(Morgan Schmidt)
On September 27, pastor and community leader Morgan Schmidt announced she is filing for Deschutes County Commissioner Position 3, currently held by Patti Adair. Schmidt has been serving Deschutes County as pastor for Bend’s First Presbyterian Church.
“I’ve been able to serve 15 years in public service: reaching out to neighbors and vulnerable populations, building effective working relationships,” says Schmidt. “I want to serve our communities even more as County Commissioner.”
In March 2020, Schmidt was the force behind the Facebook group Pandemic Partners to coordinate a community response to COVID-19. The group quickly grew to over 11,000 local members. “We crowdsourced kindness to help our most vulnerable neighbors, and we continue to support one another in countless ways: from porch-dropping groceries to connecting folks with community resources to standing up interim emergency shelters when it has been too smoky, cold or hot,” says Schmidt.
Schmidt is the Chair of the Homeless Leadership Coalition Community Engagement Committee, Co-Founder of Clergy for Justice Central Oregon and Chair of Presbytery of the Cascades Wildfire Response Committee. Schmidt sees houselessness as one of the most critical issues. “I’ll advocate for dignified options for people experiencing houselessness,” Schmidt says. “In Deschutes County, leadership, local municipalities and nonprofits need to collaborate for long-term solutions, not band-aids.”
Schmidt’s priorities for Deschutes County Commission include incentivizing and advocating for affordable housing, improving our COVID-19 response, expanding behavioral and mental health services and community collaboration.
“I’m running for Commissioner so that everyone who lives here can thrive here,” says Schmidt. “I’ve seen extraordinary involvement from our communities in times of need, and I want to see that kindness towards neighbors reflected in our public policy.”
