Editor’s note: Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Stay informed with OPB on the presidential race, key congressional battles and other local contests and ballot measures in Oregon and Southwest Washington at opb.org/elections.
Multnomah County has two key races on the ballot that will determine new faces on the Board of Commissioners. Both races are runoff elections because candidates did not achieve more than 50 percent of the vote in May.
OPB asked candidates for these races the same questions. Candidates were instructed to limit responses to 150 words. Anything beyond that word count was eliminated, even mid-sentence. Responses are otherwise untouched and presented as received.
To start, please give us your name and basic biographical details, including your current position or job, any elected offices you have held and any key facts you would like voters to know about you.
As a senior policy advisor for Medicare, administrative law judge for Social Security, past elected vice president of a federal union, and community volunteer, Vadim Mozyrsky has spent his life fighting for people who feel ignored by our government leaders and institutions. Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, his family fled persecution in the Soviet Union, arriving as refugees in the USA in 1979. Today, he is a volunteer board member for the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), which helps refugees in Oregon, including those fleeing the war in Ukraine.
Vadim Mozyrksy is a candidate for Multnomah County board of commissioners in 2024.
Courtesy of
Vadim is president of the Goose Hollow neighborhood association, where he lives with his wife and daughter, and president of the District 4 Coalition of neighborhoods, where he has learned much about the daily challenges facing our families. He has been appointed to numerous Portland committees and commissions, working to bridge divides on issues like disability rights and community policing.
What makes you the best candidate to serve on the county commission during this time?
For years our County government has lurched from crisis to crisis. I’m the only candidate with real-world experience working with residents and local government to get the job done. As your next County Commissioner, I pledge to stop the chaos of crises and bring a period of pragmatic calm to local politics by running a more efficient and honest government.
When ambulance wait times hit critical levels, I was the only candidate testifying alongside Portland and Gresham fire chiefs to implement practical solutions. When the County Chair held secret meetings for a drug deflection center next to a Buckman preschool, I was the only candidate joining neighbors and parents urging transparency. When people wonder how billions of their tax dollars haven’t made more impact on homelessness, I was the only candidate requesting an audit in a letter joined by dozens of community leaders. I will continue fighting for your needs.
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Portland and Multnomah County have a sometimes challenging relationship. Why is that and what would you do as a commissioner to foster a better working relationship?
The current and past County Chairs have wielded unchecked policy and budgetary control, yet failed to address our crises in part because of ideological differences and lack of coordination with City leaders. Example: the City spends tens of millions yearly on Safe Rest Villages and TASS sites because the County failed to address the immediate transitional needs of homeless individuals, instead opting to wait for the promise of permanent housing to be built years down the road.
I have the experience to unite the interests of the County and City, as shown by the support my campaign has received from many of the leading mayoral and city council candidates, as well as current, past, and future Multnomah County Commissioners. I have a proven record of working with these individuals on matters important to the community, and they trust that we will build upon that spirit of cooperation when I’m elected.
Do you favor allowing supportive housing services dollars to be spent on building more affordable housing? Why or why not?
In theory yes, but not under current circumstances. We voted to raise taxes to solve homelessness. We now have the resources and tools at our disposal to get people off the streets and into services. However, while some may be ready for permanent housing, many more first need months of ongoing stability for drug addiction and mental health services. We sorely lack transitional and residential housing, so that when people get initial detox or mental health services, they don’t return to the streets. Our County and State need to invest in these stopgap measures.
Also, we need to rein in the costs of our very expensive low-cost housing. The Joyce Hotel was converted to low-cost housing at $1,198 per square foot. The nearby Fairfield apartments were converted at $1300 per square foot. The new Ritz Carlton hotel was about $650 per square foot. The math doesn’t add up.
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Public statements in recent weeks from the Joint Office indicate it believes it has turned a corner in successfully spending supportive housing services dollars in an efficacious manner. Do you agree or disagree?
JOHS is successful in spending the money faster, but not better. Since 2017, the budget for the JOHS has increased from $45 million to almost $400 million. At the same time homelessness has increased by 50%. More troubling, deaths in the homeless community have increased from by 400%, overdoses by 500%, and homicides by a staggering 650%. We need to not only spend the fund timely, but we need to restore the trust of Multnomah County residents by reversing the humanitarian tragedy we see on our streets. We need the County Commission to ensure that service providers are coordinating together, rather than working in silos – a key part of Houston’s success in addressing homelessness, but not something we’re doing here. And we need to have an external audit of the JOHS so that Multnomah residents can be sure their money is being spent on programs that work.
Beyond housing and homelessness, what do you see as the biggest challenges facing the county and what specific policies do you suggest to address it?
People often tell me that the crime rate is too high. We need to have better coordination between City and County to ensure that drug dealers and other predators stop the cycle of victimization. We’ve read about the drug dealer arrested with 52 pounds of fentanyl who walked free hours later because of flawed detention policies. As a lawyer and judge, I’ll make sure our policies work to protect people. That’s why I’m endorsed by District Attorney-elect Nathan Vasquez and first responders.
Second, I hear often that our County has become unaffordable, especially for people living on fixed incomes. I proposed several measures to lower the property tax bill for retired and disabled individuals, as well as indexing for inflation the preschool for all and supportive housing services tax. In a time of rising inflation, no one should be forced to leave Multnomah County because they can’t make ends meet.
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How do you envision working in your role with the newly expanded city council, if at all?
It’s important to meet regularly with the new mayor, council president, city councilors, and the city manager. Decisions shouldn’t be made in a vacuum. My staff would also be directed to have weekly discussions with city staff on new and ongoing issues. For our county and city to succeed, we need to work together. I’m already laying the groundwork for that by reaching out to leading city council and mayoral candidates, many of whom are now supporting my campaign. I’ve heard from current officials that both the county and city will face budget challenges in the near future. If we work together, be transparent, involve the public, nonprofit and business communities, I believe we can streamline resources and save money rather than decrease services. This is not a job you want to learn as you go along, which is why I’m proud of the collaboration that is already occurring.
What’s one thing Multnomah County could learn from Clackamas County?
Clackamas County is more nimble at responding to pressing needs and political challenges. That’s one of the reasons they’ve made greater headway in addressing homelessness, for instance. Multnomah County has more layers of bureaucracy, which seems to result in a slowed response to urgent needs or even crisis. We need to usher in a positive culture change, such as a continuous improvement framework, to help address the stasis.