The two sides of mayoral candidate Jefferson Smith
PORTLAND, Ore. - Jefferson Smith may be running for Portland mayor on his record of accomplishments, but it's his driving record that's getting all the attention right now.
On Monday Smith released his driving history to KATU News, including more than a dozen traffic violations and tickets.
The race to replace Sam Adams as Portland mayor is down to two: Voters will decide between Charlie Hales and Jefferson Smith in 11 weeks.
But voters also must consider the two sides of Jefferson Smith.
On the one hand, Smith's resume is full of accomplishments.
After graduating from Portland's Grant High School, Smith went on to get a bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon and a law degree from Harvard.
He used his degrees to help found the Bus Project, a nonprofit that encourages young people to get involved in politics. He then served two terms, representing east Portland as a state representative in Salem.
And as a candidate for mayor, he's endorsed by unions representing Portland police, Portland firefighters and Portland teachers.
Then there's the other Jefferson Smith.
He was suspended three times from the Oregon State Bar for failing to pay his dues on time.
Last November, he punched an opponent in a basketball game and was asked to leave. Also last year, Smith was ejected from a recreation league soccer game for pushing another player.
Then on Friday, smith released his full driving record to the Portland Mercury, including the news that he received seven speeding tickets since 1994 at an average of 23 miles over the speed limit.
KATU News also learned the state has suspended Smith's driver's license five times since 2002, costing him nearly three years of driving privileges.
He's failed to appear in court five times.
He's failed to pay fines twice.
And Smith has received numerous other traffic violations, including driving while suspended, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, and he's been ticketed for failure to carry proof of insurance twice.
Smith's campaign sent KATU News this written release Tuesday night. In part it says:
"There are a lot of things I've done in my life that I'm proud of; my driving record is something I am not proud of. I take it seriously and I'm sorry for it. I also have strengths, and I think those strengths ... will make me a good mayor for our city. And ultimately, I hope this race will be not about the past – and not about me – but about the people and future of Portland."
Shame on you KATU. Â Why do you even bring up the incident during the game without telling the WHOLE story? Â Jefferson was repeatedly knocked down by the same guy during the game. Â Several times before he defended himself. Â Yellow journalism. Â And shame on the rest of you. Â Maybe you kept your records clean and remembered the details of your personal life, but what are you doing to better the rest of the world? Â Because Jeff was working to make Oregon a better place while leaving his personal life behind. It's called self-sacrifice.
This idiot ought to have been locked up for at least some of this. You and I would have been. How can a guy with so little respect for the law as to FAIL TO APPEAR think he has any qualifications for ANYTHING except maybe permanent pedestrian !!!! What a LOSER !!
I would be less concerned about his driving than his lack of morals. He obviously could care less about the safety of those others around him. I'm guessing the rules don't apply to him.
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Typical the world revolves around me attitude. No wonder the unions like him.
I agree! What does this have to do with his job as mayor? I vote for candidates that stand up and speak for the people, not those that run them over!
JS is the perfect man do be the mayor of weirdville. he is currently selectively obeying the law and as Mayor he can follow Sammy lead by selectively enforcing the law.
What does this have to do with being a good candidate for Mayor? He's a bad driver, so what!  Get on board and ride a bike. This is irrelevant news. A personâs character or their ability to run a city should not be based on his or her ability to drive. Why do we care?
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@aibmpb1 Its not about ability you idiot ! Its about being so arrogant as to think you can consistently break the law, try to ignore the consequences and think it has nothing to do with your ability to hold public office. What are you his brother-in-law or something ???
Why would I want a Mayor that doesn't follow the local laws or play fair in sports? WTF?
Hey..at least he's not gettin it on in the mens room with a minor, right?
 @deejm2112 What is this statement based on? Imagination? No mayor in PDX did that.
 @MagicMoose Beau Breedlove? Adams admitted it to a limited degree.
@MagicMoose @deejm2112  Sammy is an admitted liar, he's fessed up to mackin on a minor in the mens room, its not that much of a stretch to think it went farther than that.
@MagicMoose Jefferson Smith is no mayor.
Well, the way I see it, Jeff's a perfect mayor for a city with a great public transit system.
Did any of you look at the list of infractions? 95 in a 55 zone? 62 in a 35? what exactly are the multiple "improper right turns"?? the guy obviously doesn't stop when he turns right.Â
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He has ADHD? This guy is a nut ball. Portland politics is a complete joke.Â
 @ryanmang How does having ADHD translate into being a "nut ball"?
 @ryanmang Improper right turn- you must stay in the lane closest to the curb when turning from a one lane onto a 2 lane road....got hit with that last Dec.
All people have flaws. If this is the worse thing he's guilty of, I feel we will be just fine. Politicians are accused of much worse things than a bad driving record.Â
You'd think with a record like his he'd be a shoe in for mayor.
What is the problem here Jeff seems like a great person to replace the pedophile mayor Portland has now. With his record he could go on to become Governor of the state. How proud we as the citizens of Oregon can be with these elected officials. ------NOT------
So, KATU, when are we going to see the article "The two sides of mayoral candidate Charlie Hales?"
The sad thing is that a large number of Portland voters think this guy is the best person for the job. That is truly sad and is testament to the deplorable state of politics and the people who run for us and who get elected. It also shows that both parties are dominated by "elitists", right wing elitists on the Republican side and left wing "elitists" on the Democratic side.
Let's see - since 2004 he has been a chronic train wreck in regard to following the driving rules of this state. In regard to legally operating motor vehicles. And the best defense. Mr. Smith has this late in a mayoral campaign is  - in the 11th hour of a general election for the high level office of mayor to be exact - is he was not drunk any of those times? % SUSPENSIONS OF YOUR DRIVING RECORD and you are still have decades of driving/being suspended from driving ahead of you? Or worse...
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The fact that Mr. Smith cared not to volunteer this absolutely critical information about himself sooner in this mayor campaign or at any time when he was campaigning for elected office down in Salem is astoundingly arrogant of him. And disrespectful to the constituents he serves. Deliberately so. Vest my vote in someone so chronically out of control behind the wheel of a car - and so incapable of figuring out how to legally drive day in and day out - like all of the rest of us? Year in and year out. No way. Simply - no way. Mr. Smith.Â
So, Jeff Smith is a community organizer who's major effort up to this point is to make Portland a better place for its citizens.Fisher Communications, which is owned by institutional big-money people, owns KATU.Smith wants a better community; big capital wants everything. Follow the money, people. Smear campaigns are still smear campaigns....
With a record like Smith's, all he needs now is to be caught with a 17-year-old and he would be shoo-in.
It is Portland it would have to be a 17 year old boy, if it was a girl he would be considered disgusting. A 17 year old boy would be considered progressive. They will vote in street car Charlie anyhow and waste billions more on street cars and light rail while getting rid of those evil cars!!
Still this article doesn't tell much about this man Jefferson Smith as a candidate whether liberal or conservative but going to the Bus project website I see that mostly it's still generic except for two clues! His youthful volunteers wear commie color red tee-shirts and use the word progressive in their who we are description!. I think this man is a liberal progressive or maybe even more than that? If you want high taxes and redistribution of income as a starter vote for Jefferson Smith! But I recommend the voters turn him out!
 @disenchanted1 Partly basing your opinion on the color of one's shirt....you have lost all credibility on that alone.
 @deejm2112 ''Actually I was thinking of the red guard in 1960's China at the time!"
 @disenchanted1 While you may be right at home in the days of McCarthyism and the Red Scare, the rest of the world has moved on.Â
@disenchanted1 It's rather scary that you use "liberal progressive" like it's a bad thing and "commie red"? You have got to be kidding me. The Bus Project endorse no candidates, and takes no official stance on ballot measure. They are dedicated to volunteerism and getting people to exercise their privilege to vote.
So basically this guy is totally unyielding towards the laws of the state and now wants to run our city.. Let's make him our mayor... Isn't this the way government really operates, only this guy puts it all out there..
 @dougrpdx "... only this guy puts it all out there?" Excuse me. He didn't put anything out there. He was outted.  in the 11th hour of this mayoral campaign.  Facts are facts. And Jefferson Smith never wanted any of us to know a danged thing about who he very really is. Someone outside of Jefferson Smith's "circle" outted him. It would have been okie dokie and fine and dandy with Jefferson Smith if we the people never found out just how chronically FLAWED and out of control behind the wheel of motor vehicles in this state he very really is.Â
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"This guy" didn't put any of it out there. He woulda been fine lying to us all about who he really is - and hedging his bets that none of us would have found out who he really and truly is - until the day after the November election. His constituents are now just "learning" critical information about Mr. Smith that he previously did not care to share. How do you think that makes any of them feel today?Â
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I call that a misleading, disengenous, seriously flawed character trait in regard to who Jefferson Smith very really is. Do I want someone as arrogantly flawed as him - in the Mayoral seat of my city - thumbing his nose at laws, rules and regulations, over and over and over? All of us are supposed to adhere to them - but Jefferson Smith is exempt? Come on... Â
He's failed to appear in court five times."Â "average of 23 miles over the speed limit" failed to pay fines twice",
NO JAIL TIME????
You must have a damn good lawyer buddy. Because my son had two failure to appears,(same court, traffic) and it landed him in jail for awhile. Seems to me you have that attitude that you are above the law.