Multnomah County, Oregon Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thou ...

, the city of

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, and

Metro (Oregon regional government) Metro is the regional government for the Oregon portion of the Portland metropolitan area, covering portions of Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties. It is the only directly elected regional government and metropolitan planning org ...

held elections on May 16 and November 7, 2006. In the May primary, political newcomer

Ted Wheeler Edward Tevis Wheeler (born August 31, 1962) is an American politician who has served as the mayor of Portland, Oregon since 2017. He was Oregon State Treasurer from 2010 to 2016. Wheeler was elected in the 2016 Portland mayoral election and ree ...

unseated County Chair Diane Linn with 69% of the vote; incumbent Sheriff Bernie Giusto retained his post with 61% of the vote, defeating Donald DuPay and write-in candidate Paul van Orden, who won 11% of the vote; Lavonne Griffin-Valade defeated outgoing

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

Steve March as County Auditor; and a county

ballot measure A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

passed. Incumbent Portland City Commissioners

Dan Saltzman Dan Saltzman (born 1953/54) is a politician in the U.S. state of Oregon who served as a commissioner (city councilman) on the City Council of Portland in Portland, Oregon, from 1999 through the end of 2018. As of 2017, he had served longer on the ...

and Erik Sten both kept their seats, though Sten narrowly avoided a runoff election. In the general election, Jeff Cogen defeated Lew Frederick to succeed Serena Cruz on the County Commission; Cheryl Albrecht, Judith Hudson-Matarazzo, and Leslie Roberts each won contested races for the Circuit Court. Several countywide ballot measures appeared on the ballot as well. (MD) indicates an endorsement from Multnomah Democrats.

City of Portland

Portland, Oregon City Council The Government of Portland, Oregon is based on a city commission government system. Elected officials include the mayor, commissioners, and a city auditor. The mayor and commissioners (members of City Council) are responsible for legislative poli ...

Council Position 2 (incumbent: Sten)

won in primary: Erik Sten (MD) lost in primary:
Emilie Boyles
(MD)
Ginny Burdick
* Dave Lister

Council Position 3 (incumbent: Saltzman)

won in primary:

lost in primary: *

Amanda Fritz Amanda Fritz (born April 1958) is a British-American politician and retired psychiatric nurse from the U.S. state of Oregon. Before being elected to Portland's City Council in 2008, Fritz was a neighborhood activist and seven-year member of the ...

(MD) * Lucinda Tate * Chris Iverson * Sharon Nasset * Michael Casper * "Watchman"

Metro

Metro Councilor from District 1

won in primary: Rod Park lost in primary: * Jim Duncan

Metro Councilor from District 4

won in November General Election:
Kathryn Harrington
lost runoff race in November General Election:
Tom Cox
lost in Primary: * Al Young * Kathy Christy

Auditor

won in primary: Suzanne Flynn (was formerly Multnomah County Auditor; term limits prevented her from running for that position again.) lost in primary: * Alexis Dow (incumbent)

Multnomah County

County Commission

Chair (incumbent: Diane Linn)

won in Primary:

endorsed by Willamette Week lost in Primary: * Diane Linn (MD) * Terrence R. Smyth

District 2 (incumbent: Serena Cruz)

''NOTE: Serena Cruz is unable to run due to term limit law.'' runoff in November General Election:

Jeff Cogen Jeffrey Scott Cogen (born January 14, 1962) is an American businessman, lawyer, and former politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. From 2016 to 2019, he was Executive Director of Impact NW, a social service and anti-poverty organization headqu ...

(Endorsed by the Oregonian & Willamette Week
view complete list

Lew Frederick
(MD) lost in primary:
Alexander "Xander" Patterson

Gary Hansen
(MD)

County Auditor

won in Primary: LaVonne Griffin-Valade
web site
lost in Primary:
Steve March
(MD)

Sheriff (incumbent: Bernie Giusto)

won in primary: Bernie Giusto lost in primary:
Donald L. DuPay
* Paul Van Orden (write-in candidate, received endorsement from Willamette Week; received about 10% of vote)

Circuit Court Judge

Elections for the Multnomah County Circuit Court (Oregons fourth judicial district) were unusually dynamic. Circuit court judges in Oregon are normally appointed by the

governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...

, and subsequently run for re-election as incumbents, rarely facing opposition. In 2006, three races were contested or competitive. Position 31 was vacated by the retirement of Judge David Gernant; five candidates competed in the May primary election, with

Cheryl Albrecht Cheryl is a female given name common in English speaking countries. There are several prevailing theories about its etymology. The most common is that it has Italo-Celtic roots and is an Anglicised version of either the French name Cherie (from L ...

and Kathleen Payne advancing to the

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

in the general election. Albrecht won in November with 54% of the vote. Position 28 opened with the death of Judge Cliff Freeman shortly before the filing deadline. Ten candidates filed for the seat (though Trung Tu, who had previously run for Position 31, withdrew his candidacy). Judith Hudson Matarazzo won the election. Position 37 was the subject of great controversy. Youlee Yim You had been appointed by Governor

Ted Kulongoski Theodore Ralph Kulongoski ( ; born November 5, 1940) is an American politician, judge, and lawyer who served as the 36th Governor of Oregon from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative As ...

on August 9, 2006. Oregon law requires appointees to run for election after their appointment, so You filed for election, and was expected to be on the ballot as the incumbent. Leslie Roberts, a former neighbor of You, filed to oppose her, and then made a complaint that You was not qualified to run (due to a rule about the duration of her residence in Oregon). You's name was removed from the ballot. Charles Henderson then entered the race as a

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

. Roberts, who was unopposed on the ballot, won the race; Henderson won 23% of the vote. You was later re-appointed, and won election to a six-year term in 2008. District 4

References

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