Loretta Smith is a candidate for Portland City Council in District 1 (East Portland).
Smith is the founder of the government relations firm Dream Big Communications and currently chairs the Oregon Democratic Party’s Black Caucus. As the first in her family to graduate from college, her career includes serving as a staffer for U.S. Senator Ron Wyden.
She served as a Multnomah County Commissioner from 2011 to 2018 and ran for Portland City Council in 2018 and 2020, though she was not successful in those bids. In 2022, she also ran for Oregon’s 6th Congressional District. Her volunteer commitments include board service on the Promise Neighborhood Coalition, Airway Science for Kids, Start Making A Reader Today (SMART), and Black Women for Peace.
Smith’s campaign priorities include job creation, investments in housing, infrastructure, and green energy. She also advocates for affordability, safe neighborhoods, and early childhood education.
For more information about Loretta Smith, please visit her campaign website.
Media links:
- KATU: Know Your Candidates
- League of Women Voters Candidate Interview: Loretta Smith
- KATU: District 1 Candidate Forum
- KOIN: Eye on NW Politics: Loretta Smith sets sights on Portland City Council
- Willamette Week: Loretta Smith Is Running for City Council Seat in East Portland
- OPB: Former county commissioner Smith announces run for Portland City Council
- OPB: Loretta Smith: A Record Of Accomplishment — And Conflict
- The Oregonian: Loretta Smith, Dan Ryan in runoff to succeed late Portland Commissioner Nick Fish