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Shannon Singleton on Thursday night declared victory in the Multnomah County chair contest, one of this fall’s most fiercely contested local elections.
“I want to thank everyone who supported me in this campaign and every single Multnomah County resident who placed their trust in me. I heard loud and clear the work that needs to get done to improve services for people experiencing homelessness, behavioral health challenges, or struggling with the affordability crisis,” Singleton said in a statement on Thursday. “I am beginning the work now to start on the first of the year in a full sprint.”
Singleton, a current county commissioner, jumped out to an early lead over opponent and fellow commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards on election night, and the gap continued widening in the days after. The contest, the first time the county has utilized rank choice voting, pitted the two current commissioners against former commissioner Sharon Meieran, who finished a distant third.
In the fourth round of preliminary results, published on Thursday, Singleton’s lead grew to 139,164 votes, or 57.2% of the vote, compared to Brim-Edwards’ 103,913, or 42.75%. More write-in voters and Meieran voters ranked Brim-Edwards second, so she received additional votes thanks to ranked choice, but those votes didn’t close the gap.
Singleton will now succeed current county chair Jessica Vega Pederson, who opted in December not to seek a second term. Her leadership at the county was tumultuous and sparked deep discontent among voters over her handling of homeless services, a drug deflection center, and an at times rocky implementation of Preschool for All, the county’s universal preschool initiative.
Singleton’s victory comes despite a significant fundraising disadvantage. She raised just over $55,000 by Election Day, compared to Brim-Edwards’ $250,000 and Meieran’s $195,000.
Brim-Edwards conceded earlier on Thursday. The former Portland School Board member had received the backing of all six of the county’s mayors and several prominent unions.
“While the outcome was not the one I hoped for, I gave the campaign my best effort and am proud I ran a strong and positive campaign that earned the support of a broad and diverse coalition of more than 200 community leaders and organizations, from the nurses to the firefighters to labor organizations representing more than 200,000 working families to local businesses and all six mayors in Multnomah County,” Brim-Edwards said in a statement.
In recent months, a couple of controversies hit Brim-Edwards’ campaign, which may have swayed voters. Those included a letter from seven current and former School Board members who warned she was not suited for leadership, and recent allegations that during School Board executive sessions Brim-Edwards had said trans athletes might hurt scholarship opportunities for other kids. She disagreed with the nature of the letter, and denied making the alleged comments on trans athletes. Still, both Basic Rights Oregon and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 88, the county’s largest labor union, rescinded their endorsements of Brim-Edwards shortly ahead of Election Day. (Local 88 switched its endorsement to Singleton.)
In a speech given on election night, Singleton said that Local 88’s choice to rescind Brim-Edwards’ endorsement was a “powerful moment.” Its subsequent vote of no confidence in Vega Pederson and chief operating officer Chris Neal, she added, showed there was work to be done in repairing that relationship. She said that if results hold, she intended to establish a dedicated labor table in her office to rebuild that relationship.
“I’ve been a manager, and I know sometimes we’re not going to agree,” Singleton said. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a fair process and be respectful along the way.”
Brim-Edwards will remain her seat on the county board for another two years. But Singleton had to decide whether to run for reelection to her county commission seat or make a bid for chair.
In the contest to replace her post as District 2 commissioner, Bri Williams, a social worker and mental health consultant for the county, specifically providing services to preschool-aged children at Albina Head Start, won the seat. She beat out Serena Cruz, who recently served as the county’s chief operating officer.
