Shows
Think Out LoudProposed cuts to programs and staff in Multnomah County budget planMultnomah County chair Jessica Vega Pederson released a proposed $4 billion budget plan this week. The budget includes cuts to several programs and over 100 staff to address a $77 million shortfall. Earlier this year the county asked local and state jurisdictions to help fill a shortfall of over $100 million in the county’s homeless services budget. Chair Vega Pederson joins us to explain her budget proposal.2025-04-2515 min
Rational in PortlandLaura Curry: Portland stadium neighborhood in crisisLaura Curry describes herself as an itinerant artist and consultant. Laura has lived in various large cities throughout the world. She purchased a condominium in the Stadium neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, years ago when she was searching the United States for a pied-à-terre. She identifies as queer and has a daughter who is a person of color. Laura talks about the addiction and mental illness crises she regularly witnesses in her neighborhood and what she and her neighbors are trying to do about it. She also talks about why she believes that Multnomah County, where Portland is situated, i...2025-01-151h 16
Rational in PortlandKaren Chirre: Portland stadium neighborhood in crisisKaren Chirre owns the Stadium Superette convenience store with her husband in the Stadiumhood neighborhood off of West Burnside in Portland. Karen says that her husband is a first generation immigrant who lived in his car in order to save money to realize his dream of owning a convenience store. According to Karen, over 500 people have committed crimes against the Superette in the past four years. Karen says that she may have to be killed before Portland’s public safety problems get better.https://stadiumhood.orghttps://katu.com/news/local/fentanyl-hotspot-near-providence-park-has-neighbors-calling-for-larger-police-presencehttps://katu.com/news/local/multnomah-county-chair-does-walk-through-with-neighbors-outside-providence-park-jessica-vega-pederson-portland-city-councilhttps://coachmaxsteele.substack.co...2025-01-131h 20Think Out LoudMultnomah County Chair is ready to work with new city leadership in partnership to fight homelessnessOn Wednesday, three Portland Commissioners - Mingus Mapps, Rene Gonzalez and Dan Ryan - decided to pull an ordinance they had filed to end the city’s 8-year partnership with Multnomah County to fight homelessness. The decision was made as Portland is poised to elect Keith Wilson, the owner of a trucking company as its next mayor, who opposes the city leaving the Joint Office of Homeless Services. The newly elected 12-person city council, along with the new mayor, will get to decide the fate of the intergovernmental agreement with the county in just two months.
In a...2024-11-0812 min
Local VoicesMultnomah County Deflection CenterMultnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson explains their plans for a deflection center. Aaron Corvin, Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, explains new rules for farmer worker housing. Oregon Student Loan Ombuds Lane Thompson offers help for people with large amounts of student debt.2024-08-2529 minThink Out LoudMultnomah County passes plan to improve ambulance response timesThe Multnomah County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted Thursday to approve a temporary staffing plan that aims to improve ambulance response times in the county. The decision comes after months of disagreement between the county and its sole ambulance services provider, American Medical Response.
The company hasn’t met its contractual requirement to respond to 90% of life-threatening calls within eight minutes since 2022. AMR has long blamed the delays on the county’s requirement that each ambulance be staffed with two paramedics. The new agreement will allow some ambulances to be staffed by one paramedic and one EMT thro...2024-08-1618 min
News For Reasonable People#2,377 - Multnomah County to continue handing out thousands of tents & tarps while city enforces camping banMultnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said the county will continue to hand out tents and tarps to houseless people in need, even as the city plans to enforce a camping ban.
The announcement comes as the city begins enforcement of its camping ban on Monday.
On Wednesday, Mayor Ted Wheeler criticized the county's tents and tarps policy.
“It doesn’t make any sense that with 6,000 homeless people on our streets that we would hand out more than 6,000 tents and nearly five times that many...2024-07-0713 minThink Out LoudWhat’s changed in Portland after a 90-day ‘fentanyl emergency’ declarationEarlier this year, Gov. Tina Kotek, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler declared a 90-day state of emergency to address what has become widely seen as a fentanyl crisis in downtown Portland. The idea was to bring more coordination and resources to bear on the crisis that is claiming lives through fatal drug overdoses and draining the resources of law enforcement, first responders, public health and medical professionals. The 90-day period ended April 29, and the official report on the progress that was made was released today. We talk with Multnomah County Health Officer Dr...2024-05-0312 min
City Cast PortlandSam Adams’ Political Comeback, PPS’s Giant Land Deal, and Plans To Fix Emergency ServicesToday on City Cast Portland, we’re talking about Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson’s stern warning to our underperforming ambulance service provider, Portland Public Schools’ agreement to sell its headquarters to the Albina Vision Trust, and former mayor Sam Adams’ attempt to make yet another political comeback. Joining host Claudia Meza on this week’s Friday news roundup are KBOO news director and host of the weekly talk show “The Gap,” Althea Billings, and our very own executive producer, John Notarianni.Stories Discussed on Today’s Episode:
Multnomah County Chair Shares Plan To Address Ambulance Service...2024-02-2335 min
OPB AudioMultnomah County chair continues to blame AMR for slow ambulancesMultnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson is responding to mounting public pressure for the county to reconsider its ambulance staffing requirements and address slow response times countywide.2024-02-2205 min
Leaders Build LeadersEpisode 1: The Power of Partnerships with Chair Vega PedersonJoin Multnomah Education Service District Superintendent Dr. Paul E. Coakley as he speaks with Multnomah Chair Jessica Vega Pederson about making change in government and the power of partnerships.2023-08-2225 min
KGW’s Straight TalkHow new leaders plan to tackle Oregon's biggest needsMultnomah County's new chair, Jessica Vega Pederson and Oregon's new behavioral health director Ebony Clarke join KGW to talk about their plans for the homelessness and mental health care crises.
2023-02-0324 min
LWVPDX PodcastsCandidate Interview: Jessica Vega Pederson, candidate for Multnomah County ChairThis is a podcast of an interview with Jessica Vega Pederson, who is running for the position of Chair of the Multnomah County Commission.2022-10-0609 min
The Early Link PodcastAn Update on Preschool for All Multnomah County with Leslee BarnesLeslee Barnes, director of the Preschool and Early Learning Division at Multnomah County, joins the podcast to provide an update about the implementation of Preschool for All.
Barnes is a fourth-generation Oregonian who grew up in Northeast Portland. She is a leading figure, working alongside commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson, in the development of Preschool for All which was approved by voters in November 2020.2022-06-0428 min
City Club of PortlandMultnomah County Chair DebateA Multnomah County Chair debate between Sharia Mayfield, Sharon Meieran, Lori Stegmann, and Jessica Vega-Pederson. Moderated by Chabre Vickers. 2022-04-2900 minLWVPDX PodcastsCandidate Forum-Multnomah County Commission Chair: Lori Stegmann, Jessica Vega Pederson, Sharia Mayfield, Sharon MeieranThis is a recording of a candidate forum with four of the candidates running for the office of Chair, Board of County Commissioners in the May 2022 Primary Election. The participating candidates are Lori Stegmann, Jessica Vega Pederson, Sharia Mayfield, and Sharon Meieran. All the candidates running for this position were offered the opportunity to take part in this forum by demonstrating that their campaigns are viable, with significant voter interest and support. 2022-04-2856 minLWVPDX PodcastsInterview with Multnomah County Chair Candidate, Jessica Vega PedersonThis is a recording of an interview with Jessica Vega Pederson, who is running for Chair of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. She is one of six candidates running for this position. We invited all of them to be interviewed; we recorded interviews with four other candidates for this position. All the candidates were asked the same questions. We included as many of the questions as time allowed in each interview. This interview is also available as a video recording. A list of all the video and podcast interviews is available on the League of Women Voters of...2022-04-2509 min
News Updates from The OregonianAugust marked third deadliest month of the pandemic in OregonLong COVID could be permanent, researchers warn. West Linn man pleads guilty to real estate fraud scheme that cost people ‘millions.’ Jessica Vega Pederson is running for Multnomah County chair. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices2021-09-0304 min
Speaking FreelyCommissioner Vega Pederson: Billions to Spend, Stopping the ShootingsMultnomah County passed what its leaders call a once in a generation budget this week. It includes a record $2.81 billion dollars. District 3 County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson says she hopes some of that money, millions of dollars of it, will help stop gun violence in the coming summer months, the traditional time when shootings spike. She remembers witnessing a shooting herself, in her own Portland neighborhood last summer. Another big source of the money is the new, voter approved preschool for all program, which she says expects to welcome its first class of about 1,000 children in the fall...2021-06-0428 min
Voting Now: Turning Rights into RealityWhat is the Latinx vote?Is there even such a thing as the Latinx vote? It’s not the monolith some may think. So says Jessica Vega Pederson, Commissioner for Multnomah County, Oregon and the state’s first Latina House Representative. In this episode, Jessica touches on why Latinx voters should be appreciated for their diversity, the importance of Latinx representation at the local and national level, how to dismantle barriers that prevent women and people of color from flourishing, and much more.2020-12-2830 min
The Local Dr. Art Simons & Dr. Beth Lee; An update from Comissioner Jessica Vega Peterson Today on The Local:Your Quick 6 news headlines. Mike Selig from partner station KXRW has a focus on COVID from Dr. Art Simons and Dr. Beth Lee.And, Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson joins with an update on Preschool for All in Multnomah County.2020-08-1027 min
The Local City Budget Plans; Gov. Brown Presses Pause Today, on The Local:Your Quick 6 news headlines,A look at the Democratic Party of Oregon with Chair KC Hansen. Reflections from the Primary and where Oregon is showing up nationally as the party prepares for November.And an interview with Multnomah County Commissioner, Jessica Vega Pederson about re-opening the County, and about Early Childhood Education.2020-06-1232 min
The Portland Conversations (Video)Jessica Vega Pederson - May 7, 2020 Portland Conversations
Jessica Vega Pederson - May 7, 2020 Portland Conversations
Jason Allen interviews Jessica Vega Pederson who is the incumbent Multnomah County Commissioner, District #3 in 2020.
"Our region has grown, and with that growth has come prosperity and inequity. We’re working together to build the 21st century community we need with housing for all, a commitment to addressing the climate crisis, and by ensuring every child has the chance to succeed as early as possible. Together, we can build the modern, equitable, and sustainable community we deserve!
I am a mother, a business professional, a progressive Dem...2020-05-0800 minThe Portland Conversations (Audio)Jessica Vega Pederson - May 7, 2020 Portland Conversations
Jessica Vega Pederson - May 7, 2020 Portland Conversations
Jason Allen interviews Jessica Vega Pederson who is the incumbent Multnomah County Commissioner, District #3 in 2020.
"Our region has grown, and with that growth has come prosperity and inequity. We’re working together to build the 21st century community we need with housing for all, a commitment to addressing the climate crisis, and by ensuring every child has the chance to succeed as early as possible. Together, we can build the modern, equitable, and sustainable community we deserve!
I am a mother, a business professional, a progressive Democrat, a proud res...2020-05-0800 min
The Local Staying Together While Apart: Jessica Vega Pederson On today's The Local: Emily Gilliland interviews Jessica Vega Pederson, sharing Multnomah County’s pandemic response, unpacking Portland's state of emergency, and the importance of staying connected while we're apart.Show Notes:
Oregon Recovers -- The statewide network works with folks living in addiction. More information can be found on https://oregonrecoverynetwork.org/.
Whether it’s donating a box of diapers or creating a care package for a foster family, My NeighbOR is helping folks connect while apart. More info at www.everychildoregon.org/myneighbor.
And if you have a story or want to help create the Local, reach out to u...2020-03-2531 min
Pothole Problem Podcast#014—Celebrate the VictoriesThis week's guest is Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson (D-District 3). She discusses the concerns that got her to enter politics in the first place and the ones that continue to keep her energized, how she's learned to deal with the frustrations of the political process, and how she manages to achieve a life-work balance that's key to sustaining a career in public life. This episode features "Come to Your Rescue," an original song by Steve Greenwood.2020-01-2031 min
Something (rather than nothing)Episode 19 - Ana del RocioFirst episode of the ‘Something (rather than nothing) podcast’ 2020 was such a joy to record with Ana del Rocio. Keep your ears and ojos open for this great conversation. We spoke about mothering, epistemology, philosophy, women of color, politics, writing, music and so much more.ANA DEL ROCÍO (she/her/hers), is the Executive Director of Oregon Futures Lab. del Rocío is a first-generation Chicana/Peruana based in Portland, Oregon.She is a mother of two young boys and the past policy director and chief of staff to Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson. Ana was elected to Direct...2020-01-1438 min
Something (rather than nothing)Ana del RocioFirst episode of the ‘Something (rather than nothing) podcast’ 2020 was such a joy to record with Ana del Rocio. Keep your ears and ojos open for this great conversation. We spoke about mothering, epistemology, philosophy, women of color, politics, writing, music and so much more.ANA DEL ROCÍO (she/her/hers), is the Executive Director of Oregon Futures Lab. del Rocío is a first-generation Chicana/Peruana based in Portland, Oregon.She is a mother of two young boys and the past policy director and chief of staff to Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Peders...2020-01-1438 minThe Early Link PodcastMultnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson Discusses Preschool For AllHost of The Early Link Podcast, Rafael Otto, talks with Multnomah County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson about her recently released Preschool For All report that explores how to provide preschool for all families in the county.2019-08-2622 min