As the Chair of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, Tootie Smith is seeking reelection in 2024. She is a native of Clackamas County and grew up on a farm in south Clackamas County, Oregon. Farming taught Tootie self-sufficiency, independence, hard work, and the unfairness of life’s lessons. She ultimately turned these early lessons into leadership qualities when starting three corporations, including Prairie House Inn Bed and Breakfast, a historical hospitality site in her hometown of Molalla, Oregon, with her husband of 42 years.Tootie first got into politics when she lobbied the US Congress at 29 while forming a grassroots group of women in her hometown. After that, she would lead the same state organization that taught her, Oregon Lands Coalition Executive Director. In 2000, Tootie was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives for District 18, the first and only woman elected to that position. In 2012, she was elected to the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners from Oregon’s third-largest county and served until 2016. In 2020, she was elected Chair of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners and is currently serving the rest of her term. As Chair of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, Tootie protected the county from destructive Portland policies that increased crime, drug abuse, and homelessness. While protecting the county from those policies, she also reaffirmed Clackamas County’s sovereignty and right to dictate how to handle big issues such as public safety, land use, and drug and mental health treatment.Whether it’s negotiating with the US Army Corps of Engineers in Washington DC or ensuring the dog shelter is fiscally sound in her local county, Tootie has earned a reputation as a go-getter and tireless advocate for the causes she pursues. Tootie works tirelessly for Clackamas County to ensure every decision has residents’ best interests in mind.Read more about this authorRead less about this author