Four candidates are competing for a seat on the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD) board on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The nonpartisan race for At-Large Position 2 features Daniel Newberry, Jeremy Wood, Steph Routh and Alex Parise. The winner will serve a four-year term on the board, which adopts the district's budget, hires and oversees the executive director and sets strategic direction for conservation programs.
The district runs on roughly $7 million a year in revenue, according to a comment Wood posted on the Mortlandia blog. Its tax rate is fixed, meaning revenue cannot rise even as personnel costs climb. That tension shapes the choices the next board member will face on farmland protection, habitat work and community grants.
Daniel Newberry
Newberry identifies himself as a fish and wildlife administrator at the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), according to his statement in the official November 2026 voters' pamphlet as reported by Rose City Beat. He lists earlier leadership roles with the Johnson Creek Watershed Council, the Siskiyou Field Institute and the Applegate River Watershed Council. He also cites hydrology work with the Hoopa Valley Tribe and the U.S. Forest Service.
According to the Johnson Creek Watershed Council, Newberry served as its executive director for nearly ten years before departing in 2024. At BPA, he co-managed the Columbia Basin Water Transactions Program, which protects water in streams for salmon and steelhead, according to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
His education includes a master's in forest science from Yale and a bachelor's in physics from Middlebury College. He served on Portland's Urban Forestry Commission from 2017 to 2023, according to his pamphlet statement.
Newberry says he supports climate justice, equitable grant priorities and careful use of taxpayer funds. He says he wants to protect farmland, improve irrigation efficiency and preserve streamside areas.
Jeremy Wood
Wood identifies himself as senior contracts manager at American Forests, according to his voters' pamphlet statement as reported by Rose City Beat. He lists earlier water conservation management work with Environmental Incentives and operations work on a USAID-funded program.
He holds a bachelor's degree from Skidmore College and a master's in international development and education from George Washington University.
Wood says careful contract review, budgeting and risk management are essential to lasting conservation work. He says he wants to bring technical financial oversight to the board so conservation programs remain funded despite changing federal support.
Also on the ballot
Steph Routh and Alex Parise round out the four-candidate field. The Mortlandia blog profiled three of the four candidates who submitted voters' pamphlet statements: Newberry, Wood and Routh. Parise was not among them.
