Candidate Q&A: Washington County Commission candidates talk key policy issues

Four candidates will vie for two seats on the Washington County Board of Commissioners in the upcoming election.

Incumbent Nafisa Fai will run against Jenny Kamprath for the District 1 Washington County Commissioner seat. District 1 represents Aloha, Beaverton, Cooper Mountain, Garden Home, Whitford and portions of Raleigh Hills.

Candidates Peter Huhtala and Jason Snider are running for the District 3 seat — covering southeast Washington County — which is currently occupied by outgoing Commissioner Roy Rogers.

With election day right around the corner on May 21, Pamplin Media Group asked the candidates for the Washington County Board of Commissioners for their thoughts on key policy questions. Their responses are published in full below.

What skills or experiences have prepared you to serve in this role?

Peter Huhtala, District 3 candidate: I served four years on the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners, including two years as the board-elected chair. I participated with the Association of Oregon Counties during my experience as a commissioner. I worked with several government and nongovernmental committees, including Lower-Columbia Solutions Group, Oregon’s Territorial Sea Plan Advisory Committee and Columbia Pacific Economic Development District.

Jason Snider, District 3 candidate: I bring more than two decades of public service and 10 years of recent experience as an elected official for the city of Tigard. I served as a city councilor, council president and, most recently, as mayor of Tigard from 2019 to 2022. Professionally, I am a paramedic by clinical training and have served in various leadership roles at Kaiser Permanente since 2003. I am currently the regional practice director for the general surgery, plastic surgery and preoperative medicine departments.

District 3 needs and deserves a strong, effective voice and some fresh perspective on the Washington County Commission. The county is facing unprecedented fiscal challenges while simultaneously needing to address substantial gaps in public safety, mental health, transportation, and housing. I am confident that my experience addressing similar financial challenges in Tigard — and my practical and creative approach to problem-solving — will serve the entire county well.

Nafisa Fai, District 1 incumbent: I was elected to the Washington County Commission to represent District 1 in 2020. I bring a background in public health — both in county government working to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the pandemic and with the American Red Cross. In addition, I owned my own small business helping local nonprofits and public and private sector clients grow and expand. I also bring my experience as a Black woman, a mom to three, a Muslim and a refugee to this role. I’ve served on the Clean Water Services Advisory Commission, the board of the Five Oaks Museum (formerly Washington County Museum), the Oregon Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee and on the board of community-based dental services nonprofit Dental3. Our community has a strong heritage and I know I have made a positive impact, bridging our historic values with smart decisions to lead Washington County into a prosperous future.

Jenny Kamprath, District 1 candidate: I have been a homeowners association president for six years, a small business owner, entrepreneur and have worked as a sales director for many years. These positions have honed my ability to work with a diverse group of people and situations to achieve a positive outcome. This country was founded on citizen-led government, and I believe any citizen should have a chance to run for office if they wish to do so.

What do you consider to be the biggest issues facing Washington County residents currently, and how do you think those issues should be addressed?

Peter Huhtala: The cost of living and the climate crisis are two significant issues. They are not unrelated. Disparate income and the exorbitant cost of living in Washington County have brought forth vexing affordability issues, even as the climate crisis disproportionately harms those with low income. The county is famous for the high-tech businesses and dream jobs that have appeared in recent decades. However, only some residents have benefited from the fantastic financial growth. Many who work in service industries or rely on fixed incomes were left behind.

Meanwhile, the climate crisis will bring more extreme and unpredicted events. The bright side is the federal investment in climate and infrastructure, which will provide higher-paying jobs and offset some child care expenses.

Jason Snider: The most impactful are ;ack of affordable housing and youth mental health.

I will address the lack of affordable housing with the same tactics I led with as mayor:

Form based (lean) building codes in town centers.Focusing density and development in town centers.Aggressively implementing middle housing reforms.Allocating modest public resources for additional regulated affordable housing.

Youth mental health is not being talked about enough. I listen carefully to the community. During the pandemic, this emerged as a major issue, and I still see the impacts in schools. Third through fifth graders had 2-3 years of profound social isolation, not learning social and behavioral norms during a critically formative period. The result was a negative impact on youth mental health. I will push Washington County to make investments in behavioral health by coordinating a regional approach with all cities and all school districts.

Nafisa Fai: My top three priorities as commissioner are and will continue to be:

Affordable housing and addressing the root causes of poverty: I’m committed to finding innovative solutions to our housing crisis and ensuring that we are addressing the immediate impacts of homelessness in our communities as well as providing long-term solutions.Transportation: During my first term, I was appointed to a leadership position on transportation within the National Association of Counties. I’ve already been working to champion initiatives that increase road safety, and I’m eager to continue this work moving forward.Prosperity and inclusion: As the first Black Washington County commissioner, I’m dedicated to ensuring equity, celebrating the many cultures represented in our district, and continuing to lift up the voices of those in my district. I’m committed to centering the voices of the community in my work, meaning I am always accessible and eager to listen.

Jenny Kamprath: There are several issues in Washington County, but one of the biggest issues is affordable housing and the urban growth boundary. There needs to be collaboration between the county and Metro to increase available land for building while maintaining farm lands and green spaces. When these plans are being made we need to be looking 5, 10 and 20 years down the road, instead of quick-fix decisions. We have thousands of apartment units being built with very little parking availability and no mass transit. This may get people into an apartment quicker, but what is the other side? Parking congestion, traffic gridlock and frustration. There needs to be multiple types of housing built, planned out for many years in the future. We need to cut the red tape, fees and regulation that increase costs that are passed on to renters and owners and hamper and discourage building.

How do you think Washington County should prioritize transportation needs?

Peter Huhtala: Lead with smart multi-modal public transit planned with clear awareness. Transportation is a way to develop a community, not just to get from one place to another. I support the Southwest Corridor Light Rail project (Tualatin to Downtown Portland and connections to Hillsboro) with active, electric shuttles. Tigard and neighboring communities will benefit, and we can leave polluting vehicles in their garages. We should simplify and slow existing roads where it improves the livability of our district. If a new road would worsen the climate crisis, don’t build it. Protect farmland and forests, wetlands and rivers.

Jason Snider: The county should continue using the Washington County Coordinating Committee that includes elected leaders from every city and the county to prioritize transportation needs by deciding which transportation investments have the most value to residents and businesses. I represented Tigard on this committee during my four years as mayor. The project vetting, analysis, and prioritization processes are robust and collaborative.

The Major Streets Transportation Improvement Program (MSTIP) is the largest recurring funding source for transportation projects in Washington County. The continued funding of this program is critical to the future of large multi-modal transportation projects throughout all of the communities in District 3.

Nafisa Fai: I have taken an active role in transportation during my first term, including serving on the regional Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation. My priorities have been reducing congestion so people can more efficiently move about the county and making roads and sidewalks safer. I championed Allen Boulevard Complete Street Plan to be included in the 2025-27 cycle of Regional Flexible Funding project list and look forward to seeing the improvements that come from those investments.

Jenny Kamprath: There needs to be a move to extend mass transit availability farther out, so as the county grows we are not creating more problems than we are solving. Congestion and grid lock is also a problem on many of the county roads. Having other options to get around — whether it be mass transit, bike or other alternate means — needs to be encouraged and planned for.

What do you think Washington County should do to address affordable housing and homelessness?

Peter Huhtala: Washington County has made remarkable progress in reducing homelessness in the past two years. Shelter beds increased to 426 from 46, and large urban encampments were eliminated. With funds from the Metro Supportive Housing Services measure, the county essentially created a program that moved homeless clients to shelters and helped some move on into stable accommodations. Other funding helped the county’s program thrive.

The dedicated, effective staff deserve kudos. I believe it is the people who work in these types of programs who drive success. But now, they need help to keep the success moving. Washington County needs to provide money for the program that encourages the flexibility of the leadership and staff. I realize that the county has fiscal limitations, and I have a reasonable hope that grants will be available to keep the good work going.

Jason Snider: I addressed affordable housing actions and tactics in a previous answer. When I became mayor of Tigard in 2019, I would have said funding was the biggest barrier to addressing homelessness. Since then, significant financial resources have been dedicated to both building housing and providing supportive services. At this point, the counties (not just Washington, but Multnomah and Clackamas, too) need to do a far better job of using these resources to deliver services to those in need. The primary services delivered by the county that touch this area are: housing, mental health, public safety, and criminal/community justice. Every single one of them needs to, and can, get much better results, particularly through better internal coordination and by partnering more effectively with the local jurisdictions that know communities better.

Nafisa Fai: The county is taking a multi-pronged approach to increasing the supply of affordable housing and reducing homelessness. In my first term, I helped lead efforts to add over 1,200 new affordable housing units, either completed or currently under construction. We’ve also accelerated housing construction in the county through a streamlined permitting process improvement to help reduce bureaucratic delay, and I’ve advocated for homeownership investments to create wealth-building opportunities for our residents. I hope to continue prioritizing innovative efforts like these that address homelessness and housing affordability.

Jenny Kamprath: As I mentioned before, the county needs to streamline its procedures to encourage building, thus cutting the costs, the savings of which can be passed on to renters and owners. More housing options in the market means prices are more competitive and can come down. Homelessness is a complex issue which will require a multi-prong approach since there are many reasons people become homeless. It can be mental health, drug addiction or being priced out of housing. The government needs to take a hard look at the nongovernmental organizations it pays to make sure they are held accountable for the taxpayer money spent. I have dealt with NGOs in the past, and from what I have witnessed, this is not happening. Once they are funded with our tax dollars, accountability for the dollars goes out the window. Portland has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the homeless industrial complex of NGOs with no noticeable positive change. Perhaps there should be no more tax funding of unaccountable nonprofits.

What do you think Washington County’s role should be in improving public safety and emergency response services, and what actions should be taken at the county level to facilitate that role?

Peter Huhtala: My wife, Deborah, and I trained as CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) volunteers. This and similar programs are essential for functional neighborhoods when the region faces a major disaster. When I was a commissioner in Clatsop County on the Oregon coast, we received regular briefings as expert understanding improved regarding the threats from earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and storms. Washington County declares an emergency for the governor’s reciprocal declaration when needed, triggering state and federal assistance. The county’s Emergency Management Office prepares for human-made and natural disasters in cooperation with our partners from local to federal levels. Risk reduction and multi-level resilience planning can save lives.

The climate crisis has added to the impacts of disasters such as forest fires. Climate-driven change needs to be included at all levels of planning, preparedness and resilience analysis.

Jason Snider: Washington County’s primary role in improving public safety is to adequately fund the public safety functions provided directly by the county (patrol, jail, parole/probation, juvenile justice, victim advocacy, mental health and addiction treatment services). In addition, the county must hold contracted public safety service providers (e.g., ambulances) accountable for performance. All of these services are critical to maintaining and enhancing neighborhood livability.

The services provided directly by Washington County are all under tremendous budget pressures due to the county’s current fiscal challenges. We must continue investing in key areas of public safety.

Nafisa Fai: The county plays a significant role in public safety, and we work regularly to ensure the many different components of our public safety system are working in effective collaboration. Nationwide staff shortages are currently having a big impact on our public safety system, from the jail to emergency response. We recently onboarded a new emergency response provider and are working proactively to reduce response times as much as possible. The county recently transitioned to a new sheriff, and I look forward to continued collaboration with the office to implement innovative approaches to ensuring everyone in our community feels safe.

Jenny Kamprath: I have not seen or heard of any issues with response or emergency times. The county should continue to fully fund and support law enforcement services to protect citizens. It was proposed at one point to add a wing to the jail for those suffering from addiction and mental health issues. This could once again be explored to help those who aren’t necessarily criminal but are, at times, dangerous due to their issues.

How do you think the county can bring in more job opportunities for residents?

Peter Huhtala: When we invest in our priority issues, consider the local jobs this could bring. There may be a win-win. Improve public transit to encourage small business development near the transit hubs and create jobs near our neighborhoods. Spread the word: Washington County is a fantastic place to live, play and invest.

Jason Snider: Washington County is the economic engine of the state. We have tremendous opportunities to bring large numbers of additional high-skill/well-paid jobs. We can accomplish this by continuing to make the infrastructure, transportation, and workforce training investments necessary to attract and retain traded sector, high-tech manufacturing jobs. We already have one of the largest employers in this space and the business ecosystem that supports them. Let’s do everything we can to ensure they continue investing in our communities and the people of Washington County.

The specific county role in this is one of coordination, convening, advocacy, support, and delivering on the infrastructure and transportation needed for these businesses to thrive in our region.

Nafisa Fai: Washington County is the beacon of innovation, promise, and the narrative of our state’s future. Good paying jobs are the backbone of that, and the best way to create prosperity for people of all backgrounds who live here. As a former small business owner, I know the roadblocks businesses can face, and believe we must support businesses in their efforts to retain and grow jobs.

Jenny Kamprath: Stop over-regulating and taxing small businesses. Oregon shut down all small business during the pandemic in favor of the big box stores. Hundreds of these businesses were forced to close due to being bludgeoned with this over-reaching policy, leaving thousands of people without jobs. Promote small business, give them tax breaks for hiring and retaining workers. Allow ingenuity to flourish and grow without overburdening and over-regulating small businesses. This is what can turn the wheel of business growth and prosperity for Washington County.