Dear Friends and Neighbors,
This week, I did the final review of my office’s annual report to you. Like all of my office’s reports, the annual report reflects my team’s commitment to our mission: to promote an accountable, equitable county government. My dedication to this mission is unwavering.
As January draws to a close, I’ve been reflecting on the work of my office and the role we play in speaking truth to power. At the federal level, the new administration has fired a dozen or more inspectors general - in violation of a federal law that requires giving Congress 30 days’ advance notice with the reason for removing an inspector general - to prevent them from speaking truth to power. As a government auditor, I take any step to curtail accountability and truth-telling as frightening.
I applaud the bravery of the federal inspectors general who are speaking out about being fired. I want to take a moment to recognize the acts of bravery you may be engaged in each day, in spite of (or perhaps because of) the news coming out of Washington, D.C. For example, as the new federal administration has taken broad, swift actions targeting particular communities in the U.S., I have been heartened to see county leadership affirm their commitment to serving all people in our county, particularly people who tend to be most impacted by county services - our community members who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, immigrants and refugees, and/or LGBTQIA2S+.
My office will also steadfastly continue to speak truth to power. All of our work is focused on improving county government so that it better serves everyone who lives in our county. We will not stop this work, and I encourage you to use my office’s reports as tools to help improve our county government now and into the future.
Thank you,
Jennifer
Auditor’s Office 2024 Annual Report
Please take a moment to check out our 2024 annual report. It provides a recap of our community engagement, performance audit, hotline, and ombudsperson efforts throughout 2024. I hope you will use the information in the annual report to help promote an accountable, equitable Multnomah County government!
Community Engagement
On January 20, County Ombudsperson Cheryl Taylor and I attended the World Arts Foundation’s annual celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. The event was titled Keep Alive the Dream: Beyond Resilience to Empowerment. To paraphrase Mistress of Ceremony Valerie Yvette Peterson, resilience keeps us moving; empowerment is about creation. Through a variety of performances and speeches by heroes such as Margaret Carter, former State Legislator and the first Black woman elected to the Oregon legislature, and State Senator Lew Frederick, the event inspired me and the others in attendance to keep working for justice.
We were also fortunate to have a presence outside the event. Constituent Relations and DEI Engagement Specialist Raymond De Silva, Ombudsperson Intake Specialist Kate Milne, Senior Performance Auditor Mandi Hood, and Ombudsperson Taylor tabled at the event. And I got a chance to do a brief interview with KBOO about our office’s work.
If you’d like me and or staff to attend or speak at a meeting with your community group, simply fill out this form.