Deborah Kafoury

Deborah Kafoury (born August 19, 1967) is a politician in the U.S. state of Oregon.

Deborah Kafoury
Multnomah County Commission Chair
Assumed office
2015
Preceded byMarissa Madrigal
ConstituencyMultnomah County
Multnomah County Commissioner, District 1
In office
2009–2013
Preceded byMaria Rojo de Steffey
Succeeded byLiesl Wendt
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 18th, then 43rd district
In office
1999–2005
Preceded byMargaret Carter
Succeeded byChip Shields
Personal details
BornAugust 19, 1967
Walla Walla, Washington
Political partyDemocratic

Born in Walla Walla, Washington, Kafoury received her bachelor's degree from Whitman College.[1] She is the chair of the Multnomah County Commission, where she succeeded Jeff Cogen.[2] She previously held a seat on the commission, which she resigned in October 2013 in order to run for chair in the May 2014 election.[3][4] She noted her work on renovations to the Sellwood Bridge as something she would continue as chair.[3]

Kafoury was a founder of the political action committee X-PAC and served three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives, from 1999 to 2005, including a leadership role in the Democratic Party caucus.[5]

She is the daughter of Stephen Kafoury and the late Gretchen Kafoury.

Multnomah County

In 2008, Kafoury was elected to the Multnomah County Commission. As a commissioner, she worked on efforts to replace the Sellwood Bridge and the Multnomah County Courthouse.[6][7]

In October 2013, she resigned to run for chair, as required by the county charter.[8] After receiving endorsements from several local newspapers, she was elected Multnomah County Chair on May 20, 2014.[9] She took office June 5, 2014.

In response to the region's housing crisis, Kafoury established a Joint Office of Homeless Services in partnership with the City of Portland. The Joint Office consolidated a number of initiatives under one roof, focusing on programs such as short-term rental assistance to vulnerable people, transition out of shelter and into permanent housing, and increased capacity of Portland area shelters.[10]

At the December 21, 2017, Board of Commissioners meeting, she called fellow commissioner Loretta Smith a "bitch" after abruptly ending the meeting when Smith was asking questions.[11][12]

In 2018, she and the Oregon Nurses Association attempted to get a $2 statewide increase on tobacco the state ballot. The petitioners failed to get enough votes to qualify the measure for the ballot.[13]

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References
  1. "Project Vote Smart - The Voter's Self Defense System". Project Vote Smart.
  2. "Multnomah County Chair's race: Deborah Kafoury wins both races (election results)". The Oregonian.
  3. Cisneros, Sergio (October 22, 2013). "Kafoury Files To Run For Multnomah County Chair". Oregon Public Broadcasting.
  4. House, Kelly (October 22, 2013). "Multnomah County Chair race: Deborah Kafoury files candidacy paperwork". The Oregonian.
  5. Law, Steve (September 12, 2013). "Kafoury leans in to county chair race". Portland Tribune.
  6. Tims, Dana (May 8, 2014). "Did Deborah Kafoury's leadership take the Sellwood Bridge from a languishing project to one now under construction?". PolitiFact. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  7. Hernandez, Tony (December 19, 2014). "New courthouse: Multnomah County officials choose top site and a backup". The Oregonian. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  8. House, Kelly (October 15, 2013). "Multnomah County Chair race: Deborah Kafoury to resign from Multnomah County Board of Commissioners". The Oregonian. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  9. House, Kelly (May 21, 2014). "Multnomah County Chair's race: Deborah Kafoury wins both races (election results)". The Oregonian. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  10. Templeton, Amelia (June 22, 2016). "Portland, Multnomah County Create Joint Office For Homeless Services". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  11. Campuzano, Eder (December 21, 2017). "Multnomah County chair calls Loretta Smith expletive after meeting". The Oregonian.
  12. VanderHart, Dirk (December 21, 2017). "County Commissioner Loretta Smith Says Chair Deborah Kafoury Called Her a "Bitch" in a Public Meeting". Portland Mercury.
  13. "Fight to hike Oregon's tobacco tax resurfaces". Salem Reporter. February 5, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
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