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A staffer in Multnomah County Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards’ office who ran a controversial political action committee that often skewered county leadership has been fired.
Vikki Payne, a communications and project manager who worked for Brim-Edwards since she began her term as commissioner in 2023, is no longer employed with the county, a spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. Payne was terminated on August 4.
It’s unclear precisely what issues prompted the firing, but during her tenure at the county, Payne was often more recognizable as a driving force behind a political group than she was for her communications work.
She came under the microscope recently for her leadership role at Future Portland, (formerly called The Portland Party), a political action committee that touts “sensible solutions to improve livability throughout Portland and surrounding communities.” The group is often publicly critical of Portland’s and Multnomah County’s government–the same entity that employed Payne.
Under Payne’s leadership, Future Portland advocated for increased funding for police and prosecutors. The PAC endorsed Nathan Vasquez for district attorney last year, and earlier this year, featured the DA as a key speaker at a fundraising event. The group has also been heavily critical of some of the county’s policies–namely, those of County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson. While Payne was working for Brim-Edwards, Future Portland propped up Brim-Edwards’ proposed legislative policies and statements, while publicly scrutinizing Vega Pederson’s decisions, including a proposal to scale back the budget for the DA’s Office amid budget cuts.
The PAC drew criticism in late May, amid tense budget sessions at Portland City Hall that saw a majority of city councilors move to redirect a planned $2 million increase to the city’s police budget over to the cash-strapped parks bureau. Payne and Future Portland mobilized residents in East Portland, organizing a press conference centered on public safety, primarily to oppose the proposed budget amendment.
The event drew counter-protesters, and critics noted that Payne appeared to be organizing or assisting with the press conference during working hours ahead of the event, which took place at 10 am during a County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Similar to the federal Hatch Act, Oregon has rules that govern political activity of county employees, which don’t allow them to “promote or oppose any political committee or promote or oppose the nomination or election of a candidate, the gathering of signatures on an initiative, referendum or recall petition, the adoption of a measure or the recall of a public office holder while on the job during working hours.”
Bryan Hockaday, Brim-Edwards’ chief of staff, declined to provide details about the circumstances of Payne’s firing, but alluded to her political activity, among other issues.
“There were both performance concerns and concerns about potential conflicts of interest that were raised multiple times with her and ultimately led to [her leaving],” Hockaday told the Mercury, noting the commissioner’s office plans to hire a replacement for the communications position.
Payne’s annual salary was just under $77,000. She declined to be interviewed for this story.
Prior to being hired for a county job, Payne worked on Brim-Edwards’ 2023 campaign for county commissioner. She also worked on the 2024 Portland City Council campaign for Terrence Hayes, who didn’t win his election but was recently appointed to serve on Portland’s new Police Accountability Board.
Future Portland, the PAC Payne formerly led, bills itself as a non-partisan organization advocating for government accountability and “pragmatic solutions” to Portland’s and Multnomah County’s problems. In 2023, the group was among those advocating for overturning Measure 110, Oregon’s drug decriminalization law.
While lobbying to overhaul Measure 110 on behalf of a different political group, Payne apparently took to Nextdoor in an attempt to recruit a BIPOC woman to be the face of the effort.
Willamette Week reported the post solicited a “female person of color to round out their public facing backers/ballot petitioners listed on a ballot measure effort to overturn aspects of Measure 110.”
Payne has been involved with the Future Portland PAC since its inception in 2022 and disclosed her employment at the county on state filings for the group in 2023. She was listed as Future Portland’s director from 2023 up until this past June. Alan Comnes, who runs an energy consulting company, is now serving in that role.
Whether or not Payne’s involvement with the PAC was a driving force behind her departure, it’s clear the group, and Payne, embraced viewpoints that don’t align with the county’s equity and empowerment efforts.
During a podcast interview last spring, Payne described Future Portland partly as an effort to reclaim the centrist, or “moderate,” political identity in Portland’s left-leaning political climate. But testimony she submitted to Oregon legislators in 2023 opposing a bill to eliminate the state’s budget surplus tax kicker for individuals sounded more like conservative talking points. Payne accused Oregon of using tax dollars for “fringe programs …that are attracting low to no income people to relocate to Oregon.”
“You wouldn’t need the kicker money if you would turn off the progressive welcome sign to Oregon and instead lobby the federal government to do these social programs….,” Payne stated.
More recently, a racially-charged video from a separate collaborator account was featured on Future Portland’s Instagram page in late May, following the East Portland press conference. In the video, Andre Miller, a Black activist who serves as a vice chair with the Multnomah County Democrats and chief of staff for City Councilor Angelita Morillo, was criticized in the Future Portland post for his public conduct and accused of “[acting] more like a thug than a public servant.”
Payne isn’t the first person to be ousted by a local elected official’s office in recent months over their public persona and political ideology.
Last month, the Mercury reported that Portland City Councilor Dan Ryan parted ways with local podcaster Andy Chandler after just three days, when Ryan’s team learned that Chandler often espoused anti-trans views and held political views that didn’t align with those of the councilor.
Chandler has also collaborated with Future Portland on several occasions via his podcast and other fundraising and community events.
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Courtney Vaughn
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