A 2024 election cycle that ushered in nearly wholesale change to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners was formalized Monday, Jan. 6, when Commissioners Meghan Moyer, Julia Brim-Edwards, and Vince Jones-Dixon each took a ceremonial oath to begin their four-year terms.
The trio joins Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, who is in the middle of her four-year term, and Commissioner Shannon Singleton, who was elected Nov. 5, 2024, and sworn in Dec. 3 for a two-year term lasting through Dec. 31, 2026.
Family members, friends, staff, and supporters packed the Boardroom of the Multnomah Building, joining a large contingent from the newly elected 12-member Portland City Council, as well as Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell, County Auditor Jennifer McGuirk, and new District Attorney Nathan Vasquez.
Earl Blumenauer, recently retired from the U.S. House of Representatives, was emcee.
“I think this is, perhaps, the most significant gathering of regional firepower that I've ever seen,” said Blumenauer, who represented Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District for 29 years following stints on the Multnomah County Commission (1979-86) and Portland City Council (1987-96).
“It tells me something about the expectations people have for the County, for our region, what we’re doing going forward,” he said. “This is extraordinarily exciting.”
Indeed, each of the Board members squarely called out the County’s immediate challenges, along with their desire to strengthen regional partnerships.
“When I joined the Commission, I said I was going to disrupt the status quo,” said Brim-Edwards, first elected to represent District 3 in 2023, filling a seat left vacant when Chair Vega Pederson was elected in November 2022. She won a four-year term of her own in May 2024.
“We needed to take urgent action against our biggest challenges and make measurable progress. And our work needed to be done in partnership with the City [of Portland] and with transparency and accountability. We needed a little less conversation and a lot more action. This past year, we did make progress.… But now is not the time to admire incremental progress. It’s time to double our efforts.”
Brim-Edwards was sworn in by Sheriff Morrisey O’Donnell, the first woman elected to her position.
Jones-Dixon, the first Black man elected to the Board, won his District 4 seat in May 2024. He was sworn in by Emmanuel McFadden Jr., a community safety advocate.
“As many of you know, my path to getting here hasn’t been easy,” Jones-Dixon said. “Losing two brothers to gang violence — one last year — and a string of other unexpected passings.”
“The pain and experiences ignited a fire within me. I realized that if I wanted to honor their lives, their dreams, and aspirations, I couldn't just sit on the sidelines,” he continued. “As my mother says, ‘You have to get in the game.’ I had to act. I had to be part of the solution.”
Moyer secured the District 1 position last November. She was sworn in by Paul J. De Muniz, who retired from the Oregon Supreme Court in 2012 after serving as Chief Justice.
Moyer said her priorities include solving the difficult challenges facing the County by placing progress over politics; assuming good intent; remembering change is possible that requires work and dedication; striving to listen and learn; championing people’s good ideas; and staying true to her morals and values.
“[I] ask others to hold me accountable to these goals,” she said.
Alea Loren sang the national anthem to open proceedings; JR Lilly, Multnomah County’s tribal relations liaison, lead the room in reading aloud a land acknowledgment statement; and Eldon T. Jones played a saxophone rendition of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
Blumenauer signaled the conclusion of the event by calling the new Board to come together for a group photo.
“The newbies, the holdovers,” he said, the last two words playfully referring to Chair Vega Pederson, who did not face election in 2024, and Commissioner Singleton, who took office less than a month before.
“Excuse me,” Vega Pederson said, smiling in response and drawing laughter from the audience.
Then it was time to mingle and munch.
“Thank you all for being here,” Jones-Dixon said. “We have refreshments. Stay, hang out, get to know us.”
