OUR County Commissioner
Diana Helm for Clackamas County Commissioner, Position 4
"Diana Helm has proven to be an excellent County Commissioner”
- Lori Olund, President, Miles Fiberglass
Limited housing supply raises costs for those seeking to buy a home. To accelerate new home construction, I am streamlining the permit process by implementing a more customer service-friendly approach.
Focus on Affordability & Livability
Champion Small Business
Enhancing living-wage jobs begins by supporting our local small businesses. As a small business owner, I believe government should empower, not hinder, the businesses that drive our community forward.
Ensuring our justice system works well for all of our citizens is a priority. Compassion and accountability. I will continue to advocate for the Sunrise Corridor so freight can move safely through the county and local residents can get to our local businesses, schools and homes.
Safe & Vibrant Communities
About Diana
Community Leader. Business Owner. Problem Solver. Helping to lead the future of the place we call home-Clackamas County.
Growing up in the small coastal town of Langlois, Oregon, Diana was nurtured on the values of a close-knit community, values that guide her today as our Clackamas County Commissioner.
Diana studied music and business at Linn-Benton Community College before beginning her career at Fred Meyer when she was only 16. Her strong work ethic and leadership emerged quickly, advancing from cashier to the corporate office as a principal buyer in her sixteen years with the company.
Pausing her career to raise a family in the late 1990’s, Diana shifted her energy to community service, volunteering with Doernbecher Children’s Hospital through the Women for Children chapter and as a SMART reading program participant at her children’s grade school.
As her children grew, she was called to public service by her community and elected to the Damascus City Council in 2006. That same year, she opened her own business, Terra Casa, a home décor specialty retail store which was a mainstay in Damascus for eighteen years. Diana has an interesting distinction of being the last Mayor of Damascus before the city disincorporated in 2016.
Her public service includes four years on the Sunrise Water Authority Board, Chair of the Water Environment Services Advisory Committee, and on the Board of directors of the North Clackamas Chamber of Commerce.
In May 2025, when a seat on the Clackamas County Commission was vacated, 59 citizens applied to fill the role. Diana was selected by the Board of Commissioners to fill that vacancy.
Diana has already made her mark on the Commission, advocating for economic development, support for small business and the jobs they create for our community. She has embraced a goal of building 900 more affordable housing units by 2030 and reduce regulatory process burden by 2028 to ensure an effective and timely permitting process for the community. A strong advocate for clean air, water, and environmental stewardship of our natural resources, Diana believes economic vitality and preserving our environmental values are not mutually exclusive objectives.
She is committing to address homelessness in the County through completion and operations of the Clackamas County Recovery Campus by 2027. Diana is unaffiliated with any political party. She is partisan only to the well-being of her community and the families that call Clackamas County home. She believes in setting goals, meeting those goals and delivering results.
Diana now is a proud grandmother, and proud of her two sons who both work in the construction industry, following in their mother’s footsteps helping to build a vibrant community.