Washington County commissioner decries ‘culture of fear’ cultivated by recently resigned chair

Elected officials from across Washington County gathered Tuesday in support of Commissioner Nafisa Fai, who was flipped off by the commission chair in a meeting last week.

Fallout in the wake of Chair Kathryn Harrington’s obscene gesture was swift. Calls for her resignation rang out the next day. She resigned on Monday.

“Unfortunately, this incident was simply the last in a long line of previously documented behavior. It’s about more than one action, the actions of one leader,” said Fai, who moved to the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia as a teenager and is the only person of color to have ever served on the Washington County commission.

“The events of last week’s meeting proved that we need to move beyond the status quo,” Fai said, flanked by fellow public officials outside the county administration building Tuesday.

Fai is running against fellow commissioner Pam Treece in a November run-off to replace Harrington, who is not on the ballot. Neither Fai nor Treece reached a simple majority in May’s primary.

Fai said it was unacceptable for others to “go along” with the “culture of fear” established in the county’s highest office.

Attendance at Tuesday’s press conference — which included state legislators, members of Metro Council, and other elected officials from Hillsboro, Beaverton and beyond — signaled broad support for Fai in her bid to replace Harrington.

The day after Harrington’s obscene gesture, Treece renounced the chair’s endorsement and promised to return the recent $10,000 donation Harrington made to her campaign.

“As leaders, we have to hold ourselves to higher standards for our speech and our actions,” Treece said in a statement the following day. “And when we fall short, we need to acknowledge it, take responsibility, and do better in the future.”