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Loretta Smith
2025 - Present
2028
0
Loretta Smith is a member of the Portland City Council in Oregon, representing District 1. She assumed office on January 1, 2025. Her current term ends on December 31, 2028.
Smith ran for election to the Portland City Council to represent District 1 in Oregon. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Elections
2024
See also: City elections in Portland, Oregon (2024)
General election
General election for Portland City Council District 1
The ranked-choice voting election was won by Candace Avalos in round 13 , Jamie Dunphy in round 16 , and Loretta Smith in round 16 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.
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Total votes: 42,871 |
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 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Smith in this election.
2022
See also: Oregon's 6th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Oregon District 6
Andrea Salinas defeated Mike Erickson and Larry McFarland in the general election for U.S. House Oregon District 6 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Andrea Salinas (D / Working Families Party / Independent Party) | 50.1 | 147,156 |
 | Mike Erickson (R) | 47.7 | 139,946 | |
| Larry McFarland (Constitution Party) | 2.1 | 6,073 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 513 | ||
| Total votes: 293,688 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 6
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 6 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Andrea Salinas | 36.8 | 26,101 |
 | Carrick Flynn | 18.4 | 13,052 | |
 | Steven Cody Reynolds | 11.2 | 7,951 | |
 | Loretta Smith | 10.0 | 7,064 | |
 | Matt West | 8.0 | 5,658 | |
 | Kathleen Harder | 7.8 | 5,510 | |
 | Teresa Alonso Leon | 6.5 | 4,626 | |
 | Ricky Barajas | 0.4 | 292 | |
| Greg Goodwin | 0.3 | 217 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 508 | ||
| Total votes: 70,979 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Brian Hylland (D)
- Kevin Easton (D)
- Derry Jackson (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 6
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 6 on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Erickson | 34.7 | 21,675 |
 | Ron Noble | 17.6 | 10,980 | |
 | Amy Ryan Courser | 16.3 | 10,176 | |
 | Angela Plowhead | 13.2 | 8,271 | |
| Jim Bunn | 10.1 | 6,340 | ||
 | David Russ | 3.8 | 2,398 | |
 | Nate Sandvig | 3.6 | 2,222 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 432 | ||
| Total votes: 62,494 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2020
See also: City elections in Portland, Oregon (2020)
General runoff election
Special general runoff election for Portland City Commission Position 2
Dan Ryan defeated Loretta Smith in the special general runoff election for Portland City Commission Position 2 on August 11, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Dan Ryan (Nonpartisan) | 51.1 | 88,809 | |
| Loretta Smith (Nonpartisan) | 48.1 | 83,556 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.8 | 1,336 | ||
| Total votes: 173,701 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
Special general election for Portland City Commission Position 2
The following candidates ran in the special general election for Portland City Commission Position 2 on May 19, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Loretta Smith (Nonpartisan) | 18.8 | 39,304 |
| ✔ | Dan Ryan (Nonpartisan) | 16.6 | 34,693 | |
| Tera Hurst (Nonpartisan) | 14.8 | 30,982 | ||
 | Julia DeGraw (Nonpartisan) | 12.6 | 26,441 | |
| Sam Chase (Nonpartisan) | 11.2 | 23,466 | ||
| Margot Black (Nonpartisan) | 6.7 | 14,091 | ||
| Cynthia Castro (Nonpartisan) | 3.7 | 7,762 | ||
| Jack Kerfoot (Nonpartisan) | 3.4 | 7,195 | ||
| Terry Parker (Nonpartisan) | 2.4 | 5,095 | ||
| Jeff Lang (Nonpartisan) | 1.8 | 3,837 | ||
| Ronault Catalani (Nonpartisan) | 1.7 | 3,512 | ||
| Ryan Farmer (Nonpartisan) | 1.2 | 2,407 | ||
| Aquiles Montas (Nonpartisan) | 1.0 | 2,175 | ||
| Jas Davis (Nonpartisan) | 0.9 | 1,842 | ||
| Alicea Maurseth (Nonpartisan) | 0.8 | 1,632 | ||
| Diana Gutman (Nonpartisan) | 0.8 | 1,597 | ||
| Walter Wesley (Nonpartisan) | 0.7 | 1,405 | ||
| Rachelle Dixon (Nonpartisan) | 0.5 | 1,097 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 498 | ||
| Total votes: 209,031 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Portland City Commission Position 3
Jo Ann Hardesty defeated Loretta Smith in the general election for Portland City Commission Position 3 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jo Ann Hardesty (Nonpartisan) | 61.8 | 165,220 |
| Loretta Smith (Nonpartisan) | 37.2 | 99,402 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 2,524 | ||
| Total votes: 267,146 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Portland City Commission Position 3
The following candidates ran in the primary for Portland City Commission Position 3 on May 15, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jo Ann Hardesty (Nonpartisan) | 46.5 | 56,235 |
| ✔ | | Loretta Smith (Nonpartisan) | 21.2 | 25,645 |
 | Felicia Williams (Nonpartisan) | 10.9 | 13,162 | |
 | Andrea Valderrama (Nonpartisan) | 10.5 | 12,677 | |
| Stuart Emmons (Nonpartisan) | 9.4 | 11,371 | ||
| Lew Humble (Nonpartisan) | 1.6 | 1,938 | ||
| Total votes: 121,028 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Loretta Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Loretta Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Loretta Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Loretta Smith completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Smith's responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
Address our homeless crisis by opening Wapato as a temporary shelter and triage center with mental health, and drug and alcohol treatment services. Create more affordable housing now by making existing multi-plexes that shift some units to affordable, to be able to get a tax abatement. Support adding more police officers, as we have fewer officers today than we did 10 years ago, but our population has grown tremendously.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
I am most passionate about helping those most vulnerable and who typically have been left behind. That means being a champion for communities of color, low-income residents, our young people, as well as seniors and veterans.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
Most important is to be accessible and available to talk with residents about any issue. I also proactively reach out to people who would be impacted by a pending issue, so I can fully understand it before I weigh in.
What was your very first job? How long did you have it?
I got a job while at high school posting grades for my English teacher. I could never have imagined what that first job would mean for my future. I was the first person in my family to go to college and graduate. I got federal work study grants to help pay for school. When I showed up for a job at Oregon State University's School of Forestry, I was selected for the job because I was the only applicant that had previous job experience. I took that experience and as a Multnomah County Commissioner, I created the Summer Works job program to help our young people get skills that put them on a path to success.
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
Shortly after my son was born, I became homeless and couch surfed for several months. That's why I'm so passionate about our homeless and housing affordability crisis. I lived it, and that's why I'm so focused on helping others dealing with these same issues.
Do you believe that it’s beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?
Yes, because having the experience of understanding budgeting, drafting legislation and working collaboratively, allowed me to be successful and deliver real results for my community.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Portland City Council District 1 |
Personal |
Footnotes
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