Mike Schmidt is Multnomah County’s District Attorney.
Following the abrupt resignation of the previous District Attorney, Mike took office in August 2020 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and months of protests following George Floyd’s murder. Throughout his first term, Mike has prioritized his office’s resources to focus on gun violence and other violent crime, and he has significantly increased data accessibility and transparency in the office. He has also enacted major progressive policy reforms, establishing a new Justice Integrity Unit, expanding opportunities for restorative justice solutions, making immigration-neutral charging decisions, and creating an evidence-based STEP Court focusing on reducing recidivism.
Mike first moved to Oregon in 2005 after teaching in public high schools in New Orleans. As a teacher, he observed the school-to-prison pipeline firsthand. His students were victims of crime, witnesses to crime, children of incarcerated parents, and sometimes defendants themselves.
That experience drove Mike to study criminal law at Lewis & Clark and join the Multnomah District Attorney's Office.
As a Deputy District Attorney serving under former D.A. Schrunk, Mike gained prosecutorial experience that showed him how the criminal justice system worked—and where it fell short. As a frontline prosecutor, Mike tried misdemeanor cases, property crime felonies, drug court cases, and led a project to get restitution for victims of crime.
Before being elected Multnomah D.A. himself, he served as Executive Director of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission.
In that role, he oversaw a $90 million budget and spearheaded community-based efforts to reform our state’s approach to criminal justice. As Director, Mike led projects that have made our system more transparent, fought for legislation that decreases racial disparities, and for treating addiction like a health issue—not a criminal justice issue.
Mike lives in Southeast Portland with his wife and their two sons. Mike enjoys playing darts, board games, watching the Blazers and the Saints, and spending time with his family exploring Oregon.