Morgan Schmidt

In Oregon, the most important land use decisions are made by the state, and cities are where most people live. Counties sit between the two: important to housing in more roundabout ways, through homelessness work, surplus land for affordable housing (as Deschutes County has done), and coordinating with cities on planning as Urban Growth Boundaries expand. We are endorsing candidates we think would work well for Deschutes County, and that we could work well with.

Our members endorsed Morgan Schmidt for Position 5 in the May 2026 primary, and she is still in the race for November.

Morgan Schmidt is a candidate for Deschutes County Commissioner, Position 5, a nonpartisan seat with a two-year term, on the November 3, 2026 ballot, facing Rob Imhoff. She is Executive Director of the Red Cross of Central & Eastern Oregon and an ordained pastor who has served at First Presbyterian Church in Bend. She founded Pandemic Partners and has chaired the City of Bend's Neighborhood Leadership Alliance. She moved to Bend in 2015.