Commissioner Pam Treece leads Commissioner Nafisa Fai by about 4,200 votes in the race for Washington County Board of Commissioners chair, with tens of thousands of ballots still uncounted.
Treece opened election night on Nov. 3 with 51.8% of the vote to Fai's 47.3% in unofficial results, the Bethany Beacon reported, citing OPB. By Wednesday afternoon, the lead had narrowed to about 4,200 votes, with as many as 77,000 ballots still to be tallied, The Oregonian reported. Fai would need roughly 53% of the remaining vote to overtake Treece, The Oregonian reported.
The winner will lead the five-member Washington County Board of Commissioners, which oversees the county's $2 billion budget. The position pays $149,777 a year, according to The Oregonian.
"So far, looks good," Treece told the Valley Times after initial results were released. She added that results were still early but that she was "feeling very positive" about what she had seen. The Valley Times reported Fai did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Both candidates are sitting commissioners. Treece has represented District 2 since January 2019. Fai has represented District 1 since 2020, according to the Bethany Beacon. Neither won a majority in the May 19 three-way primary. Fai received 39.1% in that race, followed by Treece with 33.1%, the Valley Times reported.
Both are seeking to replace former Chair Kathryn Harrington, who did not seek reelection and resigned this fall after making an obscene gesture toward Fai during a public work session, according to the Valley Times.
The Oregonian reported that Treece returned a $10,000 donation from Harrington and removed Harrington's endorsement from her campaign website after the incident. Dozens of local politicians rallied around Fai's bid following the gesture, The Oregonian reported.
The race drew additional attention after Fai appeared at an Oct. 10 event in Minneapolis for immigrants and refugees. Video showed her speaking in front of an upside-down American flag. Some supporters falsely asserted the video was a deepfake, and Fai denied she sent a manipulated image used to support a now-retracted report claiming she was the victim of a deepfake, the Valley Times reported.
Treece had raised $612,476 for her campaign as of Nov. 3, The Oregonian reported. Fai had raised $548,725. Treece's donors included Columbia CEO Tim Boyle and Nike co-founder Phil Knight. Fai's biggest backers included AFSCME Council 75 and SEIU Local 49, according to The Oregonian.
Ballot returns showed about 38.5% voter turnout as of midnight Nov. 4, though not all ballots had been tabulated, the Valley Times reported. Oregon law allows ballots postmarked on Election Day to be counted if received within the following week.
The county will update voting results again Friday at 4 p.m., according to The Oregonian. Certified final results are scheduled for Nov. 30, with election officials having until Dec. 10 to certify results with the Oregon Secretary of State, the Bethany Beacon reported.
