Mike Schmidt Will Run Second for Multnomah County District Attorney

A little more than halfway through Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt’s first term, he is now considering a second.

Schmidt told WW he will seek a second four-year term in the 2024 election. His plans for re-election seemed certain in recent weeks, but he has remained mum. In response to an inquiry from WW, Schmidt said: “I look forward to seeing this work through a second term as Multnomah County District Attorney.”

Schmidt, elected in 2020 as a criminal justice reformer, has spent his first term, so far, fighting criticism that his policies it is not appropriate to address the increase in violence and crime.

That argument didn’t go over well in San Francisco, where fellow DA Chesa Boudin was ousted last summer. But it could be better in Portland, where Schmidt won his election with 77% of the vote, running on a “strong, progressive vision” to improve the justice system. urban crime.

Schmidt was quickly thrust into the limelight after his predecessor, Rod Underhill, resigned five months early amid the George Floyd protests and subsequent violence. Schmidt’s announcement shortly afterward that he had dropped felony charges against more than 500 protesters angered law enforcement and fueled his critics. .

Since, the disruption of the police and the failure of the district court, affected by the closure of diseases and the lack of lawyers, there was an emergency when Schmidt tried to justify his plan.

Schmidt said in a statement, “Working to improve the criminal justice system and public safety are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they are inseparable.”