District 2 Commissioner candidate · Multnomah County · November 3, 2026
Serena Cruz
Former county commissioner and COO
Former county commissioner and chief operating officer; nonprofit and construction-business experience.
Reach the campaign
- serenacruz.com (opens in a new tab)
- info@serenacruz.com
- Volunteer form (opens in a new tab)
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As published in their pamphlet statement and campaign site.
In their words
Said: Local government CAN work better for people in North and Northeast Portland.
Pamphlet p. 35
Candidate statement · November 2026 edition; extracted September 21, 2026
Multnomah County voters’ pamphlet · PDF page 35 ↗Verbatim opening of the candidate's own statement; publication by the county does not verify the claims.
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 wordsWants to align housing, treatment and family services around more effective administration.
- Coordinate housing, treatment and supportive services.
- Make preschool effective and accessible.
- Support small businesses and paths from renting to ownership.
Our reading
Our interpretation, not their wordsShe presents county operating experience as the way to align housing, treatment and preschool delivery; much of her plan runs through partners the county does not control (the City, Metro, the Legislature, a charter change).
Where they stand
Homelessness and housing
Crisis to housing pipeline- What
- Said: Align the County, City and Metro so the highest-need neighbors get behavioral-health support that connects crisis stabilization to recovery housing to a home of their own; she cites leading Bridges to Housing across four counties and building land-trust homes.
- How
- Said: Advocate higher-density zoning where transit already runs (North Interstate, for example) through the 2027 legislative session, and align County, City and Metro around one response instead of finger-pointing.
- Measured by
- Said: Points to 11,000 people housed in four years with 83% still housed two years later, and to her Bridges to Housing record: domestic-violence reports down from 36% to under 10% over five years.
Crisis care, jail and deflection
End ER–jail–street cycle- What
- Said: Stop highest-need neighbors cycling through emergency rooms, jails, shelters and the streets by connecting crisis stabilization to recovery housing; she says about 9% of the Medicaid population is homeless with untreated illness and drives 40% of system costs.
- How
- Not in their sources
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Taxes and the budget gap
Grow the tax base- What
- Said: The county cannot cut or tax its way out of a structural deficit she puts at $33 million by 2030; grow the tax base by partnering in Portland’s economy, require project labor and community benefits agreements on County-funded projects, and condition Moda Center money on a payment in lieu of taxes.
- How
- Said: Treat the Moda Center renovation as economic development: public dollars tied to a project labor agreement, a community benefits agreement naming Albina Vision Trust, a 20-year Blazers commitment and an annual payment in lieu of taxes.
- Measured by
- Said: Names the gap to close: property and business income taxes are 72% of the General Fund, an $11 million hole was closed this summer and the structural deficit grows to $33 million by 2030.
Roads, bridges and air
Costed climate plan- What
- Said: Give every Climate Justice Plan goal a named owner, a cost and milestones; protect rental assistance, expand renter access to heat pumps, send cooling and clean-air money first to low-canopy neighborhoods, hold the county to its fossil-fuel-free building resolution, and press DEQ and the City on the fuel hub and Zenith’s 2027 deadline.
- How
- Said: Lower the threshold for the county’s Clean Air Construction Standard, extend the fossil-fuel-free building resolution to resilience standards for emergency shelters, and file formal comment on DEQ’s seismic review of the fuel hub.
- Measured by
- Said: Zenith’s October 2027 deadline to end crude-oil handling enforced by the City and DEQ; cooling and clean-air investments reaching Parkrose and Argay Terrace first.
The choices this office faces
Every candidate in this race is asked the same 13 questions. Serena Cruz is on record on 8, with 5 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.
No answer we could findClose shelter beds to keep people in housing as homeless-services money falls?
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.
Drop the two-paramedic ambulance rule for good?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Rewrite the city-county homelessness agreement so one government runs shelters?
Said: Wants the County, City and Metro aligned around one coordinated response instead of finger-pointing; she does not say whether one government should run all shelters when the agreement expires.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Keep the 2027 Recovery Pathways Center on schedule and fund more detox and treatment beds around it?
Said: Wants behavioral-health support that connects crisis stabilization to recovery housing so the highest-need Medicaid patients stop cycling through ERs and jails; she does not mention the 2027 center or detox beds.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Close the county's structural budget gap by cutting administration before services?
Said: Says the county cannot cut or tax its way out of a structural deficit she puts at $33 million by 2030; the fix is partnering in Portland's economy to grow the tax base.
Keep delaying the Preschool for All tax increase, now set for 2028?
Said: Not yet satisfied: says the program has more seats than enrolled children but not in the right places and hours, must cover children with special needs, and should explain its high reserves; she did not address the 2028 delay.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Up to $101.6 million in county money for the Moda Center renovation?
Said: Supports public dollars to keep the Blazers and the Fire in Portland, conditioned on a project labor agreement, a community benefits agreement naming Albina Vision Trust, a 20-year commitment and an annual payment in lieu of taxes.
Keep both jails at their current funded capacity as the General Fund shrinks?
Said: Says the jails have a staffing challenge that must be fixed so families can visit and defense lawyers can meet clients; she does not say whether to keep both jails at current capacity.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Keep the county's sanctuary code and refuse ICE detainers under federal pressure?
Said: Would protect the county’s sanctuary efforts and prepare employees for ICE arriving; as a commissioner she challenged the sheriff’s office over money from the U.S. Marshals Service, which ended.
Move day-to-day county management from the elected chair to an appointed administrator?
Said: Supports a charter amendment creating an appointed county administrator, hired by the full Board through an open search, to run daily operations against performance measures while the elected chair and commissioners set policy.
A question the evidence leaves open
What would change in contracting and oversight compared with your previous county roles?
Sources (3)
- Multnomah County voters’ pamphlet · PDF page 35Candidate statement · November 2026 edition; reviewed September 18, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign. Publication by the county does not verify the claims.
- Cruz · campaign homeCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
- Cruz · issuesCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.