Multnomah County’s newly enshrined Board of Commissioners opened its first meeting of 2017 with a unanimous vote to anoint designated successors for the commission’s three newest members and now-elected Sheriff Mike Reese.
• Commissioner Sharon Meieran selected Dr. Alisha Moreland-Capuia, a psychiatrist and professor at Oregon Health & Science University, to succeed her in District 1, which covers Portland’s west side and central eastside.
• Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson selected Diane Rosenbaum, a former state Senate leader and worker’s rights advocate, to succeed her in District 3, which includes east Portland.
• Commissioner Lori Stegmann selected Mario Palmero, president of the Gresham City Council and an Oregon Department of Human Services case manager, to succeed her in District 4, which covers eastern Multnomah County.
• And Sheriff Reese has selected Chief Deputy Jason Gates, who oversees the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office’s enforcement division, as his successor.
County rules require elected officers to name designees who could take over on an interim basis, until another election or appointment, if their posts become vacant. That’s happened just a handful of times since 2014, after officials resigned or sought higher office.
For commissioners, the designees approved Thursday would help keep alive the board’s history-making status as a “majority-minority” board led by effective and experienced community members.
Commissioner Meieran noted Dr. Moreland-Capuia is the first native African-American Oregonian to become a licensed, board-certified psychiatrist.
Beyond her work at OHSU, where she specializes in drug addiction issues and serves as executive director of the Avel Gordly Center for Healing, Dr. Moreland-Capuia sits on the Portland Development Commission’s board and has served on state health policy and police accountability commissions.
“The doctor is quite remarkable,” Meieran said. “She’s a physician, a scholar, an educator and a healer, and she is also a rising leader in our community.”
Commissioner Vega Pederson, a two-term state representative, called Rosenbaum a champion on women’s issues and for workers’ rights during their time together in Salem.
Rosenbaum served as Senate Majority Leader, shepherding the Democratic caucus, from 2010 through 2015. Vega Pederson highlighted Rosenbaum’s role in passing three minimum wage increases since 2002, passing paid sick leave statewide, and efforts to expand access to birth control and cancer screenings. Rosenbaum is also a breast cancer survivor.
“Her work on policy has been exemplary,” Vega Pederson said. “If I ever have to step away from this position, I am confident that Diane has both my value and my passion for this work.”
Commissioner Stegmann praised Palmero for his work as a case manager, a position he’s held since 2007. As a case manager and benefits coordinator, she said, he helps vulnerable people in eastern Multnomah County, including homeless families, obtain and connect with state and federal relief programs such as food stamps.
Palmero, who represents Gresham’s Rockwood neighborhood, is the first Latino to serve as a city councilor there. Stegmann also served as a Gresham city councilor.
“I knew Mario to be a person with great heart and compassion for the people that he serves,” she said.
Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury joked the board’s work in 2017 was off to a fine start, with an early non-controversial vote.
“You’ve all done a great job,” she said.
