Multnomah County · November 3, 2026
Portland City Council, Sheriff
- 1
- Candidates
- 1
- Seats
- 6
- Rank up to
- Nov 3
- Due 8 p.m.
Our readingDraft
One candidate appears on the county’s checked filing list. An uncontested race still warrants scrutiny: which independent jail-review recommendations remain open, how staffing and crime trends are measured, and what the next term would change.
| Candidate | 0 of 1 documented | 1 of 1 documented | 1 of 1 documented | 0 of 1 documented | Save to my ballot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Homes | Safety | Money | Roads |
What this office decides right now
What’s at stake
The sheriff runs two jails funded for about 1,130 beds, patrols unincorporated areas, contract cities and transit, and manages roughly 800 employees on a $225 million budget that the Board funds but does not direct.
Each of this office’s 6 live choices is a board below, with every candidate’s stated position or the gap.
Jail beds at risk
The sheriff's FY 2027 budget letter said the required 5% General Fund cut of $9.7 million would include eliminating 38.9 corrections deputies, about 300 jail beds or 27% of budgeted capacity; the General Fund supplies 87% of the office's $225 million budget.
Bookings and hiring
MCSO processed 1,721 standard jail bookings in February 2026, 22% more than a year earlier; it hired 114 people in 2025 for a net gain of 32 staff, the first year since 2022 that hires exceeded separations, while corrections deputies remain the highest-vacancy job.
Programs ending
The chair's FY 2027 proposal kept jail capacity, but the sheriff is ending the Close Street pretrial program and eliminated the two-deputy HOPE homeless outreach team to staff investigations, civil backlogs and gun dispossession; her request for more courthouse deputies went unfunded.
Pretrial shift
The adopted FY 2027 budget adds $728,000 in ongoing money to a $1 million plan moving pretrial monitoring from the Sheriff's Office and Department of Community Justice to the circuit court system.
In-custody deaths
Two adults in custody died in one week in August 2026: a 71-year-old at the Detention Center on August 18 and a 48-year-old at Inverness Jail on August 20, each under an ongoing death investigation.
Jail audit follow-up
The county auditor's July 2026 follow-up found four 2022 jail-conditions recommendations not implemented, including ending isolation as a disciplinary sanction, and an independent jail-review function still unexplored by the Sheriff and Board.
Independent reviews
The Corrections Recommendations Project tracks findings from seven 2022–2024 reviews (National Institute of Corrections reports on contraband and suicide prevention, an Oregon State Police review of death investigations, jail standards inspections, the grand jury and the auditor) on a dashboard updated at least monthly.
Where they stand · six more choices
Six choices Multnomah County faces
One question at a time: every candidate’s answer, A–Z, with its source. Open all to see who has said nothing about what.
Jail capacityKeep both jails at their current funded capacity as the General Fund shrinks?1 of 1 on record
The sheriff's required 5% cut option would have removed 38.9 corrections deputies, about 300 of roughly 1,130 funded beds; the FY 2027 budget kept capacity while bookings in February 2026 ran 22% above a year earlier.
- Nicole Morrisey O’DonnellIncumbent sheriffPreserve jail capacity
What they did
Her FY 2027 budget letter urges the chair and Board to preserve current jail capacity and the HR hiring unit, warning a 5% cut would remove about 300 beds and could force releases.
Sanctuary under pressureKeep the county's sanctuary code and refuse ICE detainers under federal pressure?1 of 1 on record
On April 9, 2026 the Board voted 5–0 to write sanctuary rules into county code, barring immigration agents from non-public county space without a judicial warrant; on June 23, 2026 the U.S. House Judiciary Committee demanded the sheriff's detainer records by July 7, calling the policy a threat to public safety.
- Nicole Morrisey O’DonnellIncumbent sheriffNo ICE detainer holds
Said: What they said
Her office told KATU in June 2026 it cannot hold people solely on ICE detainers and does not use its resources for civil immigration enforcement; it has not said whether the county's sanctuary code should stand.
Deflection centerKeep and tighten the drug deflection center, or halt it?1 of 1 on record
In its first year police made 606 referrals and 113 people completed deflection; 81% of those served at the center were homeless. A February 2026 Board resolution added stricter 90-day completion rules, and 78 people were referred in the first quarter of 2026.
- Nicole Morrisey O’DonnellIncumbent sheriffFund the center more
What they did
Wrote the District Attorney in January 2026 that her office fully agrees more support should go to the deflection center, adding that MCSO cannot be the county's default treatment provider.
Sobering and treatmentKeep the 2027 Recovery Pathways Center on schedule and fund more detox and treatment beds around it?0 of 1 on recordNot found: Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell
On March 12, 2026 the Board voted 5–0 for the $29.8 million Recovery Pathways Center at 440 SE Stephens: 18 sobering stations and 29 withdrawal beds, $14.2 million from the General Fund, move-in October 1, 2027. Thirteen temporary sobering stations have run at the deflection center since April 2025.
- Nicole Morrisey O’DonnellIncumbent sheriffNot found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Closing the gapClose the county's structural budget gap by cutting administration before services?1 of 1 on record
The Budget Office projected a $10.5 million General Fund shortfall for FY 2027 growing to $33.8 million by FY 2030; the adopted FY 2027 budget eliminated at least 158 positions.
- Nicole Morrisey O’DonnellIncumbent sheriffProtect core services
What they did
Her FY 2027 budget letter says she does not support reductions that would affect core services and that budget decisions should not come at the expense of community safety; it does not address cutting administration first.
Ambulance staffingDrop the two-paramedic ambulance rule for good?0 of 1 on recordNot found: Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell
AMR has missed the county's eight-minute response target every month since March 2022; a 2024 settlement let some ambulances run with one paramedic and one EMT. A new Ambulance Service Plan goes to the Board in late 2026, before the AMR contract ends in 2028.
- Nicole Morrisey O’DonnellIncumbent sheriffNot found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
About this race
How to vote
You rank up to six candidates for one seat. Ranking more people never hurts your first choice. How it works
Ballots mail Oct 14 · return by 8 p.m. Nov 3
What this office can do
The sheriff manages county law enforcement and corrections within the county budget and applicable law.
How this list was made
Same questions for everyone, A–Z. Each chip is our short reading of a sourced statement; we do not endorse, rank or score.
Reviewed September 18, 2026 · lines 2026-09-19.1 · AI-assisted, human review pending
Terms explained
- Amendment
- A proposed change to a measure before the final vote. Voting for an amendment is not the same as voting for the whole measure.
- Supplemental budget
- A mid-year change to the city budget after the main budget is adopted.
- Appropriation
- Permission to spend money on something. It does not mean the money has been spent or the result achieved.
- PCEF
- The Portland Clean Energy Fund: a tax on large retailers that pays for climate projects. Council has debated using its interest for other services.
- Term sheet
- Starting terms for a negotiation. Approving one is not a final contract.
- Housing owned by the public or a nonprofit and rented at controlled prices.
- CEI Hub
- The fuel-storage area along the Willamette in Northwest Portland, where Zenith Energy operates.
- Ranked choice
- You rank candidates in order. If your first choice is eliminated or already elected, your vote counts toward your next choice.