Street roots
5
Jan 3, 2014
MADRIGAL, from page 4
politician’ because she’s the politician that
we all want to have,” says Hagins. “She’s
kind of a badass. She’s going to get stuff
done and not take credit for i t ”
“Marissa is a true believer in the mission
of county government, which is about takihg
care of people,” says Mayor Charlie Hales.
“She’s a very good partner. She’s willing to
reconsider the status Quo, and to roll up her
sleeves, with the goal of making things work
better for everybody.”
For example, after the recession hit, the
Oregon Food Bank was strained from
increased demand from hungry people.
Madrigal came up with the idea of using
vacant county land to grow fresh vegetables,
which could then be passed on to the
Oregon Food Bank. The program called,
C.R.O.P.S. (Community Reaps Our Produce
and Shares), is now in its second year.
Multnomah County Commissioner Judy
Shiprack says she has worked with Madrigal
on a range of issues from public safety to
the Sellwood Bridge. Madrigal’s past
experience running political campaigns has
also made her more effective at the county,
she says.
“She understands that the county works
with substantive issues in the bright light of
public opinion, and it requires some savvy,
which she’s got,” says Shiprack.
Madrigal, says Shiprack, was particularly
helpful in hammering out a new policy with
the sheriff to release undocumented
immigrants held for low-level offenses,
preventing federal immigration officials
from deporting them.
“I would not describe her as just a
caretaker,” says Multnomah County
Commissioner Diane McKeel, noting that
Madrigal has been very hands-on as the
bounty begins its budgeting process. ,
“You can’t just care-take that office,” adds
a,
,
.
.
PHO TO B Y KRISTINA W R IG H T
Marissa Madrigal and Multnomah County Commissioner Judy Shiprack at a recent council session.
people who are really struggling,” says
Cogen. “The truth is, for a lot Of people,
they are easy to ignore. Those aren’t voters.
They aren’t people who are going to
contribute to the campaign.” Madrigal, he
says, does not ignore struggling people.
shows, she says. Madrigal also says that, §
county departments operate as “silôs”
concentrated on their mission. However,
many social problems, says Madrigal, don’t
confine themselves to the scope of the
county’s departments, and she has tried to
Jojàter.a.JXtfAre^pl,i^b^or:&tive approach among
"Y on c a n 't ju st care-take th a t office. The functions o f county
governm ent are so broad and com plex th a t It ca n 't be
p a s s iw ly ssianaf e tf."
— JUDY SHIPRACK
M U L W O W H B O U N TY COM M JSSIOHëR
Shiprack. Thé functions of county
government, she says, are so broad and ,
complex that it can’t be passively managed.
Indeed, Madrigal does not treat her job
as a nine-to-five. Austin says that Madrigal
will call her during the weekend to ask
about something she saw in the news.
Cogeh remembers one time Madrigal went
out of her way to connect a homeless
woman she met with housing and other
resources. When a reporter mentions that
he has an elderly neighbor facing eviction,
she offers to connect him withsenior
services and later sends a text message
following up about it,
“In a political office, you deal with policy
a lot, but you also hear sad stories from
Last January, Madrigal got a call from an
old friend who was having trouble with his
landlord. His mother and his cat had died,
and he was struggling with mental illness.
His apartment had a severe mold problem.
His friends helpedget a lawyer and an
inspector, but his landlord retaliated, putting
a fake eviction notice on the door. Worried
about becoming homeless, he killed hiinself.
“His story is a reason why we need to
continue doing everything we’re doing at
the county,” says Madrigal, who notes that
her friend had access to resources many do
not
And the county could be doing more, She
says. For instance, mental health funding
only reaches 30 percent of the need, and it
them. One issue shë’s particularly
concerned with is making sure the the
county communicates with non-English
speakers.
“I think a lot of political people talk
about, let’s end homelessness or fix mental
health, and they talk about those things like
they’re these silver bullets,” says Madrigal.
“And people are just more complicated than
that, and we have to do all of it, and we can’t
just pat ourselves on the back and addmore
shelter beds because that’s not what’s going
to give people a healthy chance at reaching
their potential.”
Madrigal says that she might run for
office when her kids are older, but she’s
reluctant to ever work for a politician again.
Madrigal explains that when you work for a
politician, you lend your réputation to them,
and it’s clear that the scandal has had an
impact on her.
“A lot of people get into politics for ego,
and that is a destructive force,” says
Madrigal.
| It’s been nearly a decade since Madrigal
worked on her first campaign, which taught
her the possibilities of politics. The
circumstances that swept her into the most
powerful position at the county underscored
for her another dimension of that lesson: It
matters who is at the levers of-power.
“For me, what happened with Jeff is a
huge setback in my idea of what was
possible,” she says. “I thought We were on
th e right track, and I’ve had to do & k>t of .,
soul searching to think is it possible to have
good people in politics that will be ethical
and will do the right thing? I think it’s
possible, it’s just not everyone,
unfortunately.”
In May, a new county chair will be
elected, and Madrigal is not running for the
position. When she steps down she will be
taking a job as a manager in the county’s
human resources department, where she
will work on the finer details of the county’s
operations.
“She really smoothed the waters and
made sure that the work at the county
continues, and its employees cojild exhale,”
says Gail Shibley, who, as chief of staff to
Portland Mayor Charlie Hales, has worked
closely with Madrigal. “That said, everyone
knows that things are going .to change
again.”
It seems fitting for Madrigal.
“The Ohly constant in my life has been
change,” she says. “My experience is that
I’ve learned to accept and move with the
change. Life happens. Good things’and bad
things are going to happen in our lives, and
the only thing we can control is how we as a
community respond to it.”
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