aware of these concerns when deciding who should lead the county.”
Brim-Edwards did not immediately respond to WW’s requests for comment. Her website lists endorsements from a handful of former School Board members, some of which she served alongside, namely Mike Rosen and Julie Esparza Brown. She has so far raised the most money in the race, and received endorsements from all six mayors in Multnomah County.
In a comment to WW at the time of her mayoral endorsement sweep, Brim-Edwards said the endorsements were a reflection of her leadership. “I have always approached my work by bringing as many people to the table as possible to work through problems and take action together,” she said then.
The letter alleges much of the opposite. The seven current and former board members suggest Brim-Edwards struggled to collaborate and engage in honest communication with fellow board members, citing an instance in 2019 when she took a temporary position in the Secretary of State’s office while that same office was conducting an audit of PPS. She hid this role from district officials and board members, the letter alleges, and they found out from the media. She would often withhold crucial information until the last minute, the letter adds, slowing down processes.
It also alleges that while Brim-Edwards often stressed the importance of oversight, that often bled into micromanagement, which fueled a “toxic” environment at PPS.
“Ms. Brim-Edwards has claimed to be a champion of data-driven accountability to produce improved outcomes, yet she regularly struggled to understand how to use data effectively to monitor progress toward goals and make necessary adjustments along the way. Policy makers do not need to be data experts or program specialists, but it is crucial that they understand the mechanisms of effective oversight.”
It adds: “Time and again, Ms. Brim-Edwards aligned herself with the most politically expedient path, even when data and long-term student outcomes suggested a different course.”
