Craig Pope
2024
Polk County Oregon
County Commissioner
Biographical Abstracts
Craig Pope, a member of the Polk County Board of Commissioners, has served the county and state of Oregon in several capacities over the past 40 years.
Born in Willamette Valley, Pope grew up on the family’s grass seed farm.
He started a small manufacturing business in 1988 known as Agriweld Inc. Over 22-plus years, the business grew to supply agricultural solutions across the U.S. and overseas.
Pope served as a volunteer firefighter and station captain with the local fire district for more than 25 years, eight of those as chair of the district volunteer firefighter association. He was awarded “Firefighter of the Year” in 1998. He was a reserve police officer in Philomath, Oregon, for two years.
From 2005-11, Pope served on the Board of Directors of Luckiamute Domestic Water Cooperative.
Pope began his first term as a Polk County Commissioner in 2011, following his election in 2010. He was reelected in 2014, 2018, and 2022. He also has been elected to leadership positions in the Association of Oregon Counties, serving as president, vice president, and treasurer.
Pope is an active member of National Association of Counties (NACo), serving on two committees to represent Polk County and the state of Oregon. In addition, he is an active member of a four-county workforce development board. He serves on a state Workforce and Talent Development Board to represent workforce pipeline and resource needs for Oregon.
He is active in the state legislature and frequently travels to Washington, D.C., to advocate for Polk County and Oregon.
Areas of Expertise
- Local government finance and management
- Economic Development
- Workforce and talent development
- Legislative policy
- Natural resource policy