Community members and civil rights leaders packed a Washington County Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, Sept. 22, demanding Commissioner Pam Treece withdraw from the race for county chair.

More than a dozen speakers told commissioners they had tolerated years of abusive conduct by outgoing Chair Kathryn Harrington, as OregonLive first reported. Sandy Chung, executive director of the ACLU of Oregon, directed her remarks squarely at Treece, asking her to "seriously consider withdrawing from the race" and saying Treece had not shown the leadership needed to chair Oregon's most diverse county.

The public pressure followed a Sept. 16 call for Harrington's resignation by seven Tigard-area officials, including Mayor Yi-Khang Hu. Treece herself called for Harrington's immediate resignation on Sept. 17, saying she could no longer wait for board action. But speakers at the Sept. 22 meeting said that response came too late.

Harrington announced her resignation Monday, Sept. 21, effective Oct. 2. The move followed a week of backlash after she flipped off Commissioner Nafisa Fai during a Sept. 15 work session.

Resident Janna Nelson told commissioners they had looked the other way for years. Kaman Minor, a board member for the Beaverton Black Peoples Union, said commissioners had "failed your fellow commissioners" by staying silent through Harrington's pattern of behavior.

Speakers singled out Treece and Commissioner Jason Snider for not speaking up when Harrington made the gesture at Fai. Both have said they did not see it happen. Meeting video shows neither was looking in Harrington's direction at the time, according to OregonLive.

Treece did not respond to OregonLive's request for comment as of Sept. 24. Snider told OregonLive that day that the board had been addressing the issue behind the scenes, though he acknowledged it "may not have been as visible."

The criticism carries political weight. Treece and Fai are competing in the Nov. 3 general election for county chair, a position that oversees Washington County's $2 billion budget and pays $145,840 a year. Fai led the May primary with 39% of the vote to Treece's 33%.

Treece had accepted Harrington's endorsement and campaign donations. She said in a Sept. 15 news release she was "shocked and disappointed" by the gesture and would return Harrington's $10,000 contribution. She still accepted three other, smaller donations from Harrington, according to OregonLive.

A 2022 county report found Harrington had yelled at subordinates, reduced some to tears and driven employees to leave their jobs. Voters reelected her anyway.

Commissioner Snider served as chair pro tem at the Sept. 22 meeting. Harrington and Commissioner Jerry Willey were absent.

The board voted 3-0 to let all public commenters speak at the start of the meeting, with two minutes each in addition to the standard five-minute period, according to meeting minutes.

The new county chair will be elected Nov. 3 and sworn in Jan. 3, 2027.