Former school superintendent, nurse from King City tapped for vacant House District 26 seat
The Oregon House of Representatives on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. Former school superintendent Sue Rieke Smith of King City joined the body as a representative following a Friday vote by three county commissions. (Amanda Loman/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
After nearly a month without representation in the Oregon House, Oregonians in Clackamas, Washington and Yamhill counties have a new state representative: former nurse and school district superintendent Sue Rieke Smith.
Rieke Smith, of King City, will begin immediately in the Oregon Legislature following her appointment Friday in a 10-1 vote at a joint session of the three county commissions. She fills the seat vacated by former state Rep. Courtney Neron, a Democrat, who was appointed in early May to the Oregon Senate after the death of state Sen. Aaron Woods, also a Democrat, who represented the three counties.
Oregon law requires county commissioners within a legislative district boundary to appoint a new representative within 30 days of an unexpected vacancy. The appointee must be from the same political party as the outgoing legislator.
Rieke Smith's appointment to represent the more than 70,000 Oregonians in the district of mostly non affiliated voters lasts until January 2027, but she has the option of running for the seat in 2026 for a full two-year term.
'I'm a third-generation Oregonian, a wife, a mother, and a grandmother. I assure you that if I'm selected, this Oregonian is ready to go to work,' Rieke Smith told commissioners Friday in her opening remarks.
Prior to her appointment, she spent 25 years as a teacher, administrator and superintendent in public schools in Springfield and Tigard-Tualatin. She retired as superintendent of Tigard-Tualatin schools in 2024 after six years leading the district, among the largest in Oregon. The departure came amid growing strife over student behavior and tardiness.
Before working in education, Rieke Smith was a travel nurse and public health professional, working in intensive care units. She's a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, in Tacoma, Washington, and holds a doctorate in educational leadership and policy from the University of Oregon.
Rieke Smith was one of three candidates nominated by the Oregon Democratic Party. Other nominees included Chelsea King, executive director of the Wilsonville-based nonprofit Oregon Health and Education Collaborative, and Mary Pettenger, a professor of politics, policy and administration at Western Oregon University.
At the joint session of the county commissions, Rieke Smith answered questions about her positions on issues related to public education, senior citizens, civil liberties, housing, public safety and the justice system.
She expressed support for several bills currently being considered in the current legislative session. Among them was Senate Bill 974, which would hasten housing efforts and ease some residential development and land use regulations. In response to concerns about a bill lawmakers are considering that would extend unemployment benefits to striking workers, Senate Bill 916, Rieke Smith said she recognized workers' right to strike and acknowledged potential challenges the bill could pose, vowing to seek further information about the bill's fiscal impact.
'I will not be a flamethrower, I will not engage in name-calling or finger-pointing or demonizing at someone's position,' she said in her closing remarks at the Friday meeting. 'I will be intellectually curious and seek to understand and reach across the aisle to make better policy for all.'
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