Shannon Singleton on Thursday night declared victory in the Multnomah County chair contest, one of this fall’s most fiercely contested local elections.
“I want to thank everyone who supported me in this campaign and every single Multnomah County resident who placed their trust in me. I heard loud and clear the work that needs to get done to improve services for people experiencing homelessness, behavioral health challenges, or struggling with the affordability crisis,” Singleton said in a statement on Thursday. “I am beginning the work now to start on the first of the year in a full sprint.”
Singleton, a current county commissioner, jumped out to an early lead over opponent and fellow commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards on election night, and the gap continued widening in the days after. The contest, the first time the county has utilized rank choice voting, pitted the two current commissioners against former commissioner Sharon Meieran, who finished a distant third.
In the fourth round of preliminary results, published on Thursday, Singleton’s lead grew to 139,164 votes, or 57.2% of the vote, compared to Brim-Edwards’ 103,913, or 42.75%. More write-in voters and Meieran voters ranked ...