Bethany-area voters will choose a new Washington County commission chair on the Nov. 3 ballot, and the two candidates disagree on how to fix housing.

Commissioners Nafisa Fai and Pam Treece laid out their positions on housing affordability and federal immigration enforcement in a Q&A published Oct. 1 by the Beaverton Valley Times. Ballots for the runoff will be mailed Oct. 14.

The chair leads the county's five-member Board of Commissioners and is elected countywide, so every voter in Bethany, Cedar Mill, Oak Hills and West Haven-Sylvan will see the race on their ballot. Fai, who represents District 1, led the May primary with 39.1% of the vote. Treece, who represents District 2, finished second at 33.1%. Neither cleared 50%, forcing the runoff.

Housing

Fai said she wants to increase housing supply, modernize regulations she described as slowing production, expand public-private partnerships and maximize the county's Moving to Work authority. Moving to Work (MTW) is a federal program that gives housing authorities flexibility to redesign how they spend voucher and public housing dollars.

"I believe that if scarcity drives prices up, abundance can help bring them down," Fai said in the Q&A.

Treece said the county should convene affordable housing providers to guide investments and increase diverse housing options. She also called for new shelters and transitional housing with good-neighbor agreements. Treece pointed to her work championing the Center for Addictions Triage and Treatment, which pairs on-site housing with medical services for people with behavioral health needs.

Immigration enforcement

Both candidates criticized federal immigration operations in Washington County, which OPB described Sept. 28 as "the epicenter of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Oregon."

Fai said the county must uphold Oregon's sanctuary law. She said she called for a state of emergency when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions affected the community and helped secure $4 million to prevent housing instability for affected families. That dollar figure comes from Fai's own statement and has not been independently confirmed.

Treece called the enforcement actions unacceptable, saying "hundreds of Washington County residents have been snatched off our streets without warning or due process of any kind." She said she opposes "excessive federal overreach that creates fear."

Backgrounds

Fai said she came to the United States as a teenager after years in refugee camps. She described decades of public health experience, including leading a 62-person team during the COVID-19 pandemic, and six years on the county commission.

Treece, a nearly 30-year Washington County resident, previously served as executive director of the Westside Economic Alliance and taught public school. She has served two terms as commissioner.

Both candidates, as sitting commissioners, jointly asked Chair Harrington to create a data center task force, according to the Cedar Mill News.

Ballots mail Oct. 14. Voters can return them by mail or at any official drop site through Nov. 3.