Multnomah County residents take a dim view of District Attorney Mike Schmidt, with just 22% saying they approve of the DA, according to a poll released Tuesday by an advocacy group that’s launched a campaign to attack Schmidt.
Forty-five percent of voters said they disapprove of Schmidt, the poll found.
In a separate question, the poll asked voters to assess Schmidt’s performance. Just 11% of respondents said the DA is doing a “good job.” Fifty-seven percent said he’s doing a “bad job” and 32% said they aren’t sure.
Paid for by People for Portland, the poll asked Multnomah County residents to weigh in on questions touching on the city’s image and government’s response to crime, homelessness, drug addiction and mental health services. Some of the questions in People for Portland’s latest poll were clearly tilted in the direction of its founders’ views on crime and homelessness and that Portland-area leaders aren’t doing enough to fix them.
Schmidt, a reform-minded candidate whose campaign emphasized racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system and what he saw as overly harsh mandatory minimum sentencing policies, was elected in a landslide in 2020 and took office about six months early.
Rod Underhill, Schmidt’s predecessor, stepped aside early so Schmidt could respond to social justice demonstrations roiling the city at the time.
Schmidt has come under attack as the city has struggled to address steep increases in gun violence, as well as spikes in property crimes.
The poll was conducted by Boise, Idaho-based GS Strategy Group and involved 500 likely Multnomah County voters. It had a margin error of 4.4 percentage points.
GS Strategy Group was the only firm that released poll results showing unaffiliated 2022 candidate for governor Betsy Johnson in a tie with eventual victor Democrat Tina Kotek to win the office. Johnson, who paid for that poll, took positions on Portland homelessness and crime most closely aligned with People for Portland positions.
The firm’s June 2022 findings were widely out of line with voters’ ultimate decisions 4 ½ months later. Johnson finished in a distant third place, with just 8.6% of the vote.
Ads paid for by People for Portland, the well-funded and largely anonymous advocacy group, blame Schmidt for soaring gun violence and homicide rates in Portland. “Portland is a Schmidt show,” one ad declares.
“It’s very clear that Schmidt thinks it’s his job to reform the criminal justice system and make it be more fair, less racist and more about justice for criminals and most people in this area are looking for public safety,” said veteran political consultant Kevin Looper, who joined with fellow political consultant Dan Lavey to launch People for Portland.
Lavey said the poll paints “a picture of a mood of the voters and the public” regarding public safety.
“What’s clear from this survey is that people are looking for someone to prosecute more people, put more people in jail and be more aggressive on public safety than they are looking for someone to reform the criminal justice system,” he said.
Those polled said they support a focus on prosecutions over reforming the criminal justice system, and an increased use of jail beds. The poll found 65% of respondents said prosecutions should be Schmidt’s priority; 16% said he should prioritize reform efforts. The poll question did not spell out specific reforms.
One question compared Portland’s “murder rate” to Medellin, Columbia, claiming Portland’s is higher. Respondents were asked if they thought the statement was “a sad reality about the gun violence in Portland” or “an exaggerated political talking point.” Fifty percent said it was a “sad reality,” with 37% calling the claim “exaggerated.”
Schmidt’s campaign manager, Jake Foster, said People for Portland has spent $1 million criticizing Portland, while Schmidt works on “real solutions to address Multnomah County’s challenges.”
“His office has added more prosecutors since he was elected, and he’s launched new initiatives to focus on prosecuting gun violence, car theft, and retail theft,” Foster said in a written statement. “We’re still one year away from the next election, and once our campaign starts, we’re confident voters will be able to distinguish between facts and FOX News talking points.”
Last week, Nathan Vasquez, a longtime Multnomah County prosecutor, announced he will challenge Schmidt for the $234,510-a-year job in the 2024 election. So far, no one else has entered the race.
Vasquez, a senior deputy district attorney, highlighted what he described as Schmidt’s focus on politics at the expense of prosecutions, his support for clemency for some defendants under former Gov. Kate Brown’s administration and his lack of leadership on Measure 110, the voter-approved law that decriminalized possession of small amounts of street drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine.
According to the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office, Vasquez so far has raised $9,425, which includes $5,000 he gave to the campaign. Former Multnomah County prosecutors are among those who have donated so far. Schmidt has taken in about $29,000 this year; he has not given his own campaign money, the filings show.
Former Multnomah County prosecutor Ryan Lufkin is among those who have donated to Vasquez. While at the DA’s office, Lufkin served on the board of the union that represents Multnomah County prosecutors. Now in private practice, the union is among his clients. He gave Vasquez $1,000.
In the 2020 race, the union endorsed Schmidt’s opponent, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight.
Vasquez said the poll mirrors the general “crisis of confidence” he’s heard about from members of the public.
“This poll also reflects the community’s desire to have someone who wants to engage in prosecution and that is as a career prosecutor what I intend to do,” he said.
Oregonian staff writer Shane Dixon Kavanaugh contributed to this report.
-- Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie
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