A mailer in the Washington County chair race between Commissioner Bob Terry and Metro Councilor Kathryn Harrington came under fire Thursday for including an image of the protests that wracked downtown Portland in late 2016.

The campaign literature claims Harrington will "bring Portland's problems" to the western suburbs. And one of the two sepia-toned photographs -- taken Nov. 10 just before a violent anti-Trump protest caused thousands of dollars' worth of damage -- features a poster with a swastika on it. A faint line cuts through the Nazi icon.

"The swastika is obviously crossed out, and anyone with a shred of intellectual honesty would know exactly what this is," said Shelby Blake, a spokesperson for the Terry campaign. The color copy of the original photo the campaign provided to The Oregonian/OregonLive shows a red strike-through over the swastika.

"The mailer is making the case that we do not want Portland issues, leadership and crime creeping into Washington County," Blake said. "Kathryn is a proponent of Portland's agenda through her role at Metro."

Metro is the regional Portland-area government.

But Metro Councilor Juan Carlos Gonzalez, whose tweet about the mailer gained attention Thursday afternoon, said the strike-through is light enough that most mailer recipients will still get the impression that the icon is associated with Harrington.

"I just don't think it's okay," he said. "I don't know if it's intentional or not."

The mailer also attracted the attention of Portland's Resistance founder Gregory McKelvey, who's prominently featured on the campaign material.

In a series of tweets, McKelvey, who has since moved to Atlanta, Georgia, denounced the Terry campaign's use of his image and said he's never met Harrington. The image, McKelvey said, wasn't even from the November 2016 demonstrations.

Also, I already lived in Washington County for most of my life and I didn’t wreck the place. It was fine. I’m not that scary. — Gregory McKelvey (@GregoryMcKelvey) November 1, 2018

It was a vigil for a rally in memory of Heather Heyer, the woman killed during the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year.

"Also, I already lived in Washington County for most of my life and I didn't wreck the place. It was fine. I'm not that scary," McKelvey tweeted.

A spokesperson for Harrington's campaign told The Oregonian/OregonLive the Metro councilor's camp is focused on the outcome of Tuesday's race.

"Kathryn's run a very positive campaign. We're proud of the campaign she's run. She's focused on the issues," Amy Enbysk said.

Terry, who represents District 4 on the five-member commission, and Harrington, a three-term Metro councilor, are battling to succeed Washington County Chair Andy Duyck. The at-large, nonpartisan position will be decided during Tuesday's election.

--Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344

ecampuzano@oregonian.com