Washington County Chair Kathryn Harrington will give up her leadership duties but keep her seat on the Board of Commissioners after flipping off a fellow commissioner during a public meeting.
Harrington announced Thursday, Sept. 17, that she is stepping back as board chair to seek mental health treatment. She said the move is effective immediately but that she will not resign, planning instead to continue as a regular commissioner through the end of her term on Jan. 3, 2027.
"It is clear that on occasion I have failed to manifest the best qualities of an elected leader, and this is one of those times, which I regret," Harrington said in a statement, according to the Valley Times.
The announcement came two days after Harrington raised her middle finger toward District 1 Commissioner Nafisa Fai during the board's Tuesday, Sept. 15, work session. Fai paused the meeting and asked the room whether anyone had seen the gesture, according to the Valley Times' earlier report. No one responded.
Vice Chair Jerry Willey will lead meetings in Harrington's absence. Commissioner Jason Snider will serve as chair pro tem when Willey is unavailable.
Harrington's decision falls short of what seven Tigard-area elected officials demanded Wednesday, Sept. 16, when they formally called for her resignation.
That group included Tigard Mayor Yi-Kang Hu, state Reps. Ben Bowman and Sue Rieke Smith, state Sen. Courtney Neron Misslin, Tigard City Council President Maureen Wolf, and Tigard-Tualatin School Board Chair David Jaimes and Vice Chair Tristan Irvin.
In their joint statement, the officials said the gesture required accountability beyond an apology and formally called on Harrington to step down, according to Your Oregon News.
District 2 Commissioner Pam Treece also called for Harrington's immediate resignation Thursday, after Harrington's announcement. Treece said in a statement she could no longer wait for board action.
Treece had already distanced herself from Harrington after the Sept. 15 incident, saying she would return a $10,000 campaign contribution from the chair and removing Harrington's endorsement from her campaign website.
Fai and Treece are running against each other in a Nov. 3 runoff to succeed Harrington, who chose not to seek reelection.
Washington County is Oregon's second-largest county, and the chair oversees a $2 billion budget at a salary of $145,840 a year.
The Oregonian/OregonLive previously reported that a 2022 investigation found Harrington's conduct toward county employees was abusive, and that two former employees said troubling behavior continued after that investigation.
No next meeting date for the Board of Commissioners has been confirmed following Harrington's announcement.
