For many years now, it’s become increasingly obvious to Clackamas County residents and leadership that the current courthouse would someday need to be replaced. The courthouse was constructed in 1936, nearly 100 years ago. Clackamas County had fewer than 50,000...
23 March 2022
All Eyes on Clackamas
Even though much of Clackamas County is rural in nature, it’s considered part of the Portland metropolitan area. The “tri-county area” consists of Clackamas, Washington and Multnomah counties. Those three jurisdictions are also part of Metro. Due to the close...
5 January 2022
Are We Being Ruled or Governed?
One of the main debates of our time is one that is nothing new. Society has always seemed to be split between people subscribing to two competing political philosophies—some want to be governed and some want others to rule over...
3 November 2021
Standing Up for Our Essential Workers
As chair of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, I take much responsibility for what happens with the county, its residents and its employees. The governor’s most recent COVID related mandates drew my attention because of their potential impacts on...
20 October 2021
Honoring our Health Care Heroes
There’s no doubt that the past year and a half has been a challenging time. Countless families around the world have either fought off illness or had relatives succumb to the deadly COVID virus. Health care professionals like nurses have...
9 June 2021
Promises Made, Promises Kept
This time last year, I was elected chair of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners outright in the May 2020 primary election. I accomplished this by winning over 50 percent of the vote, meaning that a runoff in the November...
13 April 2021
Hold Their Feet to the Fire
As chair of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, it’s my job to set the agenda in such a way that the county’s 400,000 residents are well-served. When I suspect that they aren’t being well-served, I must bring that to...
30 March 2021
Tipping Fee Tipping Point.
Metro is up to its same old tricks. And we need to tell them to stop it. Metro is overcharging for residential garbage and the Clackamas County Commission can put an end to this by simply amending the county code...
24 March 2021
Are Our Kids Supposed to be Social Experiments for Oregon’s New Drug Law?
Over the past couple of weeks, law enforcement officials and prosecutors from throughout Oregon have started to realize the aftermath of Measure 110’s passage in last November’s general election. The bottom line is that it will drastically affect their ability...
10 March 2021
Let the People Have Their Say
The fight over vehicle registration fees in Clackamas County has been going on for a very long time now, in some form or another. And throughout the last decade, I have consistently said people have a right to vote for new...
