Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson will not seek a second term in that role.

After a tumultuous three years in which she has become a focal point of Portland’s struggles with rising homelessness, expensive housing and a dearth of child care, Vega Pederson announced Wednesday she will leave office at the end of next year.

“This is not a decision I’ve made lightly,” Vega Pederson said in a video announcement that acknowledged the difficulties she’s faced as the leader of Oregon’s most populous county.

A former state representative and county commissioner, Vega Pederson took Multnomah County’s top job in 2023 as the city struggled with its post-pandemic recovery. In the three years since, she has clashed with other elected officials, who sometimes took issue with her approach.

A major sticking point has been homelessness. Multnomah County has faced accusations that it hasn’t efficiently spent hundreds of millions of dollars from a tax on high earners that is meant to stem the region’s homeless crisis.

Earlier this year Gov. Tina Kotek and leaders at the city of Portland and Metro regional government tore into Vega Pederson, saying she took them by surprise with an announcement that the county was short more than $100 million in its homeless services budget.

Early in her tenure, Vega Pederson found herself facing public backlash over plans by the county to distribute straws and tinfoil for fentanyl users, as part of a harm reduction strategy.

The county executive also found herself a poster child for complaints over Portland’s reputation for high taxes and meager results.

Multnomah County’s Preschool for All program, approved by voters in 2020 and funded with taxes on people who make at least $125,000 (or $200,000 on joint-filing households), has become a major political target this year. Critics including business interests, lawmakers and Kotek, suggest the program is to blame for giving Portland one of the nation’s highest income tax rates — and therefore driving high earners elsewhere.

Vega Pederson has staunchly defended the program, which is currently sitting on a tranche of more than $600 million in unspent money. County leaders have vowed to double the number of free pre-K slots they will fund next year.

According to a 2024 poll commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive, Vega Pederson had the lowest approval rating of all local elected officials. Just 11% of respondents thought she was managing the state’s most populous county well.

In her announcement, Vega Pederson did not shy from some of her struggles in office.

“I knew the road ahead would be hard, and it has been,” she said. “These past few years have tested all of us. I’ve made tough calls. I’ve taken hits. That’s part of the job.”

But she also highlighted victories that included expanding 24/7 homeless shelters, opening a new Behavioral Health Resource Center, and capably steering money for homeless services.

Vega Pederson said she will continue to focus on delivering homeless services and expanding free preschool slots during her final year in office.

Her announcement creates a wide-open race to run Multnomah County. That race will play out next November, when a chair is chosen via the county’s new ranked choice system.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/12/17/jessica-vega-pederson-reelection-multnomah-county-chair/