Tootie Smith

Tootie Smith
Clackamas County Commissioner
In office
January 2013 – January 3, 2017
Preceded byJamie Damon
Succeeded byKen Humberston
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 18th district
In office
2003–2005
Preceded byDeborah Kafoury
Succeeded byMac Sumner
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 28th district
In office
2001–2003
Preceded byRoger Beyer
Succeeded byJeff Barker
Personal details
Born (1957-03-03) March 3, 1957 (age 67)
Oregon City, Oregon, United States
Political partyRepublican
EducationConcordia University
Signature

Tootie Smith (born March 3, 1957) is an American politician and hazelnut farmer from the state of Oregon. A Republican, she served in the state legislature from 2001 until 2005, and on the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners from 2013 until 2017.

In 2019, she announced her candidacy for Clackamas County Chair. She won the election with 64,502 votes (53.22%).

Biography

Smith was born in 1957 in Oregon City. She attended Mount Hood Community College and graduated from Concordia University.[1]

Smith was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2000, and reelected in 2002. In 2012, she was elected to the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners. Smith unsuccessfully ran for the United States House of Representatives in 2014, but lost to incumbent Democrat Kurt Schrader, receiving 39% of the vote.[2][3] Smith ran for reelection to the county commission in 2016, but lost to Ken Humberston.[4][5] Smith ran for Clackamas County Chair in 2020 and won. Her term began in January 2021.

In a comment generating controversy, Smith in 2020 said that following her state's COVID restrictions was like being a "second-rate slave".[6]

Smith likely violated open meeting laws in March 2023 by calling for an emergency meeting without notifying citizens or the media.[7]

Personal life

Smith and her husband, Nate, have one child.[1]

Electoral history

2014 US House of Representatives, Oregon's 5th congressional district[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Kurt Schrader 150,944 53.7
Republican Tootie Smith 110,332 39.3
Independent Marvin Sannes 7,674 2.7
Constitution Raymond Baldwin 6,208 2.2
Libertarian Daniel K Souza 5,198 1.8
Write-in 732 0.3
Total votes 281,088 100%

References

  1. ^ a b "Tootie Smith's Biography". Project VoteSmart. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  2. ^ "OR District 05 2014". OurCampaigns. January 2, 2015. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  3. ^ Mapes, Jeff (January 13, 2014). "Clackamas Commissioner Tootie Smith announces candidacy against Rep. Kurt Schrader". The Oregonian (OregonLive.com). Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  4. ^ Williams, Conner (November 9, 2016). "Tootie Smith loses County Commissioner seat by less than two points". Molalla Pioneer. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  5. ^ Wong, Peter (December 23, 2016). "Tootie Smith makes her exit from Clackamas County board". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  6. ^ Stites, Sam. "Tootie Smith compares statewide 'freeze' restrictions to slavery". Pamplin Media Group. Archived from the original on 2020-11-18. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  7. ^ Thompson, Brandon (March 29, 2023). "Clackamas County commissioners talk withholding funds, possible law violation". www.koin.com. KOIN. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  8. ^ "November 4, 2014, General Election, Official Abstract of Votes". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.