- Jefferson and his wife, Katy
Jefferson Smith was born and homegrown in Portland, Oregon. After attending Grant High School and the University of Oregon, Jefferson graduated from Harvard Law School. He left a high-paying corporate firm in New York to avoid defending big tobacco and to return home to Portland.
He became a nonprofit entrepreneur and gathered friends together to start the Oregon Bus Project, which grew into a national model of hands-on democracy for future generations. In the decade since, the Bus Project has developed hundreds of future leaders, registered tens of thousands of new voters, launched national activities in multiple cities across the U.S., won local and national awards, and inspired democracy efforts from Oregon to Colorado and Africa.
In 2008, Jefferson was elected to to succeed Jeff Merkley to represent East Portland in the Oregon House. He successfully worked with citizens, lawmakers and stakeholders to champion common-sense, high-road economic solutions like the landmark water investment program, the “Cool Schools” jobs program, and the “economic gardening” plan for homegrown Oregon businesses.
His innovative good government work led to Oregon’s online voter registration act as well as the transparency act to share Oregon’s budget with the world. His commitment to challenged neighborhoods like his helped advance one of the State’s first efforts to curb human trafficking.
He has been a cattle-hand in eastern Oregon, run programs for inner-city kids in Washington, DC, coached youth basketball in Eugene, rick-rolled the Oregon House, and done dozens of cartwheels for good causes. He lives with his wife Katy in East Portland.