Multnomah County, Oregon

Multnomah County, Oregon
Multnomah County, Oregon
Multcocourthouse.jpg
Multnomah County Courthouse in Downtown Portland
Map of Oregon highlighting Multnomah County
Location in the state of Oregon
Map of the U.S. highlighting Oregon
Oregon's location in the U.S.
Founded 22 December 1854
Seat Portland
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

466 sq mi (1,207 km²)
435 sq mi (1,127 km²)
30 sq mi (78 km²), 6.53%
Population
 - (2010)
 - Density

735,334
1,690/sq mi (652.4/km²)
Website www.co.multnomah.or.us

Multnomah County (play /məltˈnmə/) is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Though smallest in area, it is the most populous[1] as its county seat, Portland, is the state's largest city. In 2010, the county's population was 735,334. The county was likely named after Native American people first recorded in the journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Mulknomans, who lived in a village on the east side of present-day Sauvie Island. (An alternative theory holds that Multnomah is a corruption of nematlnomaq, meaning down river.)

Contents

History

Multnomah County (the thirteenth in Oregon Territory) was created on December 22, 1854, formed out of the eastern part of Washington and the northern part of Clackamas counties. Its creation was a result of a petition earlier that year by businessmen in Portland complaining of the inconvenient location of the Washington County seat in Hillsboro and of the share of Portland tax revenues leaving the city to support Washington County farmers. County commissioners met for the first time on January 17, 1855.[2]

According to an Oregonian article, the entire county council was recalled in 1924.[3]

There has long been a movement to merge the county with the city of Portland. In 1968, the Oregon Legislative Assembly referred a bill, Ballot Measure 5, to voters that would amend the state constitution to allow for consolidated city-county governments when the population is over 300,000.[4] The 1968 voters' pamphlet noted that Multnomah County would be the only county in Oregon affected by the measure and voters approved the referendum in the 1968 general election.[4][5] Since the approval of Measure 5 in 1968, an initiative to merge the county with Portland has been considered and placed on the county ballot several times.[6][7][8] The merger would have formed a consolidated city-county government like that of San Francisco, California. None of these proposals has been approved.

Since 2000

In the 2000 presidential election, Multnomah played a decisive role in determining the winner of the state's electoral votes. Al Gore carried the county by more than 104,000 votes, enough to offset the nearly 100,000-vote advantage that George W. Bush had earned among Oregon's 35 other counties. The Democratic tilt was repeated in 2004, when John Kerry won by 181,000 votes, and in 2008 when Barack Obama won by 204,000 votes.

In February 2001, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners unanimously accepted the recommendation of the Library Advisory Board and authorized the library to enter into a lawsuit to stop the Children's Internet Protection Act.[9] The US Supreme Court ultimately decided in 2003 that the law was constitutional in US v. ALA. However, the library chose to turn down $104,000 per year of federal funding under CIPA to be able to continue to offer unfiltered Internet access.[10][11]

Faced with decreasing government revenues due to a recession in the local economy, voters approved a three-year local income tax (Measure 26-48) on May 20, 2003 to prevent further cuts in schools, police protection, and social services. Multnomah County was one of the few local governments in Oregon to approve such a tax increase.

On March 2, 2004, Multnomah County Chair Linn announced the county would begin granting licenses for same-sex marriages, pursuant to a legal opinion issued by its attorney deeming such marriages lawful under Oregon law. Her announcement was supported by three other commissioners (Serena Cruz, Lisa Naito & Maria Rojo de Steffey), but criticized by Lonnie Roberts, who represents the eastern part of Multnomah county and was left out of the decision.[12][13] Within a few days, several groups joined to file a lawsuit to halt the county's action; see Same-sex unions in Oregon.

Law and government

Presidential elections results
Year Republican Democratic
2008 20.6% 75,171 76.7% 279,696
2004 27.1% 98,439 71.6% 259,585
2000 28.2% 83,677 63.5% 188,441
1996 26.3% 71,094 59.2% 159,878
1992 24.2% 95,561 55.3% 165,081
1988 36.5% 95,561 61.6% 161,361
1984 45.2% 119,932 54.3% 144,179
1980 39.2% 101,606 46.5% 120,487
1976 44.4% 112,400 51.0% 120,487
1972 46.7% 118,219 49.6% 125,470
Elected Officials
  • County Commission (one chair, four commissioners; nonpartisan)
    • Chair: Jeff Cogen [1]
    • Commissioner, District 1: Deborah Kafoury[14]
    • Commissioner, District 2: Loretta Smith[15]
    • Commissioner, District 3: Judy Shiprack[16]
    • Commissioner, District 4: Diane McKeel[17]
  • District Attorney: Michael Schrunk[18]
  • Sheriff: Dan Staton[19]
  • Auditor: Steve March[20]
  • Circuit Court[21]
Appointed Officials
  • Elections: Tim Scott
  • Finance: Mindy Harris
  • Surveyor: Robert Hovden
Map of Multnomah County legislative districts

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 466 square miles (1,210 km2), of which 435 square miles (1,130 km2) is land and 79 square miles (200 km2) (6.53%) is water.

The county includes a number of extinct volcanoes in the Boring Lava Field. The Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge forms the eastern portion of the county's northern border.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Economy

The principal industries of Multnomah County are manufacturing, transportation, wholesale and retail trade, and tourism. Since Oregon does not have a sales tax, it attracts shoppers from southwest Washington.

The Port of Portland, established in 1891 and combined with the City of Portland's Commission of Public Docks in 1971, ranks third in total waterborne commerce on the West Coast, and 31st in the nation for total tonnage according to the 2009 American Association of Port Authorities' Port Industries Statistics.[22] Portland is one of the five largest auto import ports in the nation and is the West Coast's leading exporter of grain and lumber.[citation needed] The Port of Portland is also responsible for Portland International Airport in the Northeast section of Portland, the Troutdale Airport a few miles east of PDX in Multnomah County, the Hillsboro Airport to the west in Washington County, and Mulino Airport to the south in Clackamas County.

The Multnomah County Library has a small impact on the county budget: the county library, which supplies Internet service to area libraries, turns down $104,000 per year in federal funding[citation needed] starting in 2004, to obviate the need to comply with the Children's Internet Protection Act so as to maintain unfiltered Internet access.

Tourism

The county is home to a number of Portland-area attractions and venues, including Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland Art Museum, Memorial Coliseum, Oregon Convention Center, Rose Garden, Washington Park, Oregon Zoo, International Rose Test Garden, Portland Classical Chinese Garden, Portland Japanese Garden, and Pittock Mansion.

It is also home to the Historic Columbia River Highway, Multnomah Falls, and Oxbow Regional Park.

Cultural influence

The county was the birthplace of the Multnomah Community Ability Scale, used in mental health programs throughout the U.S.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1860 4,150
1870 11,510 177.3%
1880 25,203 119.0%
1890 74,884 197.1%
1900 103,167 37.8%
1910 226,261 119.3%
1920 275,898 21.9%
1930 338,241 22.6%
1940 355,099 5.0%
1950 471,537 32.8%
1960 522,813 10.9%
1970 556,667 6.5%
1980 562,640 1.1%
1990 583,887 3.8%
2000 660,486 13.1%
2010 735,334 11.3%
sources:[23][24]

As of the 2000 census,[25] there are 660,486 people in the county, organized into 272,098 households and 152,102 families. The population density is 1,518 people per square mile (586/km²). There are 288,561 housing units at an average density of 663 per square mile (256/km²). The racial makeup of the county is 79.16% White, 5.70% Asian, 5.67% Black or African American, 1.03% Native American, 0.35% Pacific Islander, 4.03% from other races, and 4.07% from two or more races. 7.51% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.0% were of German, 9.0% English, 8.8% Irish and 5.1% American ancestry according to Census 2000. 83.5% spoke English, 6.3% Spanish, 1.7% Vietnamese and 1.3% Russian as their first language.

There are 272,098 households out of which 26.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% are married couples living together, 10.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 44.1% are non-families. 32.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.37 and the average family size is 3.03.

In the county, the population is spread out with 22.30% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 33.80% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.10% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 98.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 96.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county is $41,278, and the median income for a family is $51,118. Males have a median income of $36,036 versus $29,337 for females. The per capita income for the county is $22,606. 12.70% of the population and 8.20% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 15.40% of those under the age of 18 and 9.80% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

See also

References

  1. ^ "Oregon Almanac: Abbreviation to Counties". Oregon Blue Book. State of Oregon. http://bluebook.state.or.us/facts/almanac/almanac01.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-04. 
  2. ^ "Oregon Historical County Records Guide:Multnomah County History". Oregon State Archives. http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/county/cpmultnomahhome.html. Retrieved 2009-08-01. 
  3. ^ James Mayer. "Politicians and scandal: a Portland-area tradition". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/02/politicians_and_scandal_a_port.html. 
  4. ^ a b Oregon Blue Book (2009). "Initiative, Referendum and Recall: 1958-1970". Oregon Secretary of State. http://bluebook.state.or.us/state/elections/elections18.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-18. 
  5. ^ Oregon Secretary of State (1968). "State of Oregon Voters' Pamphlet General Election 1968". Oregon State Library. http://library.state.or.us/repository/2010/201003011350161/ORVPGenMari1968.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-18. 
  6. ^ Briem, Chris. "Some Major City-County Consolidation Referenda in the 20th Century". University of Pittsburgh. http://www.briem.com/frag/CityCountyReferenda.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-28. 
  7. ^ Senator Lim (1997). "Relating to city-county consolidation; creating new provisions". Oregon Legislative Assembly. http://www.leg.state.or.us/97reg/measures/sb0001.dir/sb0009.int.html. Retrieved 2010-03-28. 
  8. ^ Bogstad, Deborah (1999). "Multnomah County March 30 & April 1, 1999 Board Meetings". Multnomah County, Oregon. http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/cc/PastAgendas/1998-1999/1999/1999-2.doc. Retrieved 2010-03-28. 
  9. ^ "Children's Internet Protection Act; Questions and Answers". Multnomah County Library. http://www.multcolib.org/news/cipa.html. Retrieved 2007-06-29. 
  10. ^ Mitchell, Renee S. (2004-05-05). "Once again, policy did not involve public". The Oregonian. 
  11. ^ Staff (2009-12-23). "Children's Internet Protection Act; Questions and Answers". Multnomah County Library. http://www.multcolib.org/news/cipa.html. Retrieved 2010-03-28. 
  12. ^ "?". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/03/02/state2223EST7030.DTL. [dead link]
  13. ^ "Oregon News homepage". http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/front_page/1078318717116670.xml. Retrieved 22 November 2010. 
  14. ^ "Deborah Kafoury". multco.us. http://web.multco.us/ds1. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  15. ^ "Loretta Smith". multco.us. http://web.multco.us/district2. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  16. ^ "Judy Shiprack". multco.us. http://web.multco.us/ds3/. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  17. ^ "Diane McKeel". multco.us. http://web.multco.us/ds4. Retrieved 1 March 2011. 
  18. ^ "District Attorney's Office homepage". mcda.us. http://mcda.us/. Retrieved 22 November 2010. 
  19. ^ "District Attorney's Office homepage". http://www.mcso.us. Retrieved 22 November 2010. 
  20. ^ "Auditor's Office". co.multnomah.or.us. http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/auditor/. Retrieved 22 November 2010. 
  21. ^ "Demographic and Economic Profile Fourth Judicial District OR Circuit Courts". fedstats.gov. http://www.fedstats.gov/mapstats/demographic/statecourt/381040.html. 
  22. ^ "Port Industry Statistics". American Association of Port Authorities. AAPA. http://www.aapa-ports.org/Industry/content.cfm?ItemNumber=900. Retrieved 08/01/2011. 
  23. ^ "Census.gov Oregon population by county, 1900-90". census.gov. http://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/or190090.txt. Retrieved 2009-05-02. 
  24. ^ http://factfinder2.census.gov
  25. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

Coordinates: 45°32′N 122°25′W / 45.54°N 122.41°W / 45.54; -122.41


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