Elmo Everett Smith (November 19, 1909 - July 15, 1968) was an American politician, a Republican, and the twenty-seventh governor of the state of Oregon, USA, from 1956 to 1957. The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 14 is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Robert Denison Holmes (May 11, 1909 - June 6, 1976) was an American politician, a Democrat, and the twenty-eighth governor of the state of Oregon, USA, from 1957 to 1959. ... November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Grand Junction is a city located in Mesa County, Colorado, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 41,986. ... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Map Political Statistics Founded 1846 Incorporated 1864 County Linn County Mayor Chuck McLaran Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 41. ... A political party is an organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party, although one early citation described it as the Gallant Old Party) [1], is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... This article is about the modern United States Republican Party. ... The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. ... Official language(s) None Capital Largest city Salem Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Early life

Smith was born in Grand Junction, Colorado. At the age of ten, his mother died, and at age thirteen, his father passed away, leaving young Elmo an orphan. He was sent to live with his uncle on a ranch near Wilder, Idaho. He supported himself financially as he pursued an education at the College of Idaho. Smith recieved his B.A. in History in 1932 and moved to Ontario, Oregon. Orphans, by Thomas Kennington An orphan (from the Greek ορφανός) is a person (or animal), who has lost one or both parents, often through death. ... Wilder is a city located in Canyon County, Idaho. ... A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B., from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ... Downtown Ontario. ...

In Ontario, he began a long and successful career in the newspaper business. The year he arrived in town, Smith managed the Ontario Argus, and founded the Ontario Observer in 1936. As a newspaper owner and publisher, Smith began to gain stature in the community and entered politics.

Voters in Ontario elected Smith mayor in 1940, and returned him to office for a second term in 1942. He resigned in 1943 in order to enlist in the U.S. Navy during the Second World War. The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Smith earned the rank of Lieutenant, serving in the Pacific Theater of Operations. He flew transport planes, and later commanded a air transport base in the South Pacific. He returned to civilian life at the war's 1945 conclusion. The Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) is the term used in the United States for all military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, during World War II. Pacific War is a more common name, around the world, for the broader conflict between the Allies and Japan...

Upon returning to Ontario, its citizens returned Smith to the mayor's once. He continued to manage his newspaper holdings, purchasing the John Day Blue-Mountain Eagle, and gaining an interest in the Madras Pioneer; while selling off his Ontario papers. In 1948, voters in Grant, Malheur, and Harney Counties elected him to represent the region in the Oregon State Senate. John Day is a town located about a mile north of Canyon City in Grant County, Oregon, at the intersection of U.S. Highways 26 and 395. ... Madras (pronounced MAD-res) is a city in Jefferson County, Oregon, United States. ... Grant County is a county located in the state of Oregon. ... Malheur County is a county located in the southeast corner of the state of Oregon. ... Harney County is a county created in the state of Oregon in 1889. ... The Oregon State Senate chamber in the State Capitol. ...

President of the Oregon State Senate

State Senator Smith would stand up to the influential trucking and powerful lumber industry lobbies to gain passage of an increase in the state highway tax. His support for transportation projects gained him the chairmanship on the Senate Roads and Highways Committee in 1952, and was elected President of the Senate in 1955. The President of the Senate is the title often given to the presiding officer, or chairman, of a senate. ...

Governorship

The unexpected death of Governor Paul L. Patterson on January 31, 1956 elevated Senate President Elmo Smith to fill out the remainder of his term. Upon assuming office, Smith found himself running the state and a camaign for the 1958 gubernatiorial election. January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

His administration successfully raised spending on Public Education, formed a commission on aging, and joined a tri-state water-power consortium. He managed the state's finances in a fiscally conservative manner.

Governor Smith also helped create the Water Resources Board, the agency that today manages and regulates Oregon's water resources.

While winning the Republican nomination for governor, Smith was defeated in his attempt to win the governorship in his own right. Robert D. Holmes, his Democratic challenger managed to win a narrow victory in the 1957 gubernatorial race. Robert Denison Holmes (May 11, 1909 - June 6, 1976) was an American politician, a Democrat, and the twenty-eighth governor of the state of Oregon, USA, from 1957 to 1959. ...

Later life

After leaving Salem, Smith concentrated on his newspaper empire, purchasing several weekly newspapers and the Albany Democrat-Herald, his largest acquisition. He ended up moving to Albany to better manage the Democrat-Herald. Map Political Statistics Founded 1846 Incorporated 1864 County Linn County Mayor Chuck McLaran Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 41. ...

Smith would return to politics in a bid for the United States Senate seat opened by the death of Richard Neuberger in 1960. Smith lost this race to Maurine Neuberger, widow of the late Senator. A run for National Chairman for the Republican Party failed in 1964. His last attempt at elected office, the chairmanship of the Oregon State Republican Party was successful. Seal of the Senate The United States Senate is one of the two chambers of the Congress of the United States, the other being the House of Representatives. ... Richard Lewis Neuberger (December 26, 1912 – March 9, 1960) was a U.S. journalist, author, and politician during the middle of the 20th century. ... Maurine Brown Neuberger in 1962 Maurine Brown Neuberger (January 9, 1907–February 22, 2000) was an American Senator for the State of Oregon from 1960 to 1967, she was the third woman to be elected to the Senate. ...

Smith succumbed to cancer on July 15, 1968; at the age of 58 in Albany. He is burried in the Willamette Memorial Park Mausoleum. When normal cells are damaged beyond repair, they are eliminated by apoptosis. ...

Sources

• Oregon State Library
• Oregon State Archive bio
• Klooster, Karl. Round the Roses II: More Past Portland Perspectives, pg. 137, 1992 ISBN 0-9619847-1-6

External Link

• Oregon State Archives: Smith Administration-Photo, bio, records, and some public speeches of Governor Smith.

Governors of Oregon
Whiteaker • Gibbs • Woods • Grover • Chadwick • Thayer • Moody • Pennoyer • Lord • Geer • Chamberlain • Benson • Bowerman • West • Withycombe • Olcott • Pierce • I. Patterson • Norblad • Meier • Martin • Sprague • Snell • Hall • McKay • P. Patterson • Smith • Holmes • Hatfield • McCall • Straub • Atiyeh • Goldschmidt • Roberts • Kitzhaber • Kulongoski