Oregon AFSCME demanding Sheriff Staton’s resignation

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Oregon chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is demanding the resignation of Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton.

The union took a vote among 17 different council members over the weekend and unanimously approved the decision to demand Sheriff Staton resign.

“We don’t have a pattern of calling on elected officials to step down,” said Oregon AFSCME Executive Director Ken Allen.  “When we have hundreds of members that work in that department, we feel that we need to show them support.”

Oregon AFSCME represents more than 25,000 public service workers in the state, as well as more than 3,000 workers in Multnomah County.The union provided a written statement explaining their demand, in which it said the union “knows what corrupt governance looks like and Sheriff Staton is the embodiment of it in this community.”

“Sheriff Staton has clearly and consciously decided that he is no longer serving the residents of Multnomah County but is instead serving himself,” the statement continued. “(His) actions are a slap in the face of every public servant in this county and our state.”

KOIN 6 reached out to Sheriff Staton for reply, but we were told the Sheriff had outside appointments and was too busy to comment.

Meanwhile, Multnomah County’s internal investigation into whether Sheriff Staton violated workplace rules is still ongoing. Oregon AFSCME says they’re hoping, with enough people calling for his resignation, the sheriff could step down before the investigation is concluded.