A group of former Portland Public Schools board colleagues is warning Multnomah County voters that Julia Brim-Edwards’ record in the school district should give them pause as she runs for county chair. The broadside arrives just as the contest to replace Chair Jessica Vega Pederson is settling into a three-way November fight.
In a 700-word letter released Wednesday, seven former colleagues — Scott Bailey, Michelle DePass, Amy Kohnstamm, Eilidh Lowery, Rita Moore, Andrew Scott and Eddie Wang — questioned Brim-Edwards’ ability to lead. The signers said she privately lobbied against board and district positions with public officials and community members, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive. Brim-Edwards did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Letter Raises Questions About School Board Conduct
The letter also accused Brim-Edwards of repeatedly steering the board’s attention and staff resources away from core priorities and toward what the signers described as peripheral issues. They argued that the approach made it harder for the district to maintain organizational focus, protect its budget and pursue long-term improvement plans.
Those criticisms are now being aimed at a candidate seeking to oversee a county government far larger and more complex than a school board. The letter’s timing gives Brim-Edwards’ opponents an opening to question whether her management style would bring discipline to county operations or create more friction inside an already closely watched government.
Brim-Edwards is currently a Multnomah County commissioner representing District 3 and has a long history in Portland education politics. The county’s official biography says she previously served on the Portland Public Schools board, worked in senior leadership at Nike and has pushed county investments including a permanent 24/7 sobering and crisis stabilization center.
Race To Replace Vega Pederson Takes Shape
The criticism lands in a contest that already includes fellow Commissioner Shannon Singleton and former Commissioner Sharon Meieran. OPB reported that Singleton was the first major candidate to enter the race after Vega Pederson said she would not seek another term, while Willamette Week reported Meieran joined the contest in June.
Multnomah County’s candidate filings list Brim-Edwards and Singleton among the chair candidates for the November 2026 election. With ranked-choice voting replacing the old primary structure, the campaign is likely to turn heavily on second-choice support, making each candidate’s record — including old battles from the Portland school board — potentially useful ammunition.
For Brim-Edwards, the letter is an unwelcome reminder that her political résumé cuts both ways. The same school-board experience she can present as preparation for county leadership is now being recast by former colleagues as evidence that voters should scrutinize how she handles disagreement, priorities and institutional power.
