After a long career as a corporate lobbyist and Republican political operative, Julia Brim-Edwards is running to chair the Multnomah County Commission. She is using her personal wealth and donations from some of Oregon's richest residents to become Multnomah County chair, the public safety net that 815,000 county residents rely on.

She can’t be trusted to lead this important institution. Here’s why:

Out of touch with our experiences 

She will be responsible for addressing our housing and homelessness crisis, yet owns five houses, when most of us can’t even afford to own one. Multnomah County faces a housing crisis, without enough affordable homes for the people who live here. If Brim-Edwards becomes chair, she would be responsible for addressing our housing crisis, yet she owns five houses. While she amassed homes and properties, families across the County struggle to find affordable places to live.

She pushed to cut voter-approved Preschool for All, a lifesaving program for working parents. In August 2025, Brim-Edwards introduced a proposal, at the behest of wealthy business lobbyists, to cut or pause the transformative Preschool for All. The program, supported by 64% of county voters, provides free preschool to families and saves upwards of $24,000 annually. After parents, preschool small businesses, and taxpayers vehemently protested against her proposal, Brim-Edwards withdrew it. Watch the session here.

She contributed over $144,000 to her campaigns. Brim-Edwards’ campaigns have been propped up by her own personal wealth. She has contributed more than $144,000 in cash and in-kind support to her County campaigns to gain influence and power. FAQs and references can be found here.

Beholden to corporate interests, Republican values

Brim-Edwards is the top choice of corporate leaders, but her website doesn't mention itUnited for Portland is funded by major contributions from the Portland Metro Chamber, corporate and business executives, among others. While they endorsed her campaign, you won’t see this endorsement on her campaign website. She has taken in thousands of dollars in donations from these corporate executives.

She defended disgraced Senator Bob Packwood, who was forced to resign after nearly two dozen women accused him of sexual harassment Brim-Edwards spent close to nine years working for the Republican senator, including her last three years as his Communications Director. After several women came forward, Brim-Edwards defended him and was part of an inside team tasked with digging up dirt on his accusers in an effort to discredit them. In all, more than 20 women came forward accusing him of sexual harassment, and Packwood was forced to resign in disgrace. Download a story from the Los Angeles Times.

A Republican until 2008, she donated to conservative anti-gay Republicans like George W. Bush, Greg Walden, Gordon Smith, and moreBush is known for leading this country into war in Iraq and Afghanistan and for getting re-elected with one of the most anti-LGBTQ campaigns in our nation’s history. Brim-Edwards stayed a Republican until her mid-forties.

She ran Venture Capitalist and Republican Craig Berkman’s campaign for Governor, who was convicted of securities fraud After leaving Packwood’s office, she served as Craig Berkman’s interim campaign manager as he ran for the Republican nomination for Governor. Berkman faced his own ethics scandal in 2013, when he was sentenced to six years in prison for securities fraud.

Twice worked for Republican Bev ClarnoShe worked for Republican Bev Clarno in two different administrations. After Berkman’s campaign, she served as communications director for Clarno, the Republican Speaker of the House. She later took a temporary position when Clarno became the Secretary of State. This role became especially controversial because she failed to disclose it to her PPS board colleagues and PPS staff while Clarno’s office was auditing PPS. Learn more.

She helped defeat a local transportation, bike, and transit measureAs the head of Nike’s Political Action Committee (PAC), Brim-Edwards directed $900,000 in Nike funding to defeat a Metro-sponsored transportation measure in 2020. Nike gave the single-largest donation against the measure, which would have invested millions in local roads, bike lanes, pedestrian investments, and transit, including part of the long-planned MAX line to Southwest Portland. Learn more.

Her conservative politics  

Her right-wing staff member caught working for a conservative PAC political action on County timeBrim-Edwards is the top choice for local conservative political action committees. We learned that her communications manager, Vikki Payne, worked for both Future Portland and Brim-Edwards, and was fired after the story broke. The Portland Mercury reported she was fired shortly after it was reported she was doing PAC time on the job.

This is the same Vikki Payne who was caught on a racist text thread during a Portland City Council meeting.

Her collaboration with conservative District Attorney Nathan Vasquez is a warning sign At the County, Brim-Edwards has collaborated to push for increased spending on Vasquez’s “tough on crime” agenda while the County grappled with deep budget cuts to housing, health care, and homeless services. Amid more than $70 million in cuts to homeless services, Brim-Edwards focused on expanding the DA's budget, even though crime has fallen every year since the Biden Administration. She even offered dire warnings in TV interviews. The county’s purpose is to provide a social safety net for our neighbors who are living at the margins, not to enrich the DA’s office.

She maintains close ties to conservatives and monied interests across the regionShe may have changed her party registration, but she keeps warm relationships with our region’s conservative leaders, including leaders of the Portland Metro Chamber, which is expected to spend big on her behalf to be the County Chair. She is supported by the Republican firm behind the deceptive campaign People for Portland, Dan Lavey and Gregory Peden, as well as Lynne Saxton, the Goodman family leadership (Greg, Mark, Matthew, and Stephen), and Jordan Schnitzer.

A record of deception

She was in the backroom Moda Center dealPublic records show Brim-Edwards was part of the backroom deal with the Blazers to find $900 million in taxpayer money to renovate the arena. Months later, as taxpayers began to revolt over the sweetheart deal for billionaire Tom Dundon, Brim-Edwards switched sides and began pushing back. She eventually joined three other Commissioners who voted yes on the County providing $100 million for the arena deal. 

She privately lobbied against PPS positions while she was on the boardPortland Public School board members learned on multiple occasions that Brim-Edwards privately lobbied against District positions while she served alongside them. They report that this jeopardized the integrity of District budgets and the effective pursuit of long-term improvement strategies. Read their full letter in the reference section.

She secretly took a temporary position with the Secretary of State while the office audited PPS and she served on the school boardIn 2019, Brim-Edwards took a temporary position in the Secretary of State’s office while that office audited Portland Public Schools. District leadership and her Board colleagues learned of this ethically questionable activity from press reports. Public agencies rely on auditors who are impartial, and specifically not led by members of the very district being audited.  After the news reports surfaced, she resigned from the role.

She tried to cover up the state audit of PPS's achievement gap between white and non-white studentsIn 2019, Oregon’s Secretary of State suggested Brim-Edwards was trying to cover up highly concerning audit findings. Several media outlets covered this story, including OPB and The Statesman-Journal.