Councilor Kathryn Harrington

Kathryn Harrington was elected in November 2006 to represent Metro District 4 in Washington County, and is running for re-election to a second term.

Kathryn was appointed Deputy Council President for 2009. Kathryn is the lead council liaison for the Regional Reserves project, a collaborative effort between Metro and its three counties and 25 cities, to designate urban and rural reserve areas for the region. In 2007, the Oregon Legislature directed Metro and the counties to develop long-range, 40-50 year plans for growth, and allowed the governments to work in concert to set aside lands outside the current urban growth boundary for future urban growth. At the same time, the governments have to set aside areas to protect farm and forest lands from urban development for the same period of time. This process is intended to provide greater certainty for property owners about the future of their land, and more predictability about how and where development will occur.

Kathryn also serves as a member of the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT) and with her fellow Councilors is active in the Making the Greatest Place program. Kathryn works on creative solutions to improve roads and highways and to expand public transit in order to handle the increased traffic congestion caused by growth, including the needs of freight movement.