Next year, Loretta Smith will find herself somewhere she’s never been: on a City of Portland ballot.
The two-term Multnomah County commissioner announced last month she’ll be running for Commissioner Dan Saltzman’s seat in the May primary. Smith has campaign logos and slogans on her Facebook page, and a website: lorettaforportland.com. Her candidate committee is raking in thousands of dollars in contributions from deep-pocketed developers. She’s got a campaign staff.
But to hear Smith’s campaign consultant tell it, she is not currently running for city council.
“She’s indicated she intends to run for Portland City Council,” consultant Jake Weigler told the Mercury last week. “She has not formally filed for office.”
Weigler—and Smith, who referred all questions to him—have reason to be cautious. Under Multnomah County rules, Smith would need to give up her current position if she begins a formal run for City Council before January.
But the current limbo the commissioner finds herself in comes with fraught questions—especially after voters enacted strict campaign finance limits for Multnomah County elections last year. Smith’s raising money as if she were running for city office, and disregarding those new county limits in the process. But she’s not technically filed to run for city office.
To some observers, it looks like Smith is breaking the rules.