County Commissioner Shannon Singleton

Honored to celebrate the grand opening of Darcelle XV Plaza alongside Multnomah County Commissioner Meghan Moyer and State Representative Lamar Wise. This space — named for Portland icon Walter Cole — is a lasting tribute to our LGBTQ2SIA+ community and a reminder that Portland's most vibrant public spaces belong to everyone.

I've been thinking about what Darcelle XV meant to me personally. When I first started running the women's SAFE Shelter, Darcelle and the performers there reached out and raised money to support the women we served — when so many other neighbors weren't welcoming, they opened their arms. They invited us into their community and kept showing up, year after year. When I moved on to JOIN, Darcelle was there too, regularly emceeing our events with that same warmth and commitment. That's who Walter Cole was — someone who showed up for people who needed it.

This plaza has been years in the making — born from deep community engagement and shaped by nearly 1,000 Portlanders who showed up to say what this space should mean. Thanks to Portland Parks & Recreation, the Portland Parks Foundation, PSU's Center for Public Interest Design, and Downtown Portland Clean & Safe for bringing it to life. Walter Cole spent decades building community and fighting for inclusion. This plaza is Portland saying: we see you, we honor you, and we're not done yet.

June holds a lot. It's Pride Month. It's Juneteenth. And in Oregon, those two histories are more intertwined than people often realize.

This Wednesday, Multnomah County will hold another proclamation day—and we want to honor two Portlanders who have spent their lives at the intersection of Juneteenth and the q***r movement: fighting for Black freedom and LGBTQ rights.

Kathleen Saadat has been called "the social conscience of Oregon" — and she has earned it. Since arriving in Portland in 1970, she has served as executive director of Oregon's Commission on Black Affairs, directed affirmative action for the state, helped organize Portland's first gay rights march in 1976, and helped craft the city's civil rights ordinance protecting gay and le***an Oregonians. In 1992, she served on the steering committee to defeat Ballot Measure 9. She has championed women, people of color, and the economically disenfranchised for over five decades. And she does it all with a sublime singing voice.

Rev. Cecil Charles Prescod came to Oregon 36 years ago and never stopped organizing. He cofounded People of Faith Against Bigotry in 1992 to defeat Ballot Measure 9, building a grassroots interfaith coalition of Muslim, Jewish, and Catholic communities. For nearly three decades he hosted "More Talk Radio" on KBOO, using the airwaves to educate and advocate. As minister of faith formation at Ainsworth United Church of Christ, he has helped his congregation show up for the poor, for people of color, and for LGBTQ community members — living out what others call "liberation theology" every single day.

These two didn't just witness Oregon history — they made it. We are honored to celebrate them this week, and remember them always.

Come celebrate with me June 20, as we kick off the 54th Annual Juneteenth Festival! Starting at 11am, the Clara Peoples Freedom Trail Parade will head down Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd ending at Lillis-Albina Park on N. Flint and Russell with live music, food, speakers, and fun for kids! This is a free community event open to all.

Join us for an important, celebratory moment June 20—hope to see you there!

Thank you so much to CareOregon for the opportunity to join you in the Grand Floral Starlight Parade this past Saturday. We appreciate all you do to create equity in community health.

Thank you to Rob for being such a fantastic driver, and for all the love from the parade attendees—summer in Portland can't be beat!

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Reminder: big events coming up in this month! 🖤❤️💚🎉

📋 Proclamation Day — June 17, 12–1 PM | 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd. and I will provide a reception with food and drinks for attendees. RSVP: https://bit.ly/June26Proc

🎉 Juneteenth Oregon Parade & Festival — June 20, celebrating Black history, Black-owned businesses, and community pride

Hope to see you there! 🌟

In the very early hours this morning, the County passed our fiscal year 2027 budget. Thank you to everyone who made this work possible— to the communities who showed up, testified, called, and made their voices heard: I hear you. I came to this process representing the voices of District 2 and communities across Multnomah County who deserve better—and even when those voices don't prevail in a single vote, they are never lost on me.

I'm proud that investments in housing stability, placement out of shelter, sustainability, community safety, and support for our immigrant and refugee neighbors are now part of this county's commitment. I'm disappointed that the workforce investments I spent a year building with unions, trades, and community organizations did not make it into this budget. That work was real. Those workers are real. And that fight is not over.

I will keep fighting for workforce opportunity, for a more equitable justice system and for approaches to homelessness that actually meet people where they are—with every tool I have as a commissioner.

I want to acknowledge the county staff who work through this budget process do extraordinary work under extraordinary pressure. They answer our questions, run our numbers, absorb our changes, and keep this process moving with professionalism and dedication. This budget, whatever its imperfections, exists because of them. Thank you.

Congratulations to everyone for getting to this place together. It's an honor and a privilege to do this work with you.

Today is the final vote on our County budget. I want to highlight a few amendments I will be fighting for as the board makes final decisions: Sustainability Investment.

Installing electric vehicle charging for county fleet vehicles—leveraging federal and state contributions to reduce costs. A pilot project with a required report back to the Board. Smart sustainability investments save money and demonstrate county leadership on climate, and could eventually result in a helpful and necessary electrification of our fleet.

Thank you to Coalition of Communities of Color for your advocacy on our Climate Action Plan, and the good work you do for all people throughout our region.

Watch the final discussion and votes on the county budget today beginning at 1pm at www.multco.us

Today is the final vote on our County budget. I want to highlight a few amendments I will be fighting for as the board makes final decisions: Eviction Prevention.

This creates a new eviction prevention inreach team at Home Forward properties and restores funding for eviction prevention legal services that help families navigate eviction court. Keeping people housed is far less costly and far more humane than responding after they've lost everything.

Stay tuned for more as the board discusses these amendments and work through final votes starting at 1pm this afternoon.

Today is the final vote on our County budget. I want to highlight a few amendments I will be fighting for as the board makes final decisions: Preschool for All.

This amendment funds mental health support at Preschool for All sites and removing permitting barriers slowing preschool expansion across the county, because every child deserves a strong start.

Today we continue to debate changes to our next year's budget—and there is one I want to highlight:

In April I introduced an amendment built on a promise I made when I was elected: to connect the people receiving County services to family-wage careers.

That amendment started long before April. I convened the Workforce Table — four months of conversations with unions, trades, pre-apprenticeship programs, and workforce organizations. I want to thank Commissioner Jones-Dixon for his partnership and leadership throughout that process. His commitment to this work made it stronger.

Together we listened, we learned, and we built a public report with specific, costed recommendations. Today those recommendations are on the board floor.

To everyone who showed up, shared their expertise, and believed this county could do better by its workers — this amendment is yours. I'm proud to carry it forward.