District 2 Commissioner candidate · Multnomah County · November 3, 2026
Nathan Ong Norris
Hazardous-waste technician, union member and community organizer.
Reach the campaign
- nathanongnorris.com (opens in a new tab)
- info@nathanongnorris.com
- Volunteer form (opens in a new tab)
- Instagram (opens in a new tab)
- Bluesky (opens in a new tab)
As published in their pamphlet statement and campaign site.
In their words
Said: I’m a third generation Asian-American, union member, and community organizer. My parents raised my sister and I in Portland on one income.
Pamphlet p. 36
Candidate statement · November 2026 edition; extracted September 21, 2026
Multnomah County voters’ pamphlet · PDF page 36 ↗Verbatim opening of the candidate's own statement; publication by the county does not verify the claims. The slogan “A Democratic Socialist standing up for you, and your neighbors” (no terminal punctuation) is skipped; the first sentence is under 12 words, so two are shown.
The verbatim opening of their voters’ pamphlet statement, the same rule for every candidate. We chose nothing.
What they say they would do
Our summary of their platform, in our wordsIdentifies as a democratic socialist and favors expanded public provision and climate accountability.
- Support Preschool for All, social housing and libraries.
- Implement the Climate Justice Plan and hold polluters accountable.
- Reduce CEI Hub risks and prevent expansion.
Our reading
Our interpretation, not their wordsHe treats public services and climate protection as promises society keeps to each other; his platform lists what to expand (preschool, social housing, libraries) without naming the recurring revenue.
Where they stand
Homelessness and housing
Social housing- What
- Said: Safe and stable housing is one of society’s promises: eviction prevention, anti-displacement and housing-stability measures, regional social housing (publicly owned, mixed-income homes) and community benefits agreements.
- How
- Not in their sources
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Crisis care, jail and deflection
Housing first, no tests- What
- Said: Supports housing first without sobriety or other tests; would press the sheriff on jail conditions and the overuse of solitary confinement; counts ambulance response times, firefighters’ conditions and fuel and chemical storage as public safety.
- How
- Not in their sources
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Taxes and the budget gap
Expand public services- What
- Said: The county cuts services while giving money and land to billionaires, which must stop; expand the common good instead: Preschool for All, social housing, public libraries and critical infrastructure, with affordable utilities.
- How
- Not in their sources
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Roads, bridges and air
Climate Justice Plan- What
- Said: Implement the county’s Climate Justice Plan, hold polluters accountable, keep utilities affordable with oversight of private utility companies, cut greenhouse-gas emissions, and mitigate the risks of the CEI Hub (the riverside fuel-tank hub) while preventing its expansion.
- How
- Said: Oversight of private utility companies and reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions, alongside emergency management, community resilience and critical-infrastructure improvements.
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
The choices this office faces
Every candidate in this race is asked the same 13 questions. Nathan Ong Norris is on record on 6, with 7 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.
No answer we could findRewrite the city-county homelessness agreement so one government runs shelters?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Back extending Metro's homeless-services tax past 2030 at a lower rate, with tighter spending rules?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Tighter contract monitoring and outside audits of the Homeless Services Department after Sunstone Way?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Keep and tighten the drug deflection center, or halt it?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Keep the 2027 Recovery Pathways Center on schedule and fund more detox and treatment beds around it?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Drop the two-paramedic ambulance rule for good?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Move day-to-day county management from the elected chair to an appointed administrator?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Close shelter beds to keep people in housing as homeless-services money falls?
Said: Says the fastest way to cut homelessness is keeping people in their homes through eviction prevention and utility relief, with housing first; he does not say whether to close shelter beds.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Close the county's structural budget gap by cutting administration before services?
Said: Says billionaires and oil companies are not struggling and the county should go get what it needs from them; backs a downtown vacancy tax; he does not address cutting administration.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Keep delaying the Preschool for All tax increase, now set for 2028?
Said: Signed a pledge to reject any further delays in fully funding Preschool for All, support the full voter-approved tax rate and vote against any action that limits or reduces the program.
Up to $101.6 million in county money for the Moda Center renovation?
Said: Says the county belongs at the table on the renovation but promised too much for too little in return, leaving jobs, better streets or power-bill relief unsecured; says the arena should have been a community center first.
Keep both jails at their current funded capacity as the General Fund shrinks?
Said: Would first ask why the jails miss the standards in the county’s own audit and why solitary confinement is still overused; counts ambulance times and fuel storage as public safety; he does not address jail capacity.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Keep the county's sanctuary code and refuse ICE detainers under federal pressure?
Said: Would keep ICE out of county buildings, off the streets and out of the county.
A question the evidence leaves open
What recurring revenue would support expanded services without weakening existing ones?
Sources (4)
- Multnomah County voters’ pamphlet · PDF page 36Candidate statement · November 2026 edition; reviewed September 18, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign. Publication by the county does not verify the claims.
- Ong Norris · campaign homeCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
- Ong Norris · platformCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
- City Club of Portland · Multnomah County District 2 debate (September 24, 2026)Candidate statement · September 24, 2026; transcript read September 25, 2026The candidate's own remarks at a public debate, read from a transcript; speaker attribution is the Lab's, from self-references and the moderator's order. Claims are not independently verified.