Published: October 30, 2026
Dear Friends,
When I face a difficult decision, I ask myself two questions: What do I want to accomplish? And when I look back, what will I regret least?
The answer to the first is easy.
I am running to fix Multnomah County.
Our county is failing at its core responsibilities. Not for lack of money, programs, or compassion, but because the systems themselves are broken. Fixing them will take more than promises. It will take a fundamentally different approach to governing.
I entered this race because I have the experience, independence, and comprehensive plan to lead that transformation. Frankly, I had hoped someone else would step forward with a credible plan and the record to carry it out. I would gladly have supported them.
Instead, two sitting commissioners entered the race without even an outline of what they would do differently. And I've watched business as usual continue: shelter beds closing without a plan for the people displaced, troubling leadership decisions, political maneuvering, and resolutions substituting for action.
I wanted this election to be a serious conversation about what is broken, why, and how we can fix it. I've spent the past year offering concrete solutions and doing everything I can to move that conversation forward.
The second question has been harder.
I've struggled with whether, and how, to speak publicly about serious concerns I have regarding the leadership and judgment of another candidate, Julia Brim-Edwards.
I know that raising these concerns as her opponent invites skepticism about my motives. I understand that. But I also believe that our reluctance to confront uncomfortable truths is part of what allows failing systems, and the leaders responsible for them, to escape accountability.
We have become so accustomed to political promises, endorsements, and carefully crafted images that we sometimes forget to examine what people have actually done.
And the stakes are simply too high to look away.
Leadership is measured by results.
Julia has repeatedly cited her leadership on the Portland Public Schools Board as a principal qualification for County Chair. That makes her record there directly relevant.
Yet PPS faces enormous financial, facilities, and educational challenges. Financial mismanagement, inadequate planning, poor educational outcomes, and now a deeply flawed proposal to close 14 schools without the basic analysis and engagement families and communities deserve.
In July, seven of Julia's former school board colleagues took the extraordinary step of publicly warning voters that she was not fit to lead the county. They described serious concerns about her approach to collaboration, transparency, oversight, and management.
These were people who worked alongside her for years. Their concerns weren't about political differences. They were about how she governed.
Similarly, sixty county employees signed a statement of no confidence in her leadership.
And Willamette Week identified what it called a "worrying pattern of placing political expediency above principle."
These are not concerns voters should dismiss.
Accountability means answering questions, especially when the answers are uncomfortable.
Consider the recent hiring of a new director for Multnomah County Animal Services, an agency that has struggled for years.
Serious concerns emerged about the hiring process, the director's qualifications, and misrepresentations in his application.
Julia was repeatedly informed of these concerns, including by the County Auditor, volunteers, and constituents testifying publicly. Yet she took no action to address them.
When specifically questioned by Willamette Week, she denied knowing about the problems. I was present for that interview. I knew what she had been told. Her denial was simply not true.
Worse, when two longtime animal welfare advocates sought answers from her office, they were ignored for months before receiving a response dismissing their concerns as political spin attributed to my campaign.
These residents had devoted years to improving a troubled public agency and protecting vulnerable animals. They deserved answers, not dismissal.
Knowing about a problem and failing to act is troubling. Denying knowledge and disparaging the people seeking answers raises a much more fundamental concern about leadership.
Respect for the public starts with showing up.
Last week, hundreds of people gathered for a forum devoted entirely to solutions to homelessness, featuring an expert panel that included former Governor John Kitzhaber.
Julia was absent.
Organizers had invited her two months earlier. Her campaign waited until two days before the event to decline, then scheduled a competing event at the same time.
This wasn't an isolated incident. The NAACP, AARP, United in Spirit, and Rose City Park neighborhood association experienced similar last-minute withdrawals.
And just this week, Julia failed to attend a long-planned East Portland forum in her own district.
Missing an event isn't inherently a problem. Things happen. But repeatedly leaving organizers and residents waiting, and missing opportunities to engage on issues of enormous public consequence, reflects something more troubling.
Showing up, answering questions, and treating people with respect should be the bare minimum we expect of our leaders.
Independence matters.
The next County Chair will need to make difficult decisions that may disappoint powerful organizations, donors, and political allies.
That's why I made a deliberate decision not to seek institutional endorsements. I want to be accountable to the people I serve, not to organizations or political interests expecting something in return.
Julia has taken a different approach, with substantial support from powerful political, labor, and business interests.
A business-backed PAC has spent more than half a million dollars promoting her as the "Pro-Labor Progressive" candidate. Meanwhile, Basic Rights Oregon and AFSCME, the county's largest public employee union, have both taken the unusual step of rescinding their endorsements.
Endorsements aren't inherently bad. But voters should ask what powerful interests expect in return for their support, and whether a candidate will be willing to stand up to those interests when the public good demands it.
Taken together, these incidents raise concerns about more than individual decisions.
They raise questions about a pattern of leadership: avoiding difficult questions, shifting blame, prioritizing political advantage, and failing to respect the people who deserve answers.
These are not personal grievances. They go directly to the qualifications for the job Julia seeks.
And what about me?
I've been called the county's "Chief Critic." I own that.
For eight years as a county commissioner, I challenged decisions involving hundreds of millions of dollars spent without measurable results, failing mental health and addiction services, unreliable homelessness data, disability rights, and budgets that obscured rather than illuminated what taxpayers were getting for their money.
Sometimes I've pressed forcefully. Because bad decisions have real consequences. People suffer. People die. And public trust erodes.
I won't apologize for demanding accountability.
But challenging those entrusted with public responsibility is not the same as disrespecting the people who depend on them.
Criticism has never been my goal. Fixing the problems is.
That's why I've spent the past year developing and sharing a comprehensive turnaround plan, with concrete solutions, measurable outcomes, clear lines of responsibility, and transparent accounting for every dollar.
And I've assembled a team of experts prepared to begin that work immediately after the election.
I am not running to be something. I am running to do something.
Which brings me back to my second question.
What will I regret least?
I may regret sending this email. I know some people will criticize me for it. And I understand why people are uncomfortable hearing difficult things about someone they support.
But I would regret staying silent even more.
If elected, I will work constructively with Julia, Shannon Singleton, and every member of the County Commission. Our challenges are far too important to let political differences stand in the way of solutions.
Whatever happens on November 3, I want to know that I gave voters a meaningful choice. That I asked difficult questions, spoke openly about what I believe, and offered a credible path forward.
If you haven't voted, I ask you to examine each candidate's record, judgment, independence, and plan. Including mine.
Don't take my word for it. Read the reporting. Watch the public meetings. Ask questions. Draw your own conclusions.
We cannot demand accountability from our government if we are unwilling to demand it from the people seeking to lead it.
And if we change nothing, nothing will change.
With gratitude,
Sharon