Voters’ Pamphlet Statement

Occupational Background: Multnomah County Commissioner, District 1; Emergency Room Doctor; President, Oregon College of Emergency Physicians; Medical Director, Oregon Foundation for Reproductive Health, National Alliance on Mental Illness Civil Commitment Workgroup; Emergency Department Information Exchange Governance Board; Physician, Air Care Helicopter-Based Medical Care; Court Appointed Special Advocate; TALK Line Child Abuse Prevention Crisis Counselor Educational Background: UCSF School of Medicine, Doctor of Medicine; San Francisco State University, post-baccalaureate/pre-med courses; UCSF School of Law, Doctor of Law; UC Berkeley, Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and English

Prior Governmental Experience: Multnomah County Commissioner, District 1; Co-Chair, Health and Human Services Committee, Association of Oregon Counties; Governor’s Behavioral Health Task Force; Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Advisory Commission; Portland Community Oversight Advisory Board Regarding Police Use of Force for Mental Health Crises; Oregon Coalition for the Responsible Use of Medications; National Governor's Association Task Force on Prescription Opioid Misuse; Emergency Department and Mental Health Rules Task Force

Multnomah County is broken.

As an emergency room doctor, every day I’d treat people with addiction, mental illness, abuse and neglect –  the very problems the county is responsible for addressing.  

We have among the worst rates of homelessness in the United States. Multnomah County is the reason Oregon ranks last in the nation for mental illness. Yet we spend more per person than almost anywhere else.

Highest spending. Worst results. 

That’s why I first joined the county commission.  That’s how I learned Multnomah County reacts instead of plans, spends money without specific goals, and answers to no one. The politicians only care about deflecting blame. 

As president of the state College of Emergency Physicians, I have led efforts by Oregon's ERs to curb opioid abuse before government even recognized the problem. As county commissioner, I used bold, honest leadership to end our ambulance crisis, after the county chair spent nearly two years mired in a contract dispute that kept ambulances from responding to 911 calls.

For the last year, I’ve worked with experts to create what no other candidate has - a specific plan with a real budget that will:

• Create effective mental health and addiction treatment

• Get people safely off the streets

• Tie all spending to results 

• Account for every dollar spent

You can read it at fixmultco.com.

During this campaign, I decided not to seek organizational endorsements because I don’t want to make backroom promises to get elected. I want to build a social service system that protects safe neighborhoods, helps businesses succeed, and supports a strong community. We should be a national example of a progressive community committed to living its values.

Multnomah County has real problems, but fixing them doesn’t have to be as hard as they’re making it. We can spend less but do so much more. 

Together, we can build a county worthy of the people it serves.

Thank you for reading this, for caring, and for voting.