1. Loretta Smith was born on 1966 and is an American politician and businesswoman who is a member of the Portland City Council from District 1.
16 Facts About Loretta Smith
1. 2.
Loretta Smith previously served as a Multnomah County commissioner from 2011 to 2018.
3.
Loretta Smith ran unsuccessful campaigns for Portland City Council in 2018 and 2020.
4.
Loretta Smith remained on his staff for 21 years, eventually becoming his field representative.
5.
Loretta Smith began her own political career by running for Multnomah County commissioner in 2010.
6.
Loretta Smith came in second place in the initial election, and advanced to the runoff, which she won by 26 percentage points.
7.
Loretta Smith served on the Portland Metro Workforce Development Board, which aims to curb the unemployment rate especially among people of color.
8.
In 2017, Loretta Smith was accused by two former staffers of "unprofessional and harassing conduct" and creating a hostile work environment.
9.
Loretta Smith was accused of using county funds for personal expenses such as grocery shopping.
10.
Some Loretta Smith supporters questioned the unsubstantiated accusations and claimed she was treated harshly because she was a black woman, describing it as "a political lynching".
11.
In 2020, Loretta Smith ran in a special election for City Council to succeed Nick Fish, who had died in office.
13.
In 2019, Loretta Smith started her own small business, a communications consultancy called Dream Big Communications specializing in building coalitions, bringing people together, and improving communities.
14.
On June 22,2021, Loretta Smith announced her candidacy for Oregon's 6th congressional district, when the district's boundaries had yet to be drawn.
15.
Loretta Smith finished in 4th place out of a total of 9 candidates in the Democratic primary.
16.
Loretta Smith has one son, Jordan, born in 1990, whom she raised as a single mother.