Barbara Smith Warner (born 1967) is an American Democratic politician from the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. She served as a member of the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

for the 45th district from 2014 to 2022.

Early life and education

Born Barbara Smith in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

, she is a graduate of Gannon University.

Career

Warner worked as a labor organizer in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, ran the Oregon House Democratic Caucus, and served as a labor liaison for Senator

Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden ( ; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996 United States Senate special el ...

and has been active as a community organizer for affordable health care and education access. In November 2013, Michael Dembrow resigned from his seat in the

when he was appointed to fill Jackie Dingfelder's seat in the

Oregon Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The state's smallest and most populous county, it ...

Commissioners appointed Smith Warner to fill Dembrow's seat in the Oregon House a few weeks later. She was sworn in on January 15, 2014, shortly before the 2014 Legislative Short Session. In July 2019, she was elected as Majority Leader by the Oregon House Democratic Caucus, and served until January 2022. On March 7, 2022, Smith Warner announced she would retire from the legislature. She was succeeded by optometrist Thuy Tran, a fellow Democrat and a former member of the Parkrose School Board. In February 2023, Smith Warner was named executive director of The National Vote at Home Institute.

Personal life

Smith Warner and her husband Chris Warner, who served as chief of staff to former Portland City Commissioner

Steve Novick Steven Novick (born February 8, 1963) is an American politician, attorney, and activist from the U.S. state of Oregon. In 2008 United States Senate election in Oregon, 2008, he was a candidate for U.S. Senate for the seat then held by Republican ...

, live in Portland's Rose City Park neighborhood with their two children.

Electoral history

External links

Campaign website

Legislative website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith Warner, Barbara 1967 births 21st-century American women politicians Gannon University alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly Women state legislators in Oregon Politicians from Erie, Pennsylvania Politicians from Portland, Oregon