Hillsboro City Councilor Kipperlyn Sinclair has declared victory in the race for the Washington County commission’s District 4 seat after opponent Steve Callaway ended his campaign and offered his congratulations. The developments appeared to settle one of Oregon’s closest election contests more than a week after Election Day.
In an announcement emailed Wednesday afternoon, Callaway thanked Washington County voters and extended his best wishes to Sinclair. His message also congratulated Commissioner-elect Felicita Monteblanco, Commissioner Jason Snider and the incoming county chair, although he did not identify who would take that leadership position.
Results released Tuesday afternoon put Sinclair ahead with 50.7% of the vote, compared with Callaway’s 48.5%. Sinclair, who received the Washington County Democratic Party’s endorsement, was the more progressive candidate in the District 4 race. Callaway’s announcement followed those tallies, with Sinclair holding the advantage in the closely contested election.
The contest for chair of the Washington County Board of Commissioners remained too close to call. In the results released Tuesday, Commissioner Nafisa Fai led fellow Commissioner Pam Treece by 363 votes. Thousands of votes still awaited counting or could potentially face challenges, leaving the outcome unresolved as Callaway congratulated the incoming chair without naming a winner.
Sinclair thanked her supporters in a statement quoted by the Beaverton Valley Times. “To the people of Washington County, thank you for putting your trust in me,” she said. She described her successful campaign as a small, grassroots effort driven by neighbors rather than large financial backing.
In the same statement, Sinclair celebrated the result with her supporters and connected the victory to the way her campaign had been organized. “Community, we did this!” she said, adding that the outcome was a reminder that Washington County did not come with a price tag.
Sinclair and Fai were among a broader coalition of progressive candidates pursuing local elected positions across Washington County. That group was gaining ground on the county commission while also winning city council contests in Hillsboro, Forest Grove, Tigard and Tualatin.
Opposition to data centers was among the issues helping drive those progressive campaigns. Candidates also challenged the tax breaks technology companies have used to build data centers in Washington County, placing the developments and their tax incentives among the issues in the local races.
