Tootie Smith (born March 3, 1957) is an American politician and hazelnut farmer from the 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 ...

. 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 Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

. Smith was elected to 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 ...

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 The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, but lost to incumbent Democrat Kurt Schrader, receiving 39% of the vote. Smith ran for reelection to the county commission in 2016, but lost to Ken Humberston. 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". Smith likely violated open meeting laws in March 2023 by calling for an emergency meeting without notifying citizens or the media.

Personal life

Smith and her husband, Nate, have one child.

Electoral history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Tootie 1957 births Living people Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly County commissioners in Oregon Women state legislators in Oregon 21st-century American women politicians Politicians from Oregon City, Oregon Concordia University (Oregon) alumni Mt. Hood Community College alumni