By BEN WEST
Clackamas County Commissioner, Position 5
The Clackamas County Board of Commissioners recently made a definitive stand: we rejected Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s $4 million funding request. This was more than a budgetary decision; it was a declaration of our commitment to fiscal accountability and pragmatic governance. I publicly stated that Clackamas County would not “trust the ideological extreme and dysfunctional Portland City Council with one single dollar” of taxpayer money. We refuse to tether our taxpayers to the ideological extremes that have fueled the region’s most visible failures.
A broken system
The numbers coming out of Portland are not just disappointing—they are an indictment of a broken system. Since 2001, the Portland Metro area has poured over $1.3 billion into homeless services, including a staggering $724 million in 2024 alone. Under the failed “Housing First” model and permissive harm reduction policies, the return on this investment has been a catastrophic 61% surge in homelessness over the last two years. For every ten people housed, fourteen more fall into homelessness. This isn’t a policy gap; it is a policy collapse.
Lack of accountability
At the core of this failure is a complete lack of accountability. When poor performance is met with more funding rather than reform, public officials escape the consequences of their dismal results. We will no longer reward a system that prioritizes spending over outcomes. It is time to stop subsidizing dysfunction and start demanding evidence-based solutions.
Furthermore, we must address the refusal to confront the intersection of homelessness, addiction, and mental health. Portland’s housing-first model treats service access as purely voluntary, often leaving those in greatest need without the structure needed for recovery. Clackamas County has charted a different course with our Recovery-Oriented System of Care (ROSC). We understand that providing low-barrier housing without clear pathways to sobriety doesn’t solve the crisis—it merely subsidizes it.
Clackamas county’s achievements
Compare Portland’s trajectory to our own. By focusing on a continuum of care that spans prevention, intervention, and long-term recovery, Clackamas County has achieved a staggering 65% reduction in homelessness. We have prevented nearly 4,000 residents from falling into the cycle of the streets. Our Recovery Campus is the crown jewel of this effort, offering clinical services and job training that empower individuals to reclaim their self-sufficiency. Our goal is not merely to “manage” homelessness, but to end it through sobriety and stability.
Our message to Mayor Wilson is clear: Clackamas County will not gamble a single cent of our taxpayers’ hard-earned resources on the failed experiments of the Portland City Council. Our fiscal discipline keeps us “in the black,” while our neighbors are forced to reckon with massive budget shortfalls born of mismanagement.
Accountability and compassion over ideology
In an era of empty rhetoric, Clackamas County stands as a testament to the power of pragmatism. By prioritizing accountability and compassion over ideology, we aren’t just saving money—we are saving lives. This resolute stance is the only way to ensure the long-term success and safety of our entire region.
Ben West has been a Clackamas County Commissioner since 2023 and was formerly a Wilsonville city councilor.