Multnomah County and city of Portland leaders have battled for months over the best way to address slow ambulance response times. Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, on the advice of medical professionals, has said she wants to maintain a county requirement that ambulances each have two paramedics on board. Critics of that plan, including county Commissioner Sharon Meieran and Portland Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, want the county to allow an emergency medical technician to replace the second paramedic, a move they contend will ease the worker shortage at the heart of the problem. In the middle of the debate are many others like County Commissioner Jesse Beason, who wants more answers before making a decision that could have unintended consequences. Read more at the link in our bio. 📸: The Oregonian #multnomahcounty #ambulance #firstresponders #paramedics #oregonpolitics #orpolitics #orpol #theoregonian