County officials sworn in for 2023

Washington County Chair Kathryn Harrington and Commissioners Pam Treece and Jerry Willey were sworn into office Tuesday as part of a ceremony to start their second four-year terms on the board of commissioners. The county’s justice court judge, Dan Cross, and new auditor, Kristine Adams-Wannberg, were also sworn in during the ceremony.

The oaths of office were administered in part by Washington County Circuit Court Presiding Judge Kathleen J. Proctor, Audits Director Kip Memmott of the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office and, for Treece, with special assistance provided by her granddaughters Olivia and Addison Oda.

Each official marked the occasion with brief comments about their hopes for the future in proceedings that were broadcast on the Washington County YouTube channel.

Kathryn Harrington

Kathryn Harrington took the oath of office, as administered by Judge Proctor, to serve as chair of Washington County's five-member governing board. With her re-election for a second four-year term, Harrington looks forward to building on the progress and achievements of her first term by continuing to expand government transparency, pursuing affordable housing and addressing homelessness, plus updating the over 30-year-old community strategic plan.

“It’s really marvelous to have this opportunity to serve the community of Washington County with these colleagues. We deal with big societal challenges, and we have a marvelous staff to help us explore opportunities and challenges to assess how we are doing as a service provider to the community of over 600,000 people, but also as a safety net government,” said Harrington after her being sworn-in to office for her second term. “I’m really proud to serve with this work group of five elected county commission members, myself as the at-large elected chair and these four district commissioners. We do our best to consider different perspectives and different options and come to a majority opinion to advance our community.”

Pam Treece 

Pam Treece stood with two granddaughters and was later joined by her daughter, Hillary Oda, as she was sworn in for a second term as commissioner for District 2 in the county’s northeastern corner, including Cedar Mill, Cedar Hills, Helvetia, a segment of Raleigh Hills, Rock Creek and portions of Beaverton and Hillsboro. A former high school teacher and small business owner, Treece also became a vice president with Pacific Power where she worked for 21 years. She then served for nine years as the executive director of Westside Economic Alliance, a non-profit, member-based organization that advocates for a healthy economic environment on the Westside of the Portland metropolitan region.

“It's been an interesting four years. I’ve served with this commission for two years and it’s been difficult there’s no question about it with the pandemic and all the other things we’ve faced, all of us here,” said Treece. “I’m looking forward to this term. I’m excited about the opportunity to tackle the things that are important to our constituents and the things that are important, the best way to operate this County. I’m looking forward to serving you.”

Jerry Willey 

Jerry Willey took the oath of office, standing with his wife Judy Willey, to serve for a second term as commissioner of District 4, representing much of the rural area of Washington County, including Banks, Cornelius, Forest Grove, Gaston, Hillsboro and North Plains. Willey worked for 33 years as a certified public accountant and partner in the firm of Jones & Roth, CPAs, from which he retired in 2010. He was elected as the mayor of the City of Hillsboro in 2009 and served eight years.

“It has been an interesting four years. I’ve enjoyed learning from our team about Health and Human Services, about the complexities of the Sheriff’s Office. Everyone has been very supportive and helpful in educating each one of us commissioners as we transition to do a better job and we look forward to having the team together,” said Willey. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, we’ve got budget issues and we have just normal county complexities that we’re going to look forward to and accomplish as a team.”

Willey also welcomed the newly elected auditor Kristine Adams-Wannberg as part of his remarks, citing her fresh perspective and role in helping the county perform at a higher level. “I look forward to working with you over the next four years,” said Willey.

Kristine Adams-Wannberg 

Kristine Adams-Wannberg, who is the first woman elected County Auditor since that position was created by the voters in 1980, was sworn into office by Audits Director Kip Memmott of the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office. Adams-Wannberg has served as a principal management auditor with the Washington County Auditor’s Office since September 2019. Prior to joining Washington County, she served as a senior auditor and financial analyst with the City of Portland and as a budget analyst with the State of Oregon. She has served as a member of the Audit Committee for the City of Hillsboro and the Metro regional government as well as chair of the Audit Committee for the Oregon Department of Revenue and a member of the Budget Committee for the Hillsboro School District.

In remarks the new auditor provided after being sworn in, she compared the role of an auditor to that of a physician focusing on preventative care. “Similar to a diagnosis, the purpose of audit findings and recommendations is to point out issues and, really, opportunities for course corrections. And we do that so our county functions better and serves our community better.” Adams-Wannberg added “The purpose is not to shame county government into compliance with recommendations, but instead to provide objective independent information on what is going on and opportunities about what we can do better.”

Dan Cross

Dan Cross was sworn in for a second term as the elected justice of the peace. The position presides over the Washington County Justice Court with jurisdiction over most violations of the State Motor Vehicle Code and over certain misdemeanor offenses. The court also has jurisdiction over civil and small claims for money and damages not exceeding $10,000.

Prior to taking the Justice Court bench in January 2017, Cross was a criminal and juvenile defense attorney in Oregon for 25 years. He served four years on the board of directors of the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and is a past president of that organization.

Cross reflected on his commitment to both educating and serving the community. “The folks that come to me, usually that’s the only time they are going to be in court, it is my one chance to educate those folks on the purpose of the courts and what we can do and the process that serves ultimately them.” Added Cross “If we can do that and instill that faith, then we are doing a public service that ripples out through the community.”

Board and Organization Background

The three commissioners sworn in to office this week help compose a five-member board, including Nafisa Fai representing portions of Aloha, Cooper Mountain, Beaverton and Reedville and Roy Rogers representing Bull Mountain, Sherwood, Tigard, Tualatin, a segment of Wilsonville and rural area to the eastern edge of Gaston and south of the Tualatin River. The board sets county policy and gives direction to a professional county administrator and departmental staff. Washington County has 2,368 full-time-equivalent employees, an annual operating budget of $899.8 million and a total annual budget of $1.6 billion.

The board of county commissioners also serves as the board of directors of Clean Water Services, a public utility committed to protecting water resources in the Tualatin River Watershed.