Loretta Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Multnomah County Commissioner | |
| In office January 2011 – January 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Jeff Cogen |
| Succeeded by | Susheela Jayapal |
| Constituency | 2nd district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1966 (age 57–58) Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Oregon State University (BA) |
Loretta Smith (born 1966) is an American politician and businesswoman who served as a Multnomah County commissioner from 2011 to 2018. She ran unsuccessful campaigns for Portland City Council in 2018 and 2020.[1][2] Smith was a candidate for Oregon's 6th congressional district in the 2022 election, a new seat created after the 2020 United States census.[3]
Early life and education
Smith was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1966. Loretta's father, Wade Smith, was a Hall of Fame boxer.[4] In high school, she was a member of the Black Student Union as well as the track and cheerleading teams. At 17, she began attending Oregon State University. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications in 1987.
Career
Soon after graduating college, Smith got a job as a staffer for then-U.S. Representative Ron Wyden. She remained on his staff for 21 years, eventually becoming his field representative.[5][6]
Multnomah County Commission
Smith began her own political career by running for Multnomah County commissioner in 2010. She came in second place in the initial election, and advanced to the runoff, which she won overwhelmingly by 26 percentage points.[7] She was only the second Black person elected to the Board since the County's founding in 1855. During her first term, Smith focused on investments in programs helping poor youth, created thousands of jobs for vulnerable young people, and expanded programs to keep seniors in their homes.[8] She served on the Portland Metro Workforce Development Board, which aims to curb the unemployment rate especially among people of color. Smith won reelection in 2014 with little opposition.[6]
In 2017, Commissioner Smith brought together local and national Black county officials for a Black and Brown Boys and Men Town Hall to discuss racial disparities in law enforcement and incarceration. Author, actor, and social justice advocate Hill Harper emceed the town hall event, which was a precursor to the National Organization of Black County Officials' annual Economic Development Conference.[9] That same year, the NW Oregon Labor Council recognized Smith with the Labor Partner Award, noting her family's close connections to organized labor.[10]
During her second term, Willamette Week reported that Smith disproportionately spent her office budget on travel and nonprofit contributions.[8] In 2016, the state of Oregon mistakenly claimed she owed $36,000 in taxes and fees, but in 2017 admitted it had made an error.[11][8] In 2017, Smith was accused by two former staffers of "unprofessional and harassing conduct" and creating a hostile work environment.[8] She was also accused of using county funds for personal expenses such as grocery shopping, claims that were later dismissed.[6][12] Some Smith supporters questioned the unsubstantiated accusations and claimed she was treated harshly because she was a black woman, describing it as "a political lynching".[6]
Due to term limits, Smith was not able to run again for County Commission and ran for Portland City Council in 2018. She came in second place in the initial election and lost to Jo Ann Hardesty in the runoff. Smith picked up several prominent endorsements, including from all four of Oregon's black state legislators at the time and from former County Commissioners Jules Bailey and Diane McKeel.[13][14]
In 2020, Smith ran in a special election for City Council to succeed Nick Fish, who had died in office. She earned the support of U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, Oregon Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle, several labor organizations, including Northwest Oregon Labor Council - AFL-CIO, Portland Fire Fighters Association, and SEIU Local 49, as well as NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon and Basic Rights Oregon. Smith came in first place in a crowded field, but lost narrowly to local schools foundation CEO Dan Ryan in the August runoff.[15][16]
Business
In 2019, Smith started her own small business, a communications consultancy called Dream Big Communications specializing in building coalitions, bringing people together, and improving communities.[17] Through this work, Smith represents clients on social justice and education initiatives.[18] Smith is active in the Greater Portland region, serving as a volunteer board member for Black Women for Peace, Promise Neighborhood Coalition, Travel Portland, Airway Science for Kids, and Start Making A Reader Today (SMART).
2022 congressional campaign
On June 22, 2021, Smith announced her candidacy for Oregon's 6th congressional district, when the district's boundaries had yet to be drawn.[3] She finished in 4th place out of a total of 9 candidates in the democratic primary.[19]
Personal life
Smith has one son, Jordan, born in 1990, whom she raised as a single mother.[5] Smith is a grandmother of two and resides in Northeast Portland.
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Karol Collymore | 10,527 | 35.88% | |
| Nonpartisan | Loretta Smith | 5,397 | 18.40% | |
| Nonpartisan | Tom Markgraf | 4,029 | 13.73% | |
| Nonpartisan | Gary D. Hansen | 2,663 | 9.08% | |
| Nonpartisan | Maria C. Rubio | 1,951 | 6.65% | |
| Nonpartisan | Paul van Orden | 1,790 | 6.10% | |
| Nonpartisan | Chuck Currie | 1,785 | 6.08% | |
| Nonpartisan | Roberta Phillip | 1,076 | 3.67% | |
| Other | Write-ins | 122 | 0.42% | |
| Total votes | 29,340 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Loretta Smith | 34,303 | 62.79% | |
| Nonpartisan | Karol Collymore | 20,329 | 37.21% | |
| Total votes | 54,632 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Loretta Smith | 23,644 | 78.54% | |
| Nonpartisan | Bruce Broussard | 3,595 | 11.94% | |
| Nonpartisan | Teressa Raiford | 1,986 | 6.60% | |
| Nonpartisan | Kelvin Hall | 881 | 2.93% | |
| Total votes | 30,106 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Jo Ann Hardesty | 56,364 | 46.31% | |
| Nonpartisan | Loretta Smith | 25,743 | 21.15% | |
| Nonpartisan | Felicia Williams | 13,198 | 10.84% | |
| Nonpartisan | Stuart Emmons | 11,391 | 9.36% | |
| Nonpartisan | Lew Humble | 1,953 | 1.61% | |
| Other | Write-ins | 316 | 0.26% | |
| Total votes | 121,718 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Jo Ann Hardesty | 165,686 | 61.81% | |
| Nonpartisan | Loretta Smith | 99,823 | 37.24% | |
| Other | Write-ins | 2,538 | 0.95% | |
| Total votes | 268,047 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Loretta Smith | 39,304 | 18.80% | |
| Nonpartisan | Dan Ryan | 34,693 | 16.60% | |
| Nonpartisan | Tera Hurst | 30,982 | 14.82% | |
| Nonpartisan | Julia DeGraw | 26,441 | 12.65% | |
| Nonpartisan | Sam Chase | 23,466 | 11.23% | |
| Nonpartisan | Margot Black | 14,091 | 6.74% | |
| Nonpartisan | Cynthia Castro | 7,762 | 3.71% | |
| Nonpartisan | Jack Kerfoot | 7,195 | 3.44% | |
| Nonpartisan | Terry Parker | 5,095 | 2.44% | |
| Nonpartisan | Jeff Lang | 3,837 | 1.84% | |
| Nonpartisan | Ronault "Polo" Catalani | 3,512 | 1.68% | |
| Nonpartisan | Ryan Farmer | 2,407 | 1.15% | |
| Nonpartisan | Aquiles U. Montas | 2,175 | 1.04% | |
| Nonpartisan | James "Jas" Davis | 1,842 | 0.88% | |
| Nonpartisan | Alicea Maurseth | 1,632 | 0.78% | |
| Nonpartisan | Diana Gutman | 1,597 | 0.76% | |
| Nonpartisan | Walter Wesley | 1,405 | 0.67% | |
| Nonpartisan | Rachelle Dixon | 1,097 | 0.53% | |
| Other | Write-ins | 498 | 0.24% | |
| Total votes | 209,031 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Dan Ryan | 88,433 | 51.17% | |
| Nonpartisan | Loretta Smith | 83,073 | 48.07% | |
| Other | Write-ins | 1,324 | 0.77% | |
| Total votes | 172,830 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Andrea Salinas | 26,101 | 36.77% | |
| Democratic | Carrick Flynn | 13,052 | 18.39% | |
| Democratic | Cody Reynolds | 7,951 | 11.20% | |
| Democratic | Loretta Smith | 7,064 | 9.95% | |
| Democratic | Matt West | 5,658 | 7.97% | |
| Democratic | Kathleen Harder | 5,510 | 7.76% | |
| Democratic | Teresa Alonso Leon | 4,626 | 6.52% | |
| Democratic | Ricky Barajas | 292 | 0.41% | |
| Democratic | Greg Goodwin | 217 | 0.31% | |
| Other | Write-ins | 508 | 0.72% | |
| Total votes | 70,979 | 100% | ||
References
- ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Everton Bailey Jr | The (January 1, 2020). "Former Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith files to run for Nick Fish's Portland council seat". oregonlive. Archived from the original on June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ^ Bailey, Everton Jr. (August 12, 2020). "Portland voters pick Dan Ryan over Loretta Smith to join City Council". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
- ^ a b Sparling, Zane. "Loretta Smith enters race for Oregon's new seat in Congress". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
- ^ "Knott Street Boxing Club – Special Contribution to Sports | Oregon Sports Hall of Fame & Museum". Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ^ a b Dilg, Janice (January 21, 2015). "Biography - Loretta Smith Oral History Interview". Oregon State University. Archived from the original on June 21, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Templeton, Amelia (October 22, 2018). "Loretta Smith: A Record Of Accomplishment — And Conflict". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on August 29, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
- ^ "May 18, 2010 Primary Election". Multnomah County. March 2, 2011. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Loretta Smith: A Record Of Accomplishment — And Conflict". opb. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ^ "Commissioner Smith brings together local community, U.S. Black county officials to discuss racial disparities in law enforcement". Multnomah County. June 1, 2017. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ^ "Questions for Portland City Council Candidate Loretta Smith". nwLaborPress. May 3, 2018. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ^ housing, About Rachel Monahan Rachel Monahan joined Willamette Week in 2016 She covers; Hall, City. "County Commissioner Loretta Smith Cleared of Owing Back Taxes, Document Shows". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Jaquiss, Nigel (February 3, 2017). "Staffer Accuses County Commissioner Loretta Smith of Misusing Public Resources on Campaigns". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
- ^ "Hardesty vs. Smith: Diversity, housing, homelessness and more". news.streetroots.org. Archived from the original on September 14, 2023. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ^ "Municipal elections in Portland, Oregon (2018)". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
- ^ "Dan Ryan Is Portland's Newest City Commissioner, Winning Special Election Runoff". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ "Loretta Smith, Dan Ryan vie for Portland City Council seat left vacant by Nick Fish's death". opb. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Everton Bailey Jr | The (January 17, 2020). "Former Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith files to run for Nick Fish's Portland council seat". oregonlive. Archived from the original on June 1, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
- ^ "LinkedIn".
- ^ a b "May 17, 2022, Primary Election Abstract of Votes" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. May 17, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Smith, Loretta". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
External links
This page was last edited on 26 September 2023, at 23:54