It’s been a bruising year for Multnomah County’s new chair. Jessica Vega Pederson says she’s ‘just getting started’

multnomah county chair Jessica Vega Pederson stands with downtown portland in the background

“What people are feeling right now isn’t just about what’s happened in the last 10 months but the fallout from the last several years,” says Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, pictured outside her office last month. Dave Killen / The Oregonian

Neither Multnomah County nor its leader, Jessica Vega Pederson, appear poised to catch a break.

There’s been no honeymoon, just hopscotching from one hot-button crisis to the next.

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