Deborah Kafoury

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

Deborah Kafoury
Chair of the Multnomah County Commission
In office
January 8, 2015 – December 31, 2022
Preceded byMarissa Madrigal
Succeeded byJessica Vega Pederson
Member of the Multnomah County Commission
from the 1st district
In office
January 1, 2009 – October 18, 2013
Preceded byMaria Rojo de Steffey
Succeeded byLiesl Wendt
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
In office
January 1999 – January 2005
Preceded byMargaret Carter
Succeeded byChip Shields
Personal details
Born (1967-08-19) August 19, 1967
Walla Walla, Washington, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
RelativesStephen Kafoury (father)
Gretchen Kafoury (mother)
EducationWhitman College (BA)

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 young-voter mobilization nonprofit X-PAC[5] and served three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives, from 1999 to 2005, including a leadership role in the Democratic Party caucus.[6]

She is the daughter of Stephen Kafoury and the late Gretchen Kafoury. She is also the first cousin of Trevor Kafoury, formerly the VP of commercial real estate brokerage CBRE in Portland, Oregon.[7]

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.[8][9]

In October 2013, she resigned to run for chair, as required by the county charter.[10] After receiving endorsements from several local newspapers, she was elected Multnomah County Chair on May 20, 2014.[11] She took office June 5, 2014, and left it on December 31, 2022.

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, allegedly 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.[12] Under Kafoury's tenure the Joint Office of Homeless Services used at least $2 million taxpayer dollars to purchase 22,700 tents and 69,514 tarps for the houseless.[13]

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.[14][15]

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.[16]

References
  1. "Project Vote Smart - The Voter's Self Defense System". Project Vote Smart. Archived from the original on 2014-05-18. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
  2. "Multnomah County Chair's race: Deborah Kafoury wins both races (election results)". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  3. Cisneros, Sergio (October 22, 2013). "Kafoury Files To Run For Multnomah County Chair". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  4. House, Kelly (October 22, 2013). "Multnomah County Chair race: Deborah Kafoury files candidacy paperwork". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  5. "Will family ties hinder or help Kafoury?". Portland Tribune. April 17, 2014. Archived from the original on August 7, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  6. Law, Steve (September 12, 2013). "Kafoury leans in to county chair race". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  7. "Archived copy". www.bizjournals.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-18. Retrieved 2023-02-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. Tims, Dana (May 8, 2014). "Did Deborah Kafoury's leadership take the Sellwood Bridge from a languishing project to one now under construction?". PolitiFact. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  9. Hernandez, Tony (December 19, 2014). "New courthouse: Multnomah County officials choose top site and a backup". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  10. House, Kelly (October 15, 2013). "Multnomah County Chair race: Deborah Kafoury to resign from Multnomah County Board of Commissioners". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  11. House, Kelly (May 21, 2014). "Multnomah County Chair's race: Deborah Kafoury wins both races (election results)". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  12. Templeton, Amelia (June 22, 2016). "Portland, Multnomah County Create Joint Office For Homeless Services". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  13. "Documents show Multnomah County used taxpayer dollars to purchase 22,700 tents for homeless people". kgw.com. December 7, 2022. Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  14. Campuzano, Eder (December 21, 2017). "Multnomah County chair calls Loretta Smith expletive after meeting". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  15. VanderHart, Dirk (December 21, 2017). "County Commissioner Loretta Smith Says Chair Deborah Kafoury Called Her a "Bitch" in a Public Meeting". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  16. "Fight to hike Oregon's tobacco tax resurfaces". Salem Reporter. February 5, 2019. Archived from the original on February 6, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
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