Deborah Kafoury (born August 19, 1967) is a politician in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

. Born in

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two su ...

, Kafoury received her bachelor's degree from

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Whitman was the first college in the Pacific ...

. She is the chair of the Multnomah County Commission, where she succeeded

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 ...

. She previously held a seat on the commission, which she resigned in October 2013 in order to run for chair in the May 2014 election. She noted her work on renovations to the

Sellwood Bridge The Sellwood Bridge is a deck arch bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The current bridge opened in 2016 and replaced a 1925 span that had carried the same name. The original bridge was Portland's firs ...

as something she would continue as chair. Kafoury was a founder of the young-voter mobilization nonprofit

X-PAC Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names 1–2– ...

and served three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives, from 1999 to 2005, including a leadership role in the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

caucus. She is the daughter of Stephen Kafoury and the late Gretchen Kafoury. She is also the first cousin of Trevor Kafoury, formerly the VP of commercial real estate brokerage CBRE in Portland, Oregon.

Multnomah County

In 2008, Kafoury was elected to the Multnomah County Commission. As a commissioner, she worked on efforts to replace the

and the Multnomah County Courthouse. In October 2013, she resigned to run for chair, as required by the county charter. After receiving endorsements from several local newspapers, she was elected Multnomah County Chair on May 20, 2014. She took office June 5, 2014, and left it on December 31, 2022. In response to the region's housing crisis, Kafoury established a Joint Office of Homeless Services in partnership with the City of Portland. The Joint Office consolidated a number of initiatives under one roof, allegedly focusing on programs such as short-term rental assistance to vulnerable people, transition out of shelter and into permanent housing, and increased capacity of Portland area shelters. Under Kafoury's tenure the Joint Office of Homeless Services used at least $2 million taxpayer dollars to purchase 22,700 tents and 69,514 tarps for the houseless. At the December 21, 2017, Board of Commissioners meeting, she called fellow commissioner Loretta Smith a "bitch" after abruptly ending the meeting when Smith was asking questions. In 2018, she and the Oregon Nurses Association attempted to get a $2 statewide increase on tobacco the state ballot. The petitioners failed to get enough votes to qualify the measure for the ballot.

References

External links

Official office Web page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kafoury, Deborah 1967 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Multnomah County Commissioners Politicians from Walla Walla, Washington Whitman College alumni Women state legislators in Oregon 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians