FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PORTLAND, Ore. – The City Auditor announced today that P.K. Runkles-Pearson was hired to serve as the Office’s new General Counsel.
The Office’s General Counsel provides legal and policy advice to the City Auditor, Portland’s elected, independent watchdog.
Runkles-Pearson brings decades of legal experience to the Auditor’s Office. She recently served as the first General Counsel to the Oregon Secretary of State, where she advised agency leadership under two administrations. Her subject-matter expertise includes public records, government ethics, elections, employment law, and constitutional law.
Runkles-Pearson previously worked as in-house counsel at Portland State University and in private practice, where she focused on public higher education. She served as chair of the Oregon Law Commission, the ACLU of Oregon’s Lawyers’ Committee, and the Oregon State Bar’s Constitutional Law Section. She graduated from New York University School of Law, where she served as Executive Editor of the Law Review, and she clerked for Justice Thomas A. Balmer of the Oregon Supreme Court.
“P.K.’s background and experience are a perfect match for our Office’s broad responsibility to ensure open and accountable City government,” said Auditor Simone Rede, whose second term began in January 2025. “I’m confident she will help lead the Auditor’s Office through more changes as the City’s new form of government continues to take shape.”
The Auditor is directly elected by Portland voters and is independent from City Council, the Mayor, and the City’s leadership team. The Office has authority to set human resources policies and rules for carrying out its duties. The Auditor conducts performance audits of the City, supervises City elections, enforces the City’s campaign finance and lobbying regulations, maintains City records, investigates the City’s administrative actions and fraud complaints, serves as Clerk of the Council, and performs other duties with her consent.
The Auditor’s Office oversaw the City’s first ranked-choice voting election in November 2024 and resumed oversight of the City’s Hearings Office in July 2024.
###