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 Board of Commissioners | |
| In office January 8, 2015 – December 31, 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Marissa Madrigal |
| Succeeded by | Jessica Vega Pederson |
| Member of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners from the 1st district | |
| In office January 1, 2009 – October 18, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Maria Rojo de Steffey |
| Succeeded by | Liesl Wendt |
| Member of the Oregon House of Representatives | |
| In office January 1999 – January 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Margaret Carter |
| Succeeded by | Chip Shields |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 19, 1967 Walla Walla, Washington, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Relatives | Stephen Kafoury (father) Gretchen Kafoury (mother) |
| Education | Whitman College (BA) |
Born in Walla Walla, Washington, Kafoury received her bachelor's degree from Whitman College.[1] She was 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] and pushed for the passage of Metro's 10-year, $2.4 billion homeless services measure.[5]
Kafoury was a founder of the young-voter mobilization nonprofit X-PAC[6] and served three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives, from 1999 to 2005, including a leadership role in the Democratic Party caucus.[7]
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.[8]
Multnomah County edit
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.[9][10]
In October 2013, she resigned to run for chair, as required by the county charter.[11] After receiving endorsements from several local newspapers, she was elected Multnomah County Chair on May 20, 2014.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14]
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.[15][16]
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.[17]
References edit
- ^ "Project Vote Smart - The Voter's Self Defense System". Project Vote Smart. from the original on 2014-05-18. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
- ^ "Multnomah County Chair's race: Deborah Kafoury wins both races (election results)". The Oregonian. from the original on 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
- ^ a b Cisneros, Sergio (October 22, 2013). . Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
- ^ House, Kelly (October 22, 2013). "Multnomah County Chair race: Deborah Kafoury files candidacy paperwork". The Oregonian. from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
- ^ "Deborah Kafoury's tenure as Multnomah County chair defined by success, shortfalls at taming homelessness". The Oregonian. January 3, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
- ^ "Will family ties hinder or help Kafoury?". Portland Tribune. April 17, 2014. from the original on August 7, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ Law, Steve (September 12, 2013). "Kafoury leans in to county chair race". Portland Tribune. from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
- ^ "Archived copy". www.bizjournals.com. from the original on 2015-04-18. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Tims, Dana (May 8, 2014). "Did Deborah Kafoury's leadership take the Sellwood Bridge from a languishing project to one now under construction?". PolitiFact. from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ Hernandez, Tony (December 19, 2014). "New courthouse: Multnomah County officials choose top site and a backup". The Oregonian. from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ House, Kelly (October 15, 2013). "Multnomah County Chair race: Deborah Kafoury to resign from Multnomah County Board of Commissioners". The Oregonian. from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ House, Kelly (May 21, 2014). "Multnomah County Chair's race: Deborah Kafoury wins both races (election results)". The Oregonian. from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ Templeton, Amelia (June 22, 2016). . Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- ^ "Documents show Multnomah County used taxpayer dollars to purchase 22,700 tents for homeless people". kgw.com. December 7, 2022. from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
- ^ Campuzano, Eder (December 21, 2017). "Multnomah County chair calls Loretta Smith expletive after meeting". The Oregonian. from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- ^ VanderHart, Dirk (December 21, 2017). "County Commissioner Loretta Smith Says Chair Deborah Kafoury Called Her a "Bitch" in a Public Meeting". Portland Mercury. from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- ^ "Fight to hike Oregon's tobacco tax resurfaces". Salem Reporter. February 5, 2019. from the original on February 6, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
External links edit
- Official office Web page