Oregon Public Broadcasting

More of the dust settled Wednesday in the race to be Multnomah County Chair.  The Deputy Director of Oregon's Human Services Department, Margaret Carter, announced that she is withdrawing her candidacy. Margaret Carter: "After filing Tuesday, I reflected on my decision over night and realized that this is not the time for me to leave my current responsibilities. I know that I could not run a strong campaign and do my job at the same time."

Current Multnomah County Chair, Ted Wheeler, was appointed state treasurer Tuesday. That left a short time window for candidates to file for his seat.

Carter said she got so many phone calls encouraging her to run - and vows of support - that she thought it best to file and then think about it.

Multnomah County Commissioner Jeff Cogen; retired Portland tire distributor Wesley Soderback; and Gresham truck driver Mike Darger; will now duke it out over the next eight weeks.