Why do most Oregon counties have only three people on their elected governing board?

Three-commissioner boards in Oregon started as a tradition before statehood and later codified in the state’s constitution. Early counties were responsible for law enforcement, jails, property records, establishment and maintenance of roads and minor judicial functions. Before statehood “county courts” consisting of three judges were given responsibility for probate and “county commissioner” administrative jurisdiction. 

Provisions were made for county courts when the Territory of Oregon was established in 1848.  In general, during the 1850s the county court became more of an administrative body, and the tendency was to separate administrative and judicial functions on the same board. 

During the 1857 Oregon constitutional convention some delegates argued that perhaps just a single, well-paid county judge should be responsible for both judicial functions and county administration so it would be easier to determine who was responsible in case county funds were misappropriated or spent lavishly. 

Other delegates disagreed with the idea of having one person run the county, arguing that would give one man too much power and that citizens seemed satisfied with a board of three administer/judges. They finally settled on a compromise, voting on a constitutional provision calling for the election of a county judge, but allowing the legislature to create by statute two offices of county commissioner “to sit with the County Judge whilst transacting county business.”  

Oregon became a state in 1859 and over the years the state legislature enacted bills transferring some or all the county judge’s judicial duties to the circuit courts. In some counties the county judge retained the title and a six-year term but functioned only as chair of the county board. Other counties obtained special legislation eliminating the office of county judge entirely and substituting a third commissioner. 

In 1906 voters approved an amendment to Oregon’s Constitution called Home Rule that gives cities and counties the ability to adopt a charter and define their governmental structure beyond what the state’s constitution says. As some counties’ population grew large, such as Lane and Multnomah, they expanded their boards from three to five commissioners.  As state and federal agencies providing counties with services and funding also grew, many counties, realizing elected officials didn’t have the expertise to sort through and keep track of state and federal programs, also hired professional managers to take over those administrative duties. 

So far, only six of Oregon’s 36 counties have five commissioner boards while many now have managers. Proponents for adding more commissioners say three-commissioner counties without managers require voters to be human resource professionals as they try to hire people with enough expertise to meet the critical challenges in their counties. Logistical problems also exist on the three-county boards as well, since two commissioners are a quorum and cannot meet informally, attend the same community meeting or even get feedback on an important matter without risking a violation of the state’s Open Meeting Law. They say it is also too easy for one person to dominate a three-member board with a compliant second vote. 

To expand its board of commissioners, a county would have to adopt Home Rule. So far only nine counties do so. Non-home rule counties follow state statutes regarding county administrative structure, which still contain language referring to a county judge and two commissioners.  In Home Rule counties, voters must approve any expansion of the governing board. So far, three counties, Douglas, Jackson and Josephine have put board expansion measures on the ballot without success. Tradition, formed over the span of more than 160 years, defines many Oregon counties today despite citizens’ efforts to modernize their county’s governance. 

Sources: The Oregon Blue Book, A Brief History of Oregon County Government by Ken Tollenaar, The Oregonian

History of county commissioners