Melissa Fireside briefly served on the commission before resigning (staff file photo).

After facing what a couple commissioners described as intense lobbying and deliberating what they each characterized as a very difficult decision, the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners approved the appointment of former Damascus Mayor Diana Helm by a 3-1 vote during a meeting Monday, May 19 to fill the seat vacated by Melissa Fireside’s resignation.

Helm was the mayor of Damascus before the city was disincorporated in 2020. Commissioners Ben West, Martha Schrader and Paul Savas voted for Helm’s appointment while Chair Craig Roberts voted against it. Other finalists included Metro Councilor Christine Lewis, Happy Valley Mayor Tom Ellis and former Lake Oswego city councilors Jeff Gudman and Jackie Manz. Fifty-nine people applied for the post.

Helm will serve at least through 2026.

“I want to do my best. I want to make you proud. I want to work with everyone, be on your team and move forward,” Helm said at the meeting.

Details on deliberations

The county faced this appointment process on the heels of Fireside’s resignation in March. The former commissioner served briefly after being elected in 2024 before she was indicted on charges related to the alleged swindling of an elderly man.

Following an interview process with the candidates that lasted close to four hours Monday, the commissioners expressed differing initial views on who should be selected.

Savas preferred Helm in part because he felt rural parts of Clackamas County are often underrepresented and don’t have as much of a political voice as urban areas. He said for 25 years he’s seen how the influence of bigger cities in the county like Lake Oswego and Wilsonville play a role in governmental prioritization. Currently, Roberts and West are Wilsonville residents while Schrader lives in Lake Oswego and Savas lives in unincorporated Clackamas County.

Savas also felt that Helm comported herself well during the former city of Damascus’s process to disincorporate.

“The hell you went through and the backbone you showed, I just admired you then. We don’t always agree on stuff, but I admired you for that and admire you for that today,” he said, later adding: “I’ve been a fighter for the little guy and the little guy unfortunately has the least political influence and that is our population. Colleagues, I’m trying to represent that smaller voice today.”

Gudman seemed to be the commission’s second-favorite choice and the commissioners expressed how impressed they were by his knowledge of the issues, commitment to consistently staying plugged in to county happenings and his economic background. In 2024, Gudman ran as a Democrat for Oregon state treasurer.

Schrader said Gudman was her preferred candidate before compromising.

“The reason I like you (as a candidate) so much is because I know the financial precipice we are facing,” she said, referring to challenges with the budget including paying off debt related to the new courthouse.

Roberts, however, favored Lewis and while fellow commissioners also extolled the Metro councilor, they did not choose her largely because they liked her in her current role advocating for the county at the regional government level and were worried about uncertainty surrounding who would replace her at Metro.

“I think she brings the most comprehensive experience — full-time, strong background in elected office and community service. She has a breadth of experience that spans rural and urban and a deep understanding of how local, state and community partners intersect and shape policy,” Roberts said, adding that he’s seen Lewis defend Clackamas County at the Metro level.

What did Helm say during her interview? 

In her interview with the county commissioners, Helm touched on her time leading Damascus, her other volunteer work and some of her opinions on issues facing the county and the state.

Helm said that she jokes about being the mayor who killed Damascus, but really she helped give voters the opportunity to make the choice. She also said that the city wasn’t given as much autonomy over its own growth as residents expected and that it was clear based on local voters’ rejections of comprehensive plans that the community did not support the urbanized path it was headed down.

“When we became a city and I was attending upwards of four-to-five meetings a week, I come to find out we were mandated to grow and a lot of people in Damascus did not want that,” Helm said, adding: “Damascus was the biggest mistake Metro (regional government) ever made and they know that.”

Helm, a former small business owner, said Oregon has too many regulations and taxes and that they culminate to hurt small businesses.

“I don’t think anyone in Salem has ever owned or run a business,” Helm said. “Every little tax they go, ‘It’s just a few pennies here, just a few pennies there,’ (and) that all adds up to, ‘I have to let a person go. I have to cut this. I have to cut that,’ just in order to make a buck.”

Along with having served on the North Clackamas Chamber of Commerce, Helm has also volunteered with the Clackamas Water Environment Services Advisory Committee and the Sunrise Water Authority boards. She said she was a part of the county’s recent visioning process for economic development in the Sunrise Corridor.

Policy wise, Helm said she was a big fan of “trimming the fat” within budgets, public-private partnerships, more transit options in the county beyond TriMet as well as increasing the supply of industrial land in Clackamas County and investments in health, housing and human services.

However, she said she views her role as a voice for citizens.

“You listen to the citizens; that’s your job. The citizens are our customers; we work for them and we serve them,” Helm said.

As a new commissioner, Helm will have to dive head first into the county’s budget approval process that begins next week. At the meeting Helm said she did not know whether she would run for reelection in 2026.