Commissioner Pam Treece led Commissioner Nafisa Fai in the race for Washington County chair in early unofficial returns Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Results as of 8 p.m. showed Treece with 51.8% of the vote to Fai's 47.3%, a lead of 4,870 votes, OPB reported.

These are unofficial results. Washington County will continue updating vote totals through Nov. 27, with certified final results scheduled for Nov. 30. Track results at results.oregonvotes.gov.

What's at stake

The winner will replace former Chair Kathryn Harrington, who resigned earlier this fall after making an obscene gesture at Fai during a public meeting, according to OPB. The chair leads the Washington County Board of Commissioners.

The race serves as a broader test of a growing progressive movement in Washington County, OPB reported. Fai and a coalition of left-leaning candidates challenged more moderate, business-friendly candidates like Treece across the ballot.

The candidates

Nafisa Fai has served as the county's District 1 commissioner since 2020, when she became the first person of color elected to the commission in Oregon's most racially diverse county, according to OPB's pre-election coverage. A refugee from Somalia who came to the U.S. as a child, Fai has a background in public health. She won reelection in 2024.

Fai positioned herself as the race's strongest opponent of data center expansion. She proposed the county declare a moratorium on data centers, OPB reported. She earned the backing of the county Democratic Party, public employee unions, the Jane Fonda Climate PAC and former Gov. John Kitzhaber. As of Oct. 27, her campaign had raised just over $182,000 since the May primary.

Pam Treece was first elected as District 2 commissioner in 2018. She said she has lived in Washington County for 30 years and worked as an executive at Pacific Power and the Westside Economic Alliance, OPB reported.

Treece stressed economic development and earned endorsements from the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, local firefighter and police unions, several county mayors and the county's other two commissioners. As of Oct. 27, her campaign had raised more than $275,000 since the May primary.

Affordability and data centers

Both candidates listed affordability as a top voter concern. Treece said the commission can focus on developing a skilled workforce and creating jobs. Fai said she would prioritize everyday residents over large corporations, some of which have received tax breaks for data center development, according to OPB.

Fai also said she heard concerns in the western half of the county about preserving the area's agricultural roots. Treece told OPB she believes the county does not need to continue building data centers.

Turnout

Of the county's more than 410,000 registered voters, 188,102 ballots had been received as of Nov. 3, a 45.84% turnout, according to the Washington County Elections Office. Mailed ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 3 will still be accepted and counted. Election officials have until Dec. 10 to certify the results with the Oregon Secretary of State.