OREGON CITY, Ore. — In Clackamas County government, this November election signaled a changing of the guard. Board chair Tootie Smith was unsuccessful in her reelection bid, falling to former county sheriff Craig Roberts by a sizable margin.
The Oregonian projected Tuesday that Melissa Fireside will unseat incumbent Mark Shull for Position 4 on the board of commissioners — so, in the only two races where incumbent Clackamas County officials were up for reelection and ran against opposition, the races have gone to the challengers.
The county board is made up of five people who live in the county and are elected for terms of four years. They set county policies, approve department budgets, and have the power to send countywide measures to the ballot for a vote of the people.
As board chair, Smith ran the weekly commission meetings, set the agenda and still had a vote just like her fellow board members. In January, it'll be Roberts at the helm instead.
Clackamas County is the third most populous in Oregon, with more than 421,000 residents. Roberts believes that it has many of the same problems as neighboring Multnomah and Washington counties, and that there needs to be more serious, long-term thinking about how to solve them.
Roberts has been especially critical of Smith for how the county decided to fund a new courthouse. In 2021, it was expected to cost $189 million. That's since ballooned to $313 million. It's now under construction, so Roberts admits he can't unring that bell — but he thinks the county can be more transparent about projects like these.
After his projected win, Roberts spoke on the election and his next steps. His comments below have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
Mounting a successful campaign
"I feel very blessed that really so many voters believed in my vision and the really the incredible amount of supporters is really heartwarming. It was a grassroots effort. We took the high road, and what really kind of impacted me is actually seeing a senior on a fixed income mailing me a check for $10, or somebody sending me a regular monthly check and how much they believed in me ... really, as I've said, it was a grassroots effort. It's small business, large business, tremendous amount of mayors and other leaders that step forward to support me. And I'm just really excited about the opportunities ahead."
How he'll differ from Tootie Smith
"I think one of the things I heard is people didn't feel like they were being listened to. And that's my commitment, to be a good listener ... and I really believe it starts at the very beginning, and that's where I need to do a lot of listening — asking a lot of questions of city leaders and others about, you know, where do you see the shortfalls?
"And let me say there's a lot of great things happening in Clackamas County, and it's my hope to really take us to the next level and address concerns that I've always felt impacted our community. As I've mentioned, drug addiction and mental illness are really impacting not just here in the region but across this country, and I would like to see us really step up and make some things happen, honestly, with a sense of urgency. And that's what I have been good at, bringing people together and kind of saying, 'This is something we need to act on now,' and when people are depending on us, it makes all the difference in the world.
"I've spoken with a lot of family members that have loved ones, and a lot of times, they'd actually appreciate seeing (their loved ones) in our jail because they knew they were getting some health care (and) they were getting some things ... The fact is, that's not the place. It really isn't. And my hope is to create some innovative new ideas. I've thought a lot about that issue and have had a lot of experience, as well, in that field."
Top priorities as Clackamas County chair
"One of my priorities has always been trying to address the mental health issues, and as sheriff, I was always frustrated because we were the last stop — which we shouldn't be — for people struggling with mental illness, and they would cycle through jail all the time. It really wasn't a place for them. It's incredibly expensive, and as sheriff, we ended up purchasing two homes for people struggling with mental illness, transitioned into long-term housing, and my hope is really to expand those kinds of things. We had a house manager in it and really just kind of helping people move forward.
"And really, I also see the opportunity. I've researched a lot of programs around the country, and I really believe we need in our county a mental health center, such as an urgent care model, where people can go 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and on top of that, I believe that we need a 24-hour response with social workers and people trained in mental health to respond to those issues. And those are the individuals that should be dealing with that right now. As sheriff, I started a program, it wasn't 24 hours, and I believe that that's really kind of the next step. And what includes in that whole program is really you have to work with the hospitals, county mental health, public safety because it impacts all of us, including fire. So that is really once again about bringing those stakeholders to the table. Look, how we can better address this and make improvements, and really, how we treat and handle people struggling with mental illness?"
Plans for the county budget
"Well, I think, most importantly, is making sure that as we move forward that ... (for) example, the courthouse. My intention is to really identify truly what is that total cost of the courthouse and make that available, have opportunities for citizen testimony to ask questions about it and to make sure that we're putting out information on a regular basis about where we're at, and making sure that the citizens know I want to hear from them. And if we're going to put some sort of facility that is in a community, I want to make sure I hear both sides of it, and together, we'll kind of weigh the outcome and figure out the best direction to move forward."