Beaverton voters face 3 runoffs on Nov. 3 ballot

Beaverton voters will decide three runoff races on their Tuesday, Nov. 3, ballots, which began arriving in mailboxes Oct. 14.

The races include a Beaverton City Council seat, the Washington County commission chair and a District 4 commissioner seat. All three went to runoffs after no candidate won a majority in the May 19 primary.

Here is what voters need to know.

City Council Position 1: Philip vs. Kocher

Rachel Philip and Evelyn Kocher are competing for the Position 1 seat on the Beaverton City Council. Certified results from May showed Philip leading with 48.3% of the vote, followed by Kocher at 33.9%, according to Your Oregon News. A third candidate, Marv Rydberg, was eliminated.

The seat is elected at-large, so every Beaverton voter will see this race on their ballot.

Philip has lived in Beaverton since 2018 and chaired the Central Beaverton Neighborhood Association Committee. She also served on the city's Budget Committee and Visioning Advisory Committee.

A software developer and auditor by profession, Philip said in a candidate Q&A that affordability and the city budget are the top issues, and that she has knocked on more than 4,000 doors during the campaign.

Kocher grew up in Washington County and worked as executive director of the Oregon Student Association before joining Latino Network as communications manager. She serves on the boards of the ACLU of Oregon and Basic Rights Oregon PAC, among others. Kocher said in the same Q&A that affordability is the biggest issue, pointing to what she called regressive fees the council recently imposed to cover a budget deficit.

Kocher's campaign website also lists support for a moratorium on data center construction in Beaverton.

County Chair: Fai vs. Treece

Commissioners Nafisa Fai and Pam Treece are running for the open chair seat on the Washington County Board of Commissioners. Chair Kathryn Harrington did not seek reelection, according to the Beaverton Valley Times.

Fai received 39.1% in May. Treece received 33.1%.

Fai currently holds the District 1 seat. She is a refugee from Somalia who has lived in Oregon for about 30 years and made history in 2020 as the first Black and first Muslim commissioner elected in Washington County, according to county records.

She lists housing, data center oversight and utility affordability among her priorities.

Treece has served as District 2 commissioner since 2019. She said in a Banks Post questionnaire that she would focus on housing affordability, job growth and keeping taxes in check. Both candidates support a moratorium on new data center development in the county.

Campaign finance records show a significant funding gap. As of Oct. 22, Treece had raised $442,865 in cash contributions, while Fai had raised about $336,968, the Beaverton Valley Times reported.

Treece's top donor was Columbia Sportswear CEO Timothy Boyle, who gave $40,000. Fai's contributions came largely from labor unions and progressive political action committees, including $30,000 from SEIU Local 49's COPE Fund.

District 4: Callaway vs. Sinclair

Former Hillsboro Mayor Steve Callaway led the six-candidate May primary with 32.9% and faces Hillsboro City Councilor Kipperlyn Sinclair, who received 21.4%.

District 4 covers western Washington County, including most of Hillsboro, North Plains, Cornelius and Forest Grove. The seat is being vacated by Commissioner Jerry Willey, who announced plans to retire in 2025. Although the candidates must live in the district, the seat is elected at-large, so all Washington County voters will see this race.

Callaway spent eight years as Hillsboro's mayor after a career in public education. He said in a Beaverton Valley Times Q&A that he would focus on housing, transportation and economic development.

Sinclair founded Grandma Chonga's Salsa and co-founded Eat Drink Washington County. She said in the same Q&A that unchecked data center expansion is the county's biggest issue, citing hundreds of millions of dollars in tax abatements approved without public input.

How to vote

Ballots require no postage to mail but must be postmarked by Tuesday, Nov. 3. Voters can also drop ballots at official sites by 8 p.m. that day.

Beaverton-area drop sites include the Beaverton City Library on Southwest Hall Boulevard and the library at Murray Scholls, 11200 S.W. Murray Scholls Place, according to the Beaverton Valley Times. Oregon voters may use any official drop site in the state.