*Image: Nathan Vasquez speaking to Gresham, Oregon residents at* *Boccelli’s Ristorante* *on Saturday, March 23, 2024.*

From 9am to 11am on Saturday morning, Boccelli’s Ristorante opened its doors early to host an open house for Multnomah County District Attorney nominee, Nathan Vasquez.

Details on Primary Election: Mike Schmidt, current District Attorney vs. Nathan Vasquez.

Vasquez mingled with locals, answering questions and having discussions before giving a stump speech followed by Q&A.

Amongst other items of concern, Nathan Vasquez highlighted his experience as a prosecuting attorney for the District Attorney’s office as well as his ideas to clean up the streets – literally – of Portland, Oregon.

Measure 110

While drug overdoses are trending up all over the country, many believe that Measure 110 is to blame for the uptick in drug overdoses throughout Multnomah County.

The argument is that more people are doing hard drugs because possession has become decriminalized.

At the same time, Multnomah County residence are upset about slow response times for emergency services, which many believe is due to the number of overdose calls that Fire Department and Paramedic personnel are deployed on.

In a July 2023 report, during a period of 18 months nearly 6% of all 911 calls were for drug overdoses. Saturday, during his speech, Vasquez said that these numbers are increasing dramatically.

According to the Lund Report, the reason for an increase in overdoses is directly related to fentanyl. And, while many of these overdoses are happening, “in places you’d expect,” (places where homeless encampments and fentanyl trade are supposedly well-known), there are also calls due to overdose in nearly every neighborhood as well.

The argument being that while Measure 110 might have something to do with it, there is also a problem of fentanyl and fentanyl laced drugs, such as have been found in cocaine overdoses.

Others argue that decriminalization without legalization is asking for this very problem. Without legalization there can be no regulation, taxation or innovation. That said, many of these substances haven’t been researched nearly enough to know how they could be used safely, if at all.

The issue is complicated and Nathan Vasquez is hoping to overturn Measure 110 and the work that the D.A.’s office has done under the regime of his opponent, Mike Schmidt.

Whether or not this is within his power is the real question.

Homelessness and Jail Release Programs

Vasquez sited incidences in Portland as well as locally in downtown Gresham, when a homeless person was arrested for vandalism and released multiple days in a row.

The question that many have is why they aren’t allowed to enforce standards when it comes to the protection of their property – their businesses, their buildings.

As D.A., Vasquez claims that he can work to solve this issue as well. That there ought to be more prosecutions for property damage crimes and that repeat offenses have to be considered.

This seemed to be more of a summary of the issue, with the admittance that you can’t prosecute people for being homeless and you don’t want to create a situation where we’re filling up prisons with folks who live on the street.

While Vasquez maintains that he’ll work to increase prosecutions so that no one can simply destroy property, be released and then repeat until they get tired of it there are real limits to what the district attorney’s office is capable of accomplishing.

Details on the Position of District Attorney

The district attorney is equally responsible for seeking justice for crime victims while also protecting a defendant’s right to due process and a fair trial.

Oregon’s district attorneys also enforce child support orders and represent the community in juvenile matters and inquiries into the cause and manner of deaths (Oregon Blue Book).

Is the DA a political position?

In the sense that they are elected by the citizens of their county, yes. The District Attorney is an elected position with four year terms.

In terms of whether or not they are affiliated with any political party, it can be a bit vague.

The DA is the chief law enforcement official within their county. Because of this, their loyalty ought to be to the distribution of justice, which exists before and beyond the defining movements of our current party system.

Unfortunately for those who issue justice, it is often the dirty work of society. They take it upon themselves so that the rest of us don’t have to. In that regard, we ought to consider carefully the persons we elect to fill these positions.

Where does the DA get their funding?

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s office has an annual budget of $50.3 million dollars. This budget is funded by the General Fund – corporate and personal income tax, 86% of which is from personal income tax.

In addition to that, the DA can also receive grants. Bias Crimes Work, for example, has recieved $700,000 of grant funding.

Whether or not the work is worthy, it’s interesting that our district attorney’s offices can be granted large sums of money with strings attached being the status quo – as is the nature of a grant.

Details about Nathan Vasquez in Gresham, Oregon

Nathan Vasquez was invited to Gresham by local, Michael Patrick and hosted by Boccelli’s Ristorante.

My Impression

If you look at the role of the District Attorney as it relates to the other branches and arms of our justice system, then whoever is in the position of DA ought to be the most qualified person to do the job.

This and the other positions that are on the May Primary are mostly funded by us via those hefty taxes. If you’re able to vote, you need to go and look at the balot for the upcoming elections.

Here’s the list of current and upcoming elections in Multnomah County.

Research candidates, measures and propositions and then go and vote.

People can actually hold the power as long as enough of us don’t throw it away, so get involved. Make some decisions, cast a vote, discuss your views and become an active member of your community.

It might seem idealistic, but if you start with something that makes sense – your neighborhood, the park you go to a lot, the local coffee shop, your favorite restaurant – whatever it is, it’s crucial to be around the other people in our cities.

Isolation leads to weird decision making. Get involved in the messy world of politics by interacting with the people who you’re surrounded with every day.

Gresham, Oregon Businesses Hopeful that New D.A. Will Bring Positive Change