The race for the chair of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners has begun, with Commissioner Shannon Singleton becoming the first major contender. She joined the race because she believes she can better serve the county as an executive rather than a legislator. Julia Brim-Edwards, a former Nike executive, also believes executive power is the best way to drive change and improve accountability and transparency. The position will be decided in a ranked choice election in November. The tenure of the next chair may be defined in large part by a major budget crunch that could lead to numerous cuts across departments and potentially harm public perception of its work.