January 17, 2018
Page 5
Election
Campaign
Kickoffs
Loretta Smith
Charles McGee
Smith goes for city council;
McGee for county commission
Multnomah County Commis-
sioner Loretta Smith, the only
representative from the black
community in local city or coun-
ty government, made her cam-
paign for a future open seat on
the Portland City Council official
Saturday; and Charles McGee,
an activist parent from the black
community, announced that he
will run to replace Smith.
Smith is running for the posi-
tion held by Dan Saltzman who
is not seeking re-election. She
kicked off her campaign with
supporters Saturday at the Urban
League of Portland’s Multicul-
tural Senior Center in northeast
Portland.
A former and long time rep-
resentative from U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden’s Portland’s office,
Smith has become known for
fighting for the most vulnerable
of her constituents during her
two terms on the county com-
mission, helping fund health
and human services and summer
jobs for youth.
“Loretta is running to help
those who are being left out of
our new prosperity, and left be-
hind with rising rents and ex-
penses,” said a statement from
the Smith campaign “She knows
that we need to look out for those
across our city who are struggling
if Portland is going to remain a
place where everyone can live,
work, and play.”
Smith will face an immediate
obstacle to her campaign. A pe-
tition submitted to the the Mult-
nomah County Circuit Court on
Tuesday seeks to keep her name
off the ballot. Seth Woolley of the
Pacific Green Party alleges she
violated county charter rules for
campaigning for the office before
she was eligible to run and should
resign.
McGee made his campaign
official a few days earlier for the
seat Smith holds, representing
north and northeast Portland on
the five member county commis-
sion.
“What we need is a leader
with a passion and understand-
ing for this community, a vi-
sion for a better tomorrow, and
a proven track record for getting
it done for north and northeast
Portland. I believe – with your
support – I can be that leader,”
McGee said.
If elected, McGee would be
the first African-American man
to serve on the Multnomah Coun-
ty Commission. He grew up in
northeast Portland attending
Portland Public Schools. In 2005,
as a freshman at Portland State
University, he ran for the PPS
Board. Although he didn’t win,
the campaign channeled his drive
to create change for Portland’s
underrepresented students.
In 2006, McGee co-founded
the Black Parent Initiative, where
he continues to serve as executive
director. BPI works to help black
parents achieve financial, educa-
tional, and spiritual success and
advocates for public policy to ad-
dress educational disparities for
young people of color in Portland
schools.