Runoff Elections Set for Washington County Commission Chair and District 4 in Oregon

HILLSBORO, Ore. — The governing leadership of Oregon’s second-largest county and Silicon Forest economic hub will be decided in November, as certified election filings establish high-stakes runoff matchups for both the Washington County Commission Chair and the open District 4 commission seat.

In the countywide contest for Board of Commissioners Chair—an at-large executive post representing over 600,000 residents across Hillsboro, Beaverton, and Tigard—sitting Commissioners Nafisa Fai and Pam Treece advanced to the general election ballot after neither secured an outright majority in a competitive multi-candidate field. The race to succeed retiring Chair Kathryn Harrington will determine the administrative direction of the county's billion-dollar annual budget, regional land-use urban growth boundaries, and behavioral health infrastructure.

Fai, who currently represents District 1 and made history as the first Black and Muslim woman elected to the board, has campaigned on expanding permanent supportive housing, climate resilience investments, and equitable access to county public health clinics. Treece, representing District 2 and bringing extensive experience from regional economic development partnerships and utility leadership, has focused her platform on fiscal discipline, transportation corridor modernizations, and supporting semiconductor manufacturing expansions.

Simultaneously, the race for the open District 4 seat representing western Washington County—including Forest Grove, Cornelius, and rural agricultural districts—will feature a runoff between outgoing Hillsboro Mayor Steve Callaway and community advocate Kipperlyn Sinclair.

Callaway, concluding two terms as mayor of Oregon's fifth-largest city, has emphasized regional intergovernmental coordination, workforce development partnerships with advanced manufacturing centers, and municipal infrastructure financing. Sinclair, an active civic planner and public safety advocate, has centered her grassroots campaign on agricultural land preservation, rural emergency medical services funding, and small-town housing affordability.

The double runoff arrives at a critical juncture for Washington County, as local leaders coordinate with Governor Tina Kotek’s administration to implement statewide housing production mandates, expand semiconductor supply chain incentives under the Oregon CHIPS Act, and manage regional transit funding challenges facing TriMet.

County commissioners wield direct regulatory authority over unincorporated community development, sheriff's department funding, and regional public health services. With Washington County serving as Oregon's primary private-sector employment engine, political analysts anticipate robust general election mobilization from business coalitions, labor unions, and environmental organizations across the Portland metropolitan region.