A yet-to-be-released survey taken by Multnomah County District Attorney’s office employees late last year shows job satisfaction in the office has rebounded to levels similar to — or exceeding — the years prior to the pandemic.
The results, set to be released this summer but shared with OPB days before an election that will determine the next district attorney, largely contradict similar surveys released by the district attorney’s office that showed an unhappy workforce.
Those surveys have been used as campaign fodder against Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, who is seeking reelection against a colleague, Senior Deputy District Attorney Nathan Vasquez. The job is nonpartisan, but the tone of the race has become personal and highly political, and Schmidt’s management of the office has been one of the sharpest points of criticism from Vasquez’s supporters. Many of the responses to this new county survey of staff suggest things are not as bad in the office as they’ve been portrayed.
Respondents to the county survey overwhelmingly agreed that the office was taking meaningful steps to address workforce equity, that their accomplishments get acknowledged, that they have opportunities to advance their careers and that they feel valued.
Most also agreed the job had grown more stressful.
“Caseloads are increasing,” one respondent stated. “The intensity of caseloads is increasing. The community needs are increasing.”
The results are part of a larger countywide survey conducted of staff every two years, since at least 2015 to “better understand employees’ perceptions of their work and track that perception over time,” according to a copy of the results obtained by OPB from a county employee who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to share the document.
Candidates running for the Multnomah County District Attorney in May 2024: incumbent Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, left, and Senior deputy Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff, Conrad Wilson / OPB
Next week, voters in Multnomah County will decide whether to keep or replace the prosecutor atop the agency.
Schmidt won the seat overwhelmingly four years ago, running as a reform prosecutor who would bring a fresh perspective by examining the collateral consequences of the criminal justice system, especially on poorer residents and for people of color who have traditionally been overrepresented in prisons and jails. While many of his supporters give Schmidt credit for at least starting many of the initiatives he promised, Schmidt also faced the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic.
Some women in the office have called Schmidt sexist, saying more opportunities have been given to men. Schmidt has objected to those claims last year and countered with data showing he’d promoted an equal number of men and women.
Related: State labor investigation finds evidence of discrimination at Multnomah County DA’s office
Vasquez has criticized Schmidt’s management. As part of his pitch to voters, he suggested that he would be tougher on crime and pointed to his track-record as a longtime prosecutor.
The responses DA office employees gave to the county in this survey largely stand in contrast with two the district attorney’s office conducted: One in January 2023 and a shorter follow-up “pulse survey” in November 2023. Those reports found that women and people of color, in particular, were not satisfied with the direction of the district attorney’s office, though most employees responded they were satisfied with their current job.
The newer countywide survey results shared with OPB did not include a breakdown of the data by race. Across the four categories — job satisfaction, supervision and communication, belonging and work climate — men gave higher marks compared to women.
The survey is based on a four-point scale, with one being strongly disagree and four being strongly agree.
Related: Multnomah County district attorney race: A progressive prosecutor vs. a challenger colleague
This latest survey from the county was conducted during October and November 2023. There were 152 staff who took it, representing 59% of the district attorney’s office. By comparison, 39% of the sheriff’s office employees and 72% of library workers took the survey. Countywide, 63% of employees completed it.
“The survey results are being released to employees this summer,” county spokesperson Julie Sullivan-Springhetti told OPB in a statement. “Please note you received confidential presentation slides delivered to department leaders that were not intended to be distributed to anyone outside of departmental leadership for planning purposes.”
"In the survey conducted in October-November 2023, employees were provided a series of statements about job satisfaction, supervision and communication, belonging and work climate, which they then rated on a 4-point scale (1-strongly disagree, 2-disagree, 3-agree, 4-strongly agree)," a county spokesperson told OPB.
Screenshot of Multnomah County presentation
Acknowledgement of good work and equity…
People in the district attorney’s office gave higher marks in a number of areas compared to when they last took the countywide survey in 2021. Many of responses in this most recent survey are similar or exceed metrics that staff reported under former Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill, who retired in 2020.
“Overall, we saw either questions staying similar over time or statistically significant increases,” according to a presentation of the county’s latest findings prepared by the Evaluation and Research Unit, part of the Department of County Management.
For example, the percentage of district attorney office employees who agreed they had opportunities to advance their career increased from 41% in 2019, to 45% in 2021, to 67% last year, the county’s survey found.
Some 78% of respondents agreed that good work is acknowledged consistently across their team, up from 51% who agreed with that statement in 2021.
The percentage of respondents who agreed they feel valued increased from 51% in 2021 to 75% last year.
“The people who work for the County are some of the most dedicated, big-hearted individuals I’ve had the pleasure of working with,” a survey respondent wrote.
“I value and am proud of the work I do,” another district attorney’s office employee wrote. “I believe it is important work.”
The county’s survey also found a greater percentage of employees who agreed more was being done to improve equity. For example, 83% of respondents agreed the department was taking concrete actions towards workforce equity. That increased from 60% in 2021.
The county survey’s highest “strongly disagree” responses came to a question about “seeing the department prioritize equity,” with 22% of respondents disagreeing.
“It is our duty to serve that community, and we are not effectively doing that if a significant percentage of the office doesn’t know how to respectfully interact with a trans person, a person of color, a person with a disability, etc,” one respondent wrote.
“From my perspective, our workforce is finding more things that divide us than things that unite us. I believe much of this comes from our recent workforce equity strategies,” another respondent said. “We are moving away from encouraging open, respectful, and healing conversations with each other whenever there’s an interpersonal issue.”
…but challenges remain
People in the district attorney’s office also noted challenges.
For example, 75% said their job is more stressful than it used to be, compared to 67% countywide.
“More focus on the concrete needs and staffing levels that are needed for the basics of the work would benefit the county,” a DA office employee wrote,
“As a whole the county is out of touch with the needs of the community,” another commented. “Public Safety, people living on the street and drug use are all handled extremely poorly by the county. This community deserves better.”
“There is very little leadership coming from the elected DA who seems more interested in what voters think of the next lawsuit than actually running the office and meeting the needs of victims,” another survey respondent stated.
Other employees expressed frustration about the coordination between the DA’s office and other agencies, both within and outside county government.
“I work in the criminal justice system,” one DA office employee stated. “The lack of coordination between county partners — DA, Sheriff, DCJ, Courts — are exceeded only by the staggering lack of coordination with the City and other ‘partners.’”
“Various departments we interact with feel extremely disorganized, inefficient, and without leadership. When our work is impacted by those poorly run sister departments, it leads to a very bad impression of overall county government.
Ballots must be postmarked or dropped off at an official election dropsite by Tuesday, May 21.
Voters can search for official drop box locations on the Oregon Secretary of State’s website.