Washington County Chair Kathryn Harrington is facing calls to resign from state and local elected officials after directing a middle-finger gesture toward Commissioner Nafisa Fai during a publicly broadcast Board of Commissioners work session Tuesday, an exchange that was captured on county video and followed by a public apology from Harrington.
The incident occurred during the Sept. 15 work session while Harrington was speaking with Commissioner Jason Snider. Before the gesture, Harrington asked Fai to adjust her position because she was interfering with Harrington’s line of sight to Snider. Fai moved, and the meeting continued briefly before Harrington raised her middle finger in Fai’s direction.
Fai stopped the discussion and asked the other commissioners whether they had seen the gesture. When no one responded, the meeting proceeded.
By Tuesday afternoon, Harrington had acknowledged her conduct and apologized.
“I formally and personally apologize to Commissioner Nafisa Fai, my fellow district commissioner board members, to our Washington County workforce and the community for my unprofessional response to Commissioner Fai in our work session meeting this morning,” Harrington said. “My reaction was very plainly not appropriate in any instance. I should not have behaved in such a hurtful manner.”
The apology did not end the response from public officials.
On Wednesday, a group of Tigard-area elected leaders formally called for Harrington’s resignation. The statement was issued by Rep. Ben Bowman, Rep. Sue Rieke Smith, Sen. Courtney Neron Misslin, Tigard Mayor Yi-Kang Hu, Tigard Council President Maureen Wolf, Tigard-Tualatin School Board Chair David Jaimes and School Board Vice Chair Tristan Irvin.
“The conduct displayed by Chair Harrington is unacceptable,” the group said. “The Chair of the County Commission should set a high standard for professionalism, respect, and decorum. Raising the middle finger to a colleague during a public meeting is a blatant failure to meet that standard.”
The officials acknowledged Harrington’s apology but said they believed resignation was warranted.
Commissioner Pam Treece, who was present during Tuesday’s meeting, also condemned Harrington’s conduct. Treece announced that she would return a $10,000 campaign contribution from Harrington and remove Harrington’s endorsement from her campaign materials.
Fai and Treece are competing for the county chair position that Harrington will leave at the conclusion of her current term. Harrington announced previously that she would not seek another term. Washington County records list her term as ending Dec. 31, 2026.
The confrontation also brings Harrington’s previous workplace conduct disputes back into the public record, although those matters are separate from Tuesday’s meeting.
Several years ago, Washington County retained an outside investigator following allegations concerning Harrington’s interactions with county employees. The investigation examined complaints involving yelling or screaming, profanity, disrespectful body language and allegations of intimidating, condescending or rude treatment of employees. Harrington had also faced criticism over her interactions with staff during her earlier service on the Metro Council.
Separately, Harrington was the subject of an Oregon Government Ethics Commission proceeding involving travel connected with Clean Water Services, where members of the Washington County Board also serve as the agency’s governing board.
The Ethics Commission opened an investigation in September 2025 after determining there was sufficient basis to examine allegations involving travel and benefits. The matter subsequently proceeded to a stipulated final order in 2026. That proceeding concerned Oregon government ethics requirements and was unrelated to Harrington’s interaction with Fai this week.
Harrington serves as Washington County’s only at-large commissioner and chairs its five-member governing board, representing residents throughout the county. She was first elected county chair in 2018 after previously serving on the Metro Council.
The Sept. 15 exchange has now moved beyond the meeting room where it occurred. What began as a brief gesture during a county work session was recorded on the government’s own broadcast, acknowledged by Harrington and followed within a day by resignation demands from officials representing several levels of government in the Tigard area.
Harrington remains Washington County chair, and the calls for her resignation carry no independent authority to remove her from office. Her current term continues through the end of December unless she leaves the position earlier.