Some Multnomah County commissioners are 'alarmed' at what's been done two weeks into the 90-day fentanyl emergency

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Multnomah County commissioners got an update during a regularly scheduled board meeting on the work that’s been done so far after the county declared a 90-day fentanyl emergency, leaving some of them speechless — and not in a good way.

“I was very underwhelmed by the briefing that we got on the fentanyl emergency,” said Commissioner Sharon Meieran.

“There was no data, no goals, no specific actions,” added Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards.

Two weeks ago, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, the Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler declared a fentanyl emergency in Portland’s central city. Shortly after, Pederson expanded it to include all of Multnomah County.

Though there was an update on the new downtown incident command center to track data around fentanyl use, commissioners said some of the roles have yet to be filled and jobs still need to be assigned.  

“What there was instead were discussions about process talking about how there had been some briefings … They have not even developed a mission statement,” Meieran said.

'PEOPLE ARE DYING EVERY DAY': Oregonians call on Portland’s fentanyl emergency to reach beyond the central city

The county chair sent KGW the following statement, saying, "Gov. Tina Kotek, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and I have full faith and confidence in the Unified Command team. I urge my fellow Board members to join me in championing the work of our command staff. They need our full support so they can accomplish the mandate we gave them: save lives and improve the livability in our community, which has been devastated by the fentanyl crisis."

But Todd Littlefield, who lives in the Lents neighborhood and is the vice president of neighborhood livability association, isn't convinced. 

“They talk a good game they promise X, Y and Z for the future they never do anything,” Littlefield said. “We don’t have a normal life. We live in hell.” 

He added that the fentanyl crisis is in plain sight in his neighborhood and that several people have died from overdoses across the street from his house.  

Meanwhile, Travis Peterson, who is homeless in Portland's Central Eastside, has been withdrawing from fentanyl for the past two days, under a bridge by a small fire his friends try to keep burning.

“My stomach is stabbing, and my feet won’t stop moving," he said. "I just want to scream every thirty seconds. This makes you want to go kill somebody to get their f— money so you can just get well."

“They need to have somebody involved that knows what’s going on,” Peterson continued, as he fidgeted under the bridge, trying to find a comfortable position.

Though Meieran proposed an amendment to the state of emergency, requiring a clear set of goals and adding a new 12-month fentanyl crisis plan to reduce deaths and overdoses, among other things, it was voted down 3-2. 

“This is alarming, and these are real people and the disparity I see between what real people are experiencing and then what happens in this board room is staggering and it’s unconscionable,” Meieran said. 

In response, a spokesperson for Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler's office sent KGW the following statement: "The incident commanders from the State, County and City are together every day working to coordinate with our public safety, public health and emergency management partners at all levels. This team plans to provide a formal update next week."

The governor also told KGW there are important talks happening between the city, county and state. She is waiting for the 90 days to be up and hoping for a plan on how to attack the deadly crisis.