Ashton Simpson
Candidate for:
Metro Council - District 1
What drives me to seek an elected position
I grew up in a disinvested neighborhood in a union household, so I learned early that the quality of your life depends heavily on decisions made by people you never meet in rooms most people don’t have access to. Running for Metro Council was my way of getting into those rooms to advocate for people whose interests were often not represented. District 1 has been treated as a place to put things, warehouses, highways, housing that wealthier neighborhoods fight off, and the people who live here deserve a councilor who understands that dynamic from the inside. I’m running for a second term because the commitments Metro made to this district on housing, transit and climate aren’t fully delivered yet, and I intend to see them through.
The first three priorities or issues I want to tackle
Housing affordability is my first priority. East County has more multifamily housing than almost anywhere in the region, but rising costs are still pushing people out. I’ll keep the pressure on Metro’s housing bond to produce units at rents working families can afford, and I’ll push to expand the Supportive Housing Services program so cities like Gresham and Troutdale have real tools to address homelessness locally.
Safe streets are my second priority, especially in East Portland and East County, which carry some of the highest traffic fatality rates in the region. I helped secure millions to transform 82nd Avenue, and I’m continuing that work on 122nd, 148th and the Halsey corridor. People shouldn’t risk their lives getting to work or school.
Economic opportunity is my third priority. District 1 has some of the largest job-ready lands and most diverse workforce in the region. I’ll keep building the connections between workforce training, union apprenticeship pathways and employers who can provide living-wage jobs close to home.
All three reflect what Democratic governance means in Multnomah County: directing real public investment toward the communities that have historically gotten the least of it.
The experiences and insights I will bring to the office
I came to this seat with a background in community development and a clear-eyed view of how regional institutions make decisions that shape working people’s lives without their meaningful input. That background taught me how to build coalitions across difference, how to hold institutions accountable to their own stated commitments and how to tell the difference between a real policy win and a symbolic one. My first term gave me a working knowledge of Metro’s internal processes, where the leverage points are and how the institution needs to shift. I represent a district that carries more than its share of the region’s burdens, and that reality informs every vote I take.
What being a Democrat in Multnomah County means to me
It means I believe collective investment works and that government has a real responsibility to create conditions the market won’t. Multnomah County Democrats have built real political power, and I take seriously what that power is supposed to produce: housing people can afford, safe streets, jobs that pay a living wage close to home. I also think being a Democrat here means staying honest about where we’re falling short. The housing crisis didn’t spare progressive cities. Pedestrian deaths in East Portland didn’t go down because we passed good resolutions. I hold myself accountable to outcomes, and that accountability is how I try to earn the trust of the people I represent.