VANCOUVER, Wash. — The latest turn in the ongoing leadership struggle at the $726 million Columbia Community Credit Union cut in the direction of reform-minded members last week as a judge put three of their members back on the credit union's board and supervisory committee ballot.

Superior Court Judge Paula Casey issued a preliminary injunction on Sept. 18, which at least temporarily reinstated Cathryn Chudy and Cathryn Edgecomb to the board and Lloyd Marbet to the ballot for the supervisory committee. The credit union had expelled the three, who are leaders in the Save CCU organization, from the credit union in August after asserting that the three had harmed the credit union by participating in a decision by Save CCU to publish an advertisement in May protesting changes the CU made to its voting process.

The judge agreed with the former board members and disagreed with the credit union and Washington State's Department of Financial Institutions. DFI had been named as a defendant in the case and written a brief in support of the credit union's authority to expel the board members.