Although all eyes are locked on the presidential race, there are some other consequential races flying under the radar. One of those is the Multnomah County District Attorney.
The District Attorney, informally known as a DA, is a term often thrown around in crime shows but many might not know their exact duties. A DA’s job is head prosecutor, they oversee cases and decide when and how to prosecute alleged crimes. A DA also provides support to the victims of crime.
In 2022, Portland saw a record 95 homicides in a year, according to the Oregon Public Broadcast. This is more than three times Portland’s 20 year average before 2019, documented by OPB. Not only that, overdose rates have spiked from 280 unintentional deaths in 2019 to 1049 in 2023 (OPB). This is likely due to the proliferation of fentanyl in the drug supply (OPB). It is also important to note that crime has increased in almost every major US city as well as overdoses.
The incumbent Mike Schmidt was elected to Multnomah County DA in 2020, in a wave of progressive reform spurred by the murder of George Floyd. His election also came around the same time Measure 110 passed, which legalized small quantities of hard drugs, and would use the costs saved by jailing people to pay for rehab. Schmidt supported this measure, saying in a statement, “The passage of Ballot Measure 110 sends a clear message of strong public support that drug use should be treated as a public health matter rather than a criminal justice matter.” However, he later amended his support. “A leader [Schmidt] in the effort to pass HB 4002, which aims to end public drug use,” his campaign site states.
Before Mike Schmidt was a prosecutor he was a teacher in a low-income neighborhood in New Orleans. His campaign website states, “As a teacher, he [Schmidt] observed the school-to-prison pipeline firsthand. His students were victims of crime, witnesses to crime, children of incarcerated parents, and sometimes defendants themselves.” Schmidt then moved to Oregon to attend Lewis and Clark Law School before becoming DA in 2020. Mike Schmidt argues that he has actually accomplished a lot to tackle crime while in office, including building a new homicide unit and creating multiple task forces including one dedicated to retail and auto theft. Mike Schmidts has some high-profile endorsements including from the Portland Teacher Union, as well as former governor Kate Brown.
However, sensing some people might want a change, based on the current glum mood in Portland, where according to a Portland Metro Chamber survey, 69% of respondents say their city is on the wrong track. Many of these individuals found Nathan Vasquez a better option than Schmidt, as Vasquez had the authority of a senior prosecutor. Vasquez was a veteran prosecutor for Multnomah County, working there since 1999. He was still working in Schmidt’s office when he decided to run against him. Nathan Vasquez’s message is overwhelmingly tough on crime, which he tries to portray Schmidt as soft on. Schmidt on the other hand tries to portray Vasquez as a hidden republican. Vasquez responds directly to that on his website, tactically including how he prosecuted an infamous Proud Boy street brawler, Tusitala “Tiny” Toese. Vasquez has many endorsements including from police and firefighters unions.
Voters in the end decided against reelecting Schmidt. Nathan Vasquez took control of the office, winning with 54% of the vote versus Schmidt’s 46%. It might not be surprising that a centrist won the election even in a liberal place like Portland. There has been a pattern of backlash against progressive prosecutors, including a successful recall of the DA of San Francisco, Chesa Boudin.
Although not the most dramatic or partisan race, no matter what the candidates tried to make it into, the race for DA was still a very consequential one. In the future it will be interesting to see if Vasquez’s new approach is actually effective in reducing crime in Portland.
