Both candidates running for Clackamas County sheriff this November believe the biggest safety issue facing the county is the lack of sustainable funding to support the agency’s core services.

If elected, both Brad O’Neil and James Rhodes say one of their top priorities will be passing the public safety levy next spring.

Rhodes worked in the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office for 26 years before retiring in 2021. The board of county commissioners appointed him to serve as interim sheriff in July following the surprise resignation of Sheriff Angela Brandenburg. He’s running to keep the post through 2028.

O’Neil has worked at the sheriff’s office since 1999, serving the past two years as an undersheriff. He also wants the top job.

Both men promise to focus on creating a sustainable budget that supports the frontline deputies serving the county — and to do everything they can to pass a levy voters rejected earlier this year.

“I intend to own the levy,” Rhodes said.

Defeat of the measure to renew and increase public safety funding in May marked a significant blow to the sheriff’s office budget. The levy funds 17% of the office’s essential services.

“We have to inform the voters on what this levy is about and why it’s important to them to get it passed,” O’Neil said.

Rhodes said the county needs to be “realistic” with the amount it asks voters to pay. He said he aims to reduce the levy to a reasonable rate by looking at the most essential services the levy funds and trimming elsewhere.

In May, the county put forth a measure that would have raised the levy rate from 36 cents per $1,000 in assessed home value to 59 cents per $1,000. Voters rejected it by a margin of 62 to 38.

Brandenburg’s retirement, seemingly out of the blue in the wake of the levy’s failure, rankled members of the commission. It led commissioners to question who knew what about her retirement plans.

O’Neil, who began campaign spending on July 13 according to state finance records, said he didn’t know for sure that Brandenburg was retiring until two days before she announced her retirement to the entire office on July 22.

Prior to that, he said he’d heard “rumblings” about her thinking of retirement. O’Neil said he had taken a couple of weeks to think about what his campaign would look like if he decided to run before he knew Brandenburg was retiring. He ultimately decided to make a go of it after looking around the agency and deciding he was best suited to lead the office

Rhodes was in Australia in July, and said he didn’t know about Brandenburg’s retirement until Commissioner Ben West called him and asked if he wanted to be sheriff. He said he chose to run because he loves Clackamas County and the men and women who work at the sheriff’s office.

As sheriff, O’Neil said he would take the time to build a solid connection with the board of commissioners, noting that the board’s relationship with the sheriff’s office has been tenuous over the past several years.

Rhodes feels he already has a solid relationship with the commission, having received the endorsement of four of five current commissioners. He feels he even has a solid working relationship with Commission Chair (and former sheriff) Craig Roberts, even though Roberts endorsed O’Neil and provided the lone “no” vote during Rhodes’ appointment process.

O’Neil earned the endorsement of commissioner-elect Sonya Fischer, who defeated West in May’s primary election.

Rhodes also boasts the endorsement of the Clackamas County Peace Officers’ Association.

O’Neil believes that endorsement is the result of the CCPOA thinking Rhodes would be more like Brandenburg in how he would lead.

The difference O’Neil sees between himself and Brandenburg is in how he shows up for frontline deputies, something he said he demonstrates through actions like working holidays.

Rhodes said the endorsement of the deputies’ union speaks to his leadership and marks one of the most significant differences between him and O’Neil.

As of Oct. 8, Rhodes’ campaign had raised over $95,000 to O’Neil’s $37,000.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/10/09/clackamas-county-sheriff-office-veterans-vie-for-top-position/