WHEREAS, R.P. “Joe” Smith devoted his life to his family, his party, his state, and to improving the quality of life of his fellow Oregonians; and
WHEREAS, as a student working for Senator Wayne Morse, Joe Smith learned to fly so he could bring Oregonians together and bridge the urban/rural divide; and
WHEREAS, during his 1972 underdog campaign for Attorney General he traveled to every corner of the state, and became one of the first candidates to decline large contributions – accepting nothing more than $99.99 – and nearly defeated the incumbent in what was a brutal year for Democrats; and
WHEREAS, Joe Smith was a tireless advocate for peace, justice, and public service, fighting as District Attorney to keep chemical weapons out of Umatilla County, to ban MX missiles, and as a leader in the Beyond War movement of the 1980s; and
WHEREAS, Joe Smith served with great distinction as the Chairman of the Democratic Party of Oregon from 1980 to 1982, as well as Chairman of the 3rd Congressional District, Presidential Elector, national convention delegate, DPO Platform Convention Chair, interim State Representative, unpaid intern for his son State Rep. Jefferson Smith, valued advisor and canvasser on innumerable campaigns, and, along with his wife Meredith Wood Smith, was half of the first couple to have both served as Chairs of the DPO; and
WHEREAS, as the self-described “Token Old Guy” and founding board member of the Oregon Bus Project (NextUp), Joe Smith brought his zeal for democracy and face-to-face campaigning to generations of Oregonians, demonstrated that you are never too old to go door-to-door and should never leave a vote behind, and helped transform Oregon from Red to Purple to Blue, regaining control of the Oregon House and Senate; and
WHEREAS, he brought his gift for organization and FranklinCovey values-based goal planning to a wide range of civic and charitable groups from the AMA’s Coalition for Justice and Police Reform, the Urban League, and the SMART reading program; and
WHEREAS, Joe’s commitment to conservation and the environment extended from his professional life to his personal life, where he conserved energy by walking, riding his bike and motorcycle wherever possible, climbed mountaintops including Mt. Hood, and taught others how to conserve paper, money, soap, clothes, and memories – most notably in his famous four minute TEDx talk “How to use a paper towel” that has been viewed more than four million times on how to “shake and fold” to save 571,230,000 pounds of paper a year; and
WHEREAS, after spreading the gospel of democracy for years on his son’s radio show “News with my Dad,” just six weeks before his death, in his tenth decade, Joe gave his second TEDx talk on a subject that was even more dear to him – the importance of democracy; and
WHEREAS, Joe Smith’s wit, wisdom, charm, and oratorical skills enlivened many a dull meeting and brought joy wherever he went;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF OREGON RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Democratic Party of Oregon gives thanks to Joe Smith for his life of service, his leadership, and his friendship; expresses its appreciation for his commitment to leave things better than he found them; and extends its condolences to his wife Bijee, his children, and extended family.
Resolution submitted by Mike Radway, Multnomah County; Tom Trotter, Multnomah County; Stephanie Vardavas, Multnomah County; Nathan Soltz, DPO Chair; KC Hanson, Stonewall Caucus; Rosa Colquitt, Black Caucus; Elise Josephson, Lane County; Bing Wong, Multnomah County; Michael Smith, Multnomah County; Robin Stevens, Multnomah County; Diane Grover, Clackamas County; Kathleen Cathy, CD 2 Committee; Carl Fisher, Washington County; Tony Fisher, Multnomah County; Paul Miller, Crook County; Mike Gardner, Clackamas County; Joe Esmonde, Labor Caucus; Devon Maxwell, Wallowa County;
Adopted 8/23/26
