Columbia County appoints Janine Christensen as acting prosecuting attorney

The Columbia County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday adopted Resolution 2025-19 to appoint Janine Christensen as acting prosecuting attorney and administered an oath of office.

The vote to adopt Resolution 2025-19, which names Janine Christensen as acting prosecuting attorney for Columbia County, carried after the board chair called for the question. After the resolution passed, Christensen repeated an oath affirming support for the U.S. Constitution and the constitution and laws of the state of Washington and pledged to perform the duties of the office "according to the law and to the best of my ability."

The appointment came during a short special meeting limited to that single agenda item. Commissioners discussed the urgency of appointing an acting prosecuting attorney and said they would hold a brief executive session on personnel to address compensation, though one session later was described as taking no formal action. The chair said the board would enter executive session "for personnel" and anticipated it would be only a few minutes to discuss salary terms; later, the meeting record notes an additional roughly 10-minute executive session during which "no action" would be taken.

No roll-call vote tally was recorded in the public transcript; the chair called for those in favor to say "aye" and, after asking for objections, stated, "Motion carries." The transcript does not record a formal yea-or-nay tally or identify who moved or seconded the motion to adopt the resolution.

The board and Christensen completed the statutory oath at the meeting. In the oath Christensen said, "I, Janine Christensen, do solemnly swear or affirm ... that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution and laws of the state of Washington" and that she would "faithfully and impartially perform and discharge the duties of the office of acting attorney according to the law and to the best of my ability." The oath language was administered aloud by the presiding official and repeated verbatim by Christensen.

Commissioners and staff discussed logistics for signing appointment paperwork and arranging an oath ceremony; one speaker suggested scheduling the oath or paperwork for the morning. The meeting transcript also includes brief, informal remarks not related to the appointment and directional comments about where the executive-session office is located near a local landmark.

The appointment is an internal staffing action under local authority recorded by resolution; the transcript does not indicate further substantive policy changes, budget allocations, or external approvals tied to the appointment. The record shows the board planned further personnel discussions in executive session but does not show any formal compensation decision or other binding direction arising from those private discussions.

Looking ahead, the board will need to document any salary agreement or employment contract in subsequent public minutes if such terms are changed or formalized. The transcript indicates the oath was administered and appointment paperwork will be signed, but it does not specify an effective date beyond the adoption of the resolution or any term length for the acting appointment.