Sheriff candidate · Multnomah County · November 3, 2026
Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell
Incumbent sheriff; former undersheriff and law-enforcement and corrections chief deputy.
Reach the campaign
- nicoleforsheriff2026.com (opens in a new tab)
- nicoleforsheriff@gmail.com
- Facebook (opens in a new tab)
- Instagram (opens in a new tab)
As published in their pamphlet statement and campaign site.
In their words
Said: Building on 30 years of service, I have spent the last four years as Sheriff working to make the Sheriff’s Office more responsive, accountable, transparent, and effective.
Pamphlet p. 38
Candidate statement · November 2026 edition; extracted September 21, 2026
Multnomah County voters’ pamphlet · PDF page 38 ↗Verbatim opening of the candidate's own statement; publication by the county does not verify the claims. The tagline “Proven Leadership. Real Results. Safer Communities.” (no predicate) and the salutation “Dear Neighbors,” are 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 wordsEmphasizes staffing stability, transparent corrections oversight and community safety.
- Maintain safe, accountable corrections operations.
- Expand behavioral-health and reentry work.
- Strengthen workforce retention and public reporting.
Our reading
Our interpretation, not their wordsShe attributes falling gun violence, property crime and vacancies to her first term and asks to continue; crime trends and staffing outcomes deserve evaluation apart from campaign attribution.
Where they stand
Homelessness and housing
Not foundNot found in the sources we reviewed. That is a research gap, not a position.
Crisis care, jail and deflection
Visible presence, reentry- What
- Said: Keep reducing crime through visible, proactive presence focused on violent crime and repeat offenders; run a safe, accountable corrections system with behavioral-health, education and job-readiness services; and expand behavioral-health and reentry work so law enforcement is not the only response.
- How
- Said: A public Corrections Recommendations Project dashboard tracking independent expert reviews, Sheriff’s Office staff assigned to a treatment-readiness program in the jails, and a Transit Police presence along MAX corridors.
- Measured by
- Said: Cites gun-violence incidents and property crime down and person crime trending downward, accreditation in both law enforcement and corrections, and an agency vacancy rate cut by nearly 40%.
Taxes and the budget gap
Sustain safety funding- What
- Said: Sustain core public-safety funding and build a stable workforce through recruiting, retention, training, wellness and modern tools; she credits county budget investments and a modernized hiring process for hiring 50% more employees in 2025 than in 2024.
- How
- Said: Investments in the Human Resources Unit for a faster, more responsive hiring process, plus training, leadership development and wellness programs.
- Measured by
- Said: Over 50% more employees hired in 2025 than in 2024 (114 hires, the first year since 2022 that hires exceeded separations), she says.
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 6 questions. Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell is on record on 4, with 2 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.
No answer we could findKeep 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.
Keep both jails at their current funded capacity as the General Fund shrinks?
Said: 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.
Keep the county's sanctuary code and refuse ICE detainers under federal pressure?
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.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Keep and tighten the drug deflection center, or halt it?
Said: 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.
Close the county's structural budget gap by cutting administration before services?
Said: 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.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
A question the evidence leaves open
Which independent jail-review recommendations remain unfinished, and when will they be completed?
Sources (2)
- Multnomah County voters’ pamphlet · PDF page 38Candidate statement · November 2026 edition; reviewed September 18, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign. Publication by the county does not verify the claims.
- Morrisey O’Donnell · campaign home and prioritiesCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.