I read it. It’s a polished puff piece—carefully spun and suspiciously timed. In it, we’re told that trips to Denmark, Toronto, Laos, and beyond were all in service to the “mission” of CWS. Apparently, the story of our sewage system can’t be told without global travel and high-end dinners. Really?
Let’s not kid ourselves. With new CEO Rick Shanley just installed and the agency in full rebrand mode, the leadership at CWS is now actively running cover—for the Commissioners, for the board, and most urgently, for themselves. The article attempts to make it seem as though Chair Kathryn Harrington and Commissioner Pam Treece were globe-trotting to educate the world about wastewater. In reality, it reads like a desperate PR defense, published because dark storm clouds—ethical, financial, and political—are forming fast over CWS headquarters.
Ratepayers like us? We would have preferred they stay home and not help justify the 4% rate hike we’re about to absorb.
Let’s be clear: for over a month, the Board of Commissioners—who double as the CWS Board of Directors—have refused to disclose the real costs of these trips. No transparency on travel bills, meals, hotels, or perks. Just silence. The whistleblower documents sent to the Herald allege much more: extravagant meals, high-end hotels, and possibly gifts.
Today’s blog post looks less like a recap and more like preemptive damage control. A rewrite of history before the receipts come due.
Here’s what CWS now claims justifies the travel:
- 2022 IWA Congress – Copenhagen: Harrington, Treece, and staff joined a U.S. delegation for a water conference in Denmark.
- 2024 IWA Congress – Toronto: Fai, Willey, Treece, and top brass visited Canadian wastewater plants converting sludge into energy.
- Laos Partnership Visit: Harrington and Treece traveled to Vientiane to close out a multi-year “utility partnership.”
- Additional mentions: Treece and Harrington may have hit up Singapore International Water Week and WEFTEC in New Orleans.
Commissioners Fai and Willey made one trip in 2024. But Harrington and Treece? Multiple international junkets in three years. Sources suggest 3–6 trips—or more. All on the public dime. No, not dimes—C-notes. Stacks of them.
Kathryn Harrington: The Dragon Lady on a Victory Lap
Now in her mid-60s, and still shadowed by past allegations of workplace bullying, Harrington has announced that she won’t run for reelection in 2026. Her hand-picked successor? Commissioner Pam Treece.
In today’s CWS post, Harrington is recast as a champion of “global knowledge sharing.” However, watchdog reports tell a different story: $44,000 spent on meals, business trips to Hawaii resorts, and unchecked spending over five years as Chair, Harrington oversaw all of it. Only this April, after public pressure, she and her colleagues voted to impose new audits and travel restrictions.
The irony? Harrington has long preached that “public dollars should be used for the greatest public benefit.” That standard, by her admission, was not met.
Pam Treece: Heir to the Throne
Treece was on nearly every major trip highlighted in the blog. She joined Harrington in Laos. She dove into Copenhagen’s harbor for a water education stunt. She went to Toronto in 2024 with Willey, Fai, and Shanley’s crew.
Photos from Toronto show Treece center-stage with Willey, Fai, Acting CEO Shanley, Chief of Staff Elizabeth Edwards, and Chief Utility Relations Officer Joe Gall. Treece has defended the travel as “an investment,” while also admitting failures in oversight. At the April board meeting, she stated: “We… have not provided all of the necessary oversight. That is going to be changing.”
Treece is now running for Chair. But let’s be real—she’s shaping up to be Harrington 2.0, just with fresher branding. She’s already refused to answer public records requests filed by the Herald at both the County and CWS.
For the Record: This Article Is a Cover-Up
Let’s call it what it is. The Herald’s public records requests, filed in early May, are still being stonewalled. And this CWS blog post? It responds point by point to what those requests would likely reveal. It’s spin. It’s too late. And it’s too obvious.
The Oregonian exposed lavish spending under the former CEO. It’s naïve to think the Commissioners jet-setting around the globe weren’t part of it. CWS didn’t post anything about these international adventures until now—right when public pressure is mounting and accountability looms.
This isn’t just revisionist PR. It’s a frantic attempt to control the narrative before the documents are forced into daylight. And I can feel it in my bones—Treece and Harrington are resisting that release because they know exactly what’s in those files.
Until those records are made public, their credibility continues to erode.
As an aside, I would like to acknowledge that County Commissioner Jason Snider is the only current Washington County Commissioner who has not accepted or participated in travel, gifts, hotel stays, or meals from CWS. As a result, he is the only County Commissioner / CWS Board Member who is not conflicted and should be calling all the shots as this crisis continues.
The following are the unanswered records requests submitted by the Hillsboro Herald:
Here is the Public Information Request that the Hillsboro Herald delivered to Clean Water Services on May 9th, 2025-
SharePoint App – URL: https://dynamic.cleanwaterservices.org/Forms/RecordsRequest
5/14/2025 8:57 PM
Request: Dirk T Knudsen – May 14 / Contact Name: Dirk T Knudsen / Affiliation: Hillsboro Herald / Address: 222 East Main Street / City: Hillsboro, OR / State: OR / ZIP: 97123 / Phone: 5037998383 / Email: dirkknudsen@gmail.com
Description: Request For Public Records and Information-
Received: BY CWS
5/09/2025
To Date, The Herald Has Received No Public Information Released From CWS IN Response To Our Request
Here is the Public Information Request that the Hillsboro Herald delivered to the Washington County Commissioners on May 9th, 2025-
5-9-2025 – Submitted By The Hillsboro Herald –
A Call for Full Disclosure By The County Commissioners Acting as The CWS Board of Directors.
Public Information Request sent to Washington County, Oregon –
RECEIVED AND CONFIRMED BY WASHINGTON COUNTY 5-9-2025
To Date, The Herald Has Received No Public Information Released From Washington County Officials In Response To Our Request
Because these supposed “leaders” would rather work on bog posts than the transparency they promised, the Herald has reached out to the State and Ethics divisions to force action on all of this.
What a deplorable state of affairs- and how unfair to our citizens who are now paying more, and those being shut off, so that these politicians could travel the globe. Abuse of power and taxpayer dollars is rarely more evident than in this case.
PublicRecordsAdvocate.PRC@oregon.gov
AttorneyGeneral@doj.oregon.gov
Kevin_Barton@co.washington.or.us
