Over a decade ago, Nathan Vasquez did one of the toughest things required by his job at the Multnomah County DA’s office: he called the grieving family of a gun violence victim. The person who answered was the victim’s brother, Vince Jones-Dixon.
Today, both men have been elected to serve Multnomah County.
In this episode, we’ll learn about the unexpected bond between these two officeholders, dating back to 2013 when Vince Jones-Dixon’s brother was shot and killed—a loss that ultimately inspired him to seek public office.
We’ll hear their visions for improving public safety in Multnomah County and their ideas for repairing the often-fraught relationship between the county and the city of Portland. Vasquez will discuss why he believes county and city leaders need to have “hard conversations,” while Jones-Dixon will explain why he thinks both victims and offenders need a voice in criminal justice reform.
They’ll share their endorsements in Portland’s city election and offer reflections on their own primary election races, which in Vasquez’s case got particularly heated.
Last but not least, after recording this episode, Jones-Dixon shared an audio clip of his mother speaking about the loss of his brother. Listen to the powerful clip here.
Stump Talk is produced and edited by Jon Garcia of Lake Productions.
