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Shannon Portillo

Updated at 4:50 p.m. Monday

Douglas County Commissioner Shannon Portillo is set to leave Douglas County for a position at Arizona State University.

Portillo informed the Journal-World on Monday that she has accepted a position as the university’s director of the School of Public Affairs, and will begin in that role in October. After Portillo moves, she said her seat on the three-member commission would be filled by Democratic precinct committee people within her district.

Portillo, who moved to Lawrence at age 16 to attend KU, was elected to the Douglas County Commission’s 3rd District seat in November 2020, for a four-year term.

Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew told the Journal-World that because Portillo will be exiting her seat during the second half of her term, whoever is selected to fill her seat will finish out her term, which expires in January of 2025. If Portillo had left in the first half of her term, Shew said it would have prompted a special election process.

Portillo said she has valued her time on the County Commission and would remain strongly committed to the work in her remaining months.

“While the role of county commissioner has been challenging, it has also been one of the most galvanizing and rewarding experiences of my life,” Portillo said. “Douglas County has been my home for the majority of my life. And while my family is relocating, Douglas County will continue to be just that: home. Until we move, I will continue to advocate for a stronger, healthier and safer Douglas County where our policies match our rhetoric.”

Portillo told the Journal-World that she is excited that ASU’s charter seems to match her personal values closely. The charter states “ASU is a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural, and overall health of the communities it serves.”

“It’s going to be incredibly hard to leave the county,” Portillo said. “I’ve loved the work that I’ve done there and what we’ve been able to accomplish with reforms in criminal justice, advocating for a federal public defender’s office and working with Kansas Holistic Defenders, as well as our work around housing. I think we’re doing a lot of really great work, but the county is also in an incredible place to continue that work.”

Portillo said that before she leaves her seat on the commission, she’s looking forward to working with fellow commissioners Shannon Reid and Patrick Kelly and county staff to put together a budget for Douglas County for next year. She said that she saw budgets as the “values documents” of a community and that setting the budget was the commission’s most important task.

As for whether public service is in the cards in Arizona, Portillo said she didn’t currently have any plans to run for office there. Instead, she said the plan was to focus on her new role at ASU.

Portillo is currently the associate dean for academic affairs for KU’s Edwards Campus and the School of Professional Studies and a professor in KU’s School of Public Affairs and Administration. She has a doctorate in public administration from KU.

Last year, she was a finalist for a college dean position at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, but did not get the job.

Portillo also serves on Gov. Laura Kelly’s Commission on Racial Equity and Justice.

Dean Cynthia Lietz of Arizona State University in a news release Monday praised Portillo’s “commitment to interdisciplinary methods and her deep appreciation for the ASU Charter’s dedication to inclusion.”

“We are fortunate and honored to have Dr. Portillo lead our widely respected and consistently recognized School of Public Affairs,” Lietz said.

Portillo, in the Arizona State news release, noted that she already has family in Arizona, including her father-in-law and a cousin, and her parents, who at one time lived in Phoenix, plan to return soon.