Statement regarding the Board Work Session on September 15, 2026

As elected members of the Washington County Board of Commissioners, we take our responsibility and commitment to the community, to our staff and to each other seriously. We were elected to lead with integrity and to perform our duties with civility, decorum and respect for all.

The conduct of Board Chair Kathryn Harrington at the Board Work Session on September 15, 2026, contradicts every aspect of our intended approach as a Board. The obscene and offending gesture our Board Chair made that morning -- towards her fellow Board member -- was simply unacceptable.

Unfortunately, other Board members present did not see the gesture as it happened. All other Board members present only saw the insult in a video of the meeting afterward. We regret the impact that the insulting behavior had on Commissioner Fai, on staff in the Work Session Room at the time and on anyone who witnessed the Chair’s inappropriate act.

We acknowledge Chair Harrington’s apology for her conduct and her statement of September 17th that she is “stepping back from my responsibilities as Board Chair to focus on my mental health treatment.” We fully support her efforts to improve her mental health.

It is important for the public to understand that the Board has no authority under the Washington County Charter and state law to remove the Chair from the Board. Therefore, to begin repairing the harm and restoring trust, we urge Chair Harrington to resign from her office immediately.

Should the Chair not resign, we intend to pursue censure of her by:

1. Replacing her as the facilitator at all future Board meetings, which affirms her decision to step back from the Board Chair role;
2. Removing the Chair from her role as the primary liaison to County staff for purposes of preparing Board agendas and meetings, which also affirms her decision to step back from the Board Chair role;
3. Requiring her to participate in all future County meetings virtually only;
4. Requiring that any meeting she might have with staff must be done virtually and will be directly observed by another member of this Board; and
5. Removing her security access to all non-public County facilities.

In addition, we will be requesting that Chair Harrington voluntarily reduce her future compensation to just payments supporting her medical and dental insurance, until she separates from the County organization.

Regardless of these intended actions, the duties of the presiding officer of Board meetings will shift immediately to Vice Chair Jerry Willey or Commissioner Jason Snider if Commissioner Willey is not available.

A Resolution and Order documenting these actions and instructions to staff will be brought to the Board in a regular business meeting with all Board members as soon as possible. At this time, Thursday, October 1st appears to be the first viable meeting date.

We recognize that these actions are serious and unprecedented, but we feel they represent a measured and appropriate response to the level of harm caused and the need to protect others. It is our genuine desire that Chair Harrington will understand the situation similarly, and will therefore support our approach.

Our sincere hope is that everyone -- our workforce, our partner organizations and the community we serve – see our actions as they are intended, to restore trust in our leadership, our conduct and the importance we place on removing this distraction from the vital work ahead of us as the Board of Washington County.

Commissioner Jerry Willey, serving as Vice Chair
Commissioner Jason Snider, serving as Presiding Officer Pro Tem
Commissioner Pam Treece