Commissioner Pam Treece held 51.1% of the vote in the race for Washington County Board of Commissioners chair as of midnight Wednesday, Nov. 4, according to the Beaverton Valley Times. Commissioner Nafisa Fai trailed with 48%.

The race is not over. Ballot returns showed about 38.5% voter turnout, with many ballots still uncounted, the Beaverton Valley Times reported. Oregon law allows ballots postmarked on Election Day to be counted if received within the following week. Results will be certified by Nov. 30.

The winner will lead the five-member board that oversees Washington County's $2 billion budget, setting policy on housing, data centers and public safety for Beaverton and surrounding communities. The position pays $149,777 a year, The Oregonian reported.

Treece, 75, a two-term District 2 commissioner whose district includes portions of Beaverton, told the Beaverton Valley Times after initial results were released: "Election results, they're early still but I'm feeling very positive about what we've seen so far."

The Beaverton Valley Times reported that Fai did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Campaign trail

Neither candidate won outright in the May 19 three-way primary. Fai took 39.1% in that race, followed by Treece with 33.1%, sending both to the November runoff.

The general election contest drew heavy spending. Treece raised $612,476 by Election Day, The Oregonian reported. Nike co-founder Phil Knight donated $20,000. Columbia CEO Tim Boyle and Swickard Auto Group CEO Jeff Swickard each gave $25,000. The Washington County Chamber of Commerce's political arm contributed $20,000.

Fai raised $548,725. Her largest backers included unions AFSCME Council 75 and SEIU Local 49, each donating $15,000, along with $10,000 contributions from Building Power for Communities of Color and progressive group Washington County Ignite.

Treece campaigned on affordable housing, growing good-paying jobs and keeping taxes and fees "in check." She spent more than 20 years at PacifiCorp and later led the Westside Economic Alliance. First elected to the board in 2018, she became the first candidate to unseat an incumbent commissioner in 31 years.

Fai, 48, was first elected in 2020, becoming the county's first Black and first Muslim commissioner. A refugee from Somalia with a career in public health, Fai said her priorities included removing barriers for small businesses, spurring affordable housing and responding "swiftly to federal overreach."

What's at stake for Beaverton

The race played out against debates over AI data centers, expected budget shortfalls and immigration enforcement. Both candidates opposed the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Washington County, OPB reported in May, but differed on how aggressively to act. Fai pushed for a moratorium on data center construction in unincorporated Washington County. Treece favored a resolution articulating community concerns while a joint task force studied the issue.

The campaign turned turbulent in September when former Chair Kathryn Harrington made an obscene gesture toward Fai during a public work session. Harrington resigned two weeks later. Treece returned a $10,000 donation from Harrington and removed her endorsement from the campaign website.

The contest flared again after Fai appeared at an Oct. 10 event in Minneapolis for immigrants and refugees. Video showed her in front of an upside-down American flag, drawing attacks online. Some supporters falsely asserted the video was a deepfake, and Fai denied sending a manipulated image used to support a now-retracted report about the footage, the Beaverton Valley Times reported.

If Treece wins, her District 2 seat expires at the end of this year. If Fai wins, she would need to resign her District 1 seat, creating a vacancy for the remaining two years of her term.

The next ballot count update is available at results.oregonvotes.gov.