End of year Dems event honors former Chair Meredith Wood Smith

End of year Dems event honors former Chair Meredith Wood Smith

GRESHAM — Democrats met over the weekend in East Multnomah County for their fourth quarter State Central Committee meeting and gathered for a holiday party Saturday evening to honor former Democratic Party of Oregon chair Meredith Wood Smith, who passed away in October of this year. 

Wood Smith served as Chair of the DPO from 2006 until 2012. She was recognized Saturday evening by Governor Kate Brown and U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley for her role in helping gain Democratic majorities in the Oregon Legislature, as well as the successful 2008 campaign to unseat an incumbent Republican and elect Jeff Merkley to serve in the U.S. Senate alongside Sen. Wyden. 

“Meredith Wood Smith laid the foundation for the last decade of Democratic successes in Oregon,” said Jeanne Atkins, chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon. “We are indebted to her service and will continue working to support her belief that the purpose of our party is to make the world we live in a better place.”

In commemoration of Wood Smith’s advocacy on behalf of Democrats, the DPO has partnered with the Smith family to establish the Meredith Wood Smith Grassroots Leadership Institute. This program will be dedicated to ensuring that local Democratic leaders have opportunities for training and consultation, including financial support for accessing state party events and conventions. On Saturday evening both U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and the family of Meredith Wood Smith announced generous gifts of $20,000 each. 

Also Saturday evening, special recognition was given to Jamie McLeod-Skinner, the Democratic nominee in Congressional District 2. Her campaign made history last month in their race taking on Republican Greg Walden, outperforming any prior Democratic candidate in at least 20 years. 

On Sunday, Democrats gathered at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham to convene a State Central Committee Business Meeting. Three resolutions were approved by the body yesterday afternoon:

• Resolution 2018-002: Regarding Use of Weaponized Drones

• Resolution 2018-011: In Support of Mass Expungement for Misdemeanor Marijuana Crimes

• Resolution 2018-012: Regarding Disenfranchisement and Eradication of Transgender, Intersex, & Non-Binary Persons

The next State Central Committee meeting of the DPO will be held on March 16th and 17th in Polk County, Oregon. For more information on the DPO, including information on the Meredith Wood Smith Grassroots Leadership Institute, visitwww.dpo.org.

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