Beaverton Valley Times

Less than a week after Washington County Board of Commissioners then-Chair Kathryn Harrington gave the middle finger to a fellow commissioner, she is stepping down from her seat.

Leaders across Washington County and beyond, including those who share the dais with Harrington, have been calling for her to resign in the days after she made the obscene gesture toward Commissioner Nafisa Fai during a public work session Sept. 15.

“I am grateful to the people of Washington County for the opportunity to serve them in our local county government,” Harrington said in a release Monday afternoon, Sept. 21.

Her resignation is effective Oct. 2, but Vice Chair Jerry Willey will preside over board meetings until then. Harrington will also not accept internal or external meetings or retain security access to county facilities, according to a release from the Washington County Administrative Office.

The backlash began after Harrington flipped off Commissioner Nafisa Fai during a work session Sept. 15.

“Commissioner Fai, could you stop getting in the way of my sightline to Commissioner Snider? Thank you,” Harrington said as she waved in Fai’s direction. Fai was sitting next to Commissioner Jason Snider, with Harrington at the head of the table.

Harrington then put her hands on the table, scooted her chair to the side and gave Fai the middle finger.

Harrington was first elected to the Washington County Board of Commissioners in 2018 and was reelected in 2022. She chose not to run for reelection to her seat earlier this year.

Stepping down from chair before resignation

Two days after the meeting, Harrington announced that she would step back from her responsibilities as chair to focus on mental health treatment.

“Tuesday’s behavior was a signal that I need to prioritize getting help and support right now,” Harrington said in a statement Sept. 17. “I’m taking that seriously.”

In her statement, Harrington reiterated her apology to Fai, her fellow commissioners, county employees and the community and said she has previously spoken publicly about her mental health struggles.

But that move wasn’t enough for local leadership, including three of the four other Washington County commissioners.

Commissioners Snider, Willey and Pam Treece issued a joint statement Thursday, Sept. 17, saying Harrington’s conduct two days earlier was “simply unacceptable” and called for her to resign or face censure. Fai was not among the commissioners who issued the statement. She told the News-Times earlier Thursday that she had not called for Harrington’s resignation and was leaving that decision to Harrington.

If Harrington did not resign, the three commissioners said they intended to pursue a formal censure that would replace her as the facilitator of board meetings, remove her as the primary liaison to county staff for preparing board agendas and require her to participate in future county meetings virtually.

The proposed restrictions would also have required any meetings between Harrington and county staff to take place virtually and be observed by another commissioner and remove Harrington’s security access to nonpublic county facilities.

The commissioners also planned to ask Harrington to voluntarily reduce her compensation to payments covering her medical and dental insurance until she leaves the county. Her term as county commissioner is set to expire at the end of this year.

“We respect Chair Harrington’s decision to resign and appreciate her partnership in helping the County Board of Commissioners’ move work forward without interruption in service to the community and employees,” Snider said in the release announcing Harrington’s resignation Sept. 21. “We will continue to work together in the weeks ahead to ensure a seamless transition and support her focus on taking care of her health at this time.”