District 2 Commissioner candidate · Multnomah County · November 3, 2026
Tony Robertson
BOLI civil-rights division manager with housing and workforce experience.
Reach the campaign
As published in their pamphlet statement and campaign site.
In their words
Said: Born in North Portland and raised in NE Portland, Tony is deeply connected to our community.
Pamphlet p. 37
Candidate statement · November 2026 edition; extracted September 21, 2026
Multnomah County voters’ pamphlet · PDF page 37 ↗Verbatim opening of the candidate's own statement; publication by the county does not verify the claims. The heading “ROOTED HERE, READY TO SERVE N/NE PORTLAND” is skipped.
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 agencies to coordinate better and demonstrate what taxpayer spending achieves.
- Improve housing, homelessness and behavioral-health services.
- Strengthen economic opportunity and relationships with small businesses.
- Make public spending more transparent.
Our reading
Our interpretation, not their wordsHe would make the county, city and state work as one system and open the county’s books; his priorities page commits to exploring, evaluating and partnering more than to any costed program.
Where they stand
Homelessness and housing
Fill vacant units- What
- Said: Partner with property owners so vacant housing is not left empty while neighbors are on the street, remove barriers that slow placements, protect money for rent assistance, outreach and placement, and hold housing programs accountable for results rather than processes.
- How
- Said: Expand technical assistance to contracted providers, evaluate county rules that get in the way of help, and protect dollars for rent assistance, street outreach and housing placement.
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Crisis care, jail and deflection
Faster behavioral care- What
- Said: Preserve and creatively expand behavioral-health services so people get care when they are ready, with coordination across health, housing, insurers and community providers, and fair wages and safe staffing for the mental-health workforce.
- How
- Said: Partnerships with mental-health providers, insurers and health systems to speed access, stronger rates and safe conditions for providers, and referral and exit-plan fixes with the state and city.
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Taxes and the budget gap
Open the county books- What
- Said: Demand clear spending plans, measurable outcomes and real transparency for every program the county funds, including the Preschool for All reserve (he puts it at $610 million) and housing contracts where placements lag; explore local tax relief across jurisdictions.
- How
- Said: More frequent public spending dashboards and budget information, earlier public input in the budget process, and a cross-jurisdiction review of the local tax structure for relief options.
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Roads, bridges and air
Not foundNot found in the sources we reviewed. That is a research gap, not a position.
The choices this office faces
Every candidate in this race is asked the same 13 questions. Tony Robertson is on record on 3, with 10 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.
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.
Close the county's structural budget gap by cutting administration before services?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Up to $101.6 million in county money for the Moda Center renovation?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Keep both jails at their current funded capacity as the General Fund shrinks?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Keep the county's sanctuary code and refuse ICE detainers under federal pressure?
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.
Rewrite the city-county homelessness agreement so one government runs shelters?
Said: Would evaluate the county's shared formal agreements to clarify roles and responsibilities and rebuild fractured relationships with other governments; he does not say whether one government should run shelters.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Tighter contract monitoring and outside audits of the Homeless Services Department after Sunstone Way?
Said: Demands clear spending plans, measurable outcomes and transparency for every program the county funds, including housing contracts where placements lag; he does not mention outside audits or Sunstone Way.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Keep delaying the Preschool for All tax increase, now set for 2028?
Said: Demands a clear spending plan and measurable outcomes for the Preschool for All reserve, which he puts at $610 million; his site does not say whether the tax increase should stay delayed to 2028.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
A question the evidence leaves open
Which coordination failures would you fix first, and how would the public track progress?
Sources (3)
- Multnomah County voters’ pamphlet · PDF page 37Candidate statement · November 2026 edition; reviewed September 18, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign. Publication by the county does not verify the claims.
- Robertson · campaign homeCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
- Robertson · prioritiesCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.