Trump administration selects ousted Clackamas County chair as director of Oregon agency

Among several other new hires, Tootie Smith was revealed as the state director of Oregon’s Farm Service Agency on Thursday. As part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency serves stakeholders in the farming, ranching and agricultural industries.

“When rural America succeeds, our entire country is stronger,” USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said in the announcement. “These newly appointed USDA state directors will play a critical role in advancing President Trump’s America First agenda in the states and ensuring that our farmers and ranchers are prioritized. Farm security is national security, and this Administration is prioritizing protecting small family farms for the next generation of American farmers.”

The new state director was elected to Oregon’s House of Representatives from 2001 to 2005. Most recently, she served on Clackamas County’s Board of Commissioners. She served as a commissioner from 2013 to 2017, and became the chair later in 2020.

In her time on the board, she led the county in securing funding for its deflection program. She also reversed the vote that would have transformed a local hotel into a homeless shelter, and publicly denounced then-Gov. Kate Brown’s COVID-19 mandates against social gatherings.

Smith lost her re-election bid to retired Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts last November, when he secured 56.97% of the votes and she secured 43.03%.

According to USDA, Smith is a fourth-generation farmer who grew up on the land that she and her husband have taken over as a hazelnut orchard.