House · District 26 candidate · Oregon Legislature · November 3, 2026
Sue R Rieke Smith
Incumbent representative; former nurse, teacher and superintendent.
Reach the campaign
In their words
Said: Dr. Sue Rieke Smith has spent her life serving Oregonians, first as an emergency room trauma nurse, then as a teacher, principal, and Tigard-Tualatin School District Superintendent.
Voters’ pamphlet
Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; extracted September 21, 2026
Oregon Secretary of State · filed candidate statement · PDF page 179 ↗First sentence of the filed statement; the label line “Nurse. Teacher. Advocate.” is skipped.
The verbatim opening of their voters’ pamphlet statement, the same rule for every candidate. We chose nothing.
What they say they would do
Our summary of their platform, in our wordsSupports stronger public education, housing stability, broader healthcare access and reproductive freedom.
- Increase school investment and oppose private-school vouchers.
- Expand affordable housing and protect tenants.
- Integrate mental-health and addiction treatment, protect abortion and IVF access, and invest in clean energy.
Our reading
Our interpretation, not their wordsPublic investment and protections for schools, tenants and patients, funded by the state; her past graduation-rate claims need independent review, and the site does not rank which expansion comes first.
Where they stand
Housing and homelessness
Protect tenants, partners- What
- Said: Expand affordable housing, protect tenants and prevent homelessness through locally informed policy, partnering with cities and nonprofits on mental illness, addiction and economic instability.
- How
- Said: Partner with cities and nonprofits to address root causes such as mental illness, addiction and economic instability.
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Crime, drugs and who responds
Community-based safety- What
- Said: Transparent, community-based public safety: address gun violence, give law enforcement training and tools, reduce crime and support victims with resources matched to suburban needs.
- How
- Not in their sources
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Taxes, the kicker and the budget
Fund schools, no vouchers- What
- Said: Priority on increased state investment in public schools (opposing private-school vouchers) and on lowering health-care premiums and out-of-pocket costs.
- How
- Not in their sources
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Roads, transit and climate
100% clean energy- What
- Said: Science-based climate policy: a transition to 100% clean and renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure, plus fixing roads and easing congestion locally.
- How
- Not in their sources
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
The choices this office faces
Every candidate in this race is asked the same 8 questions. Sue R Rieke Smith is on record on 7, with 1 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.
No answer we could findLet the state keep part of a future kicker refund for wildfire or other one-time needs?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Vote for a 2027 transportation package that raises the gas tax and vehicle fees again?
Said: Voted yes on HB 3991 in the House on September 1, 2025 and filed a vote explanation; voters later repealed the package’s gas-tax and fee increases.
Close the 2027–29 budget gap with new revenue, or with cuts alone?
Said: Voted yes on SB 1507 on February 25, 2026; her statement describes it as standing up to Trump’s tax loopholes for the ultra wealthy and cutting taxes for over 200,000 working families.
Make data centers pay their own way: separate power rates, an end to tax breaks, or a pause on new ones?
Said: Opposes the unchecked growth of AI data centers that use up water and raise utility costs; she was not yet in the House for the POWER Act votes.
Keep paying for state-funded shelter beds and the homelessness emergency after June 2027?
Said: Voted yes on HB 3644 on June 23, 2025, two weeks after taking office; her plan would partner with cities and nonprofits on root causes like mental illness and addiction.
Keep the 2024 approach of recriminalized possession plus county deflection programs, and fund them in 2027–29?
Said: Would fully integrate mental-health and addiction treatment into the healthcare system; she was not in office for HB 4002 and does not address deflection funding.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Spend more state money on wildfire prevention and firefighting?
Said: Voted yes on HB 3940 on June 23, 2025, the bill that taxes oral nicotine, raises the timber harvest tax and moves Rainy Day Fund interest to wildfire funds.
Keep adding state limits on federal immigration enforcement, on top of Oregon's sanctuary law?
Said: Voted yes on HB 4138 on February 24 and March 6, 2026, the bill requiring officers to identify themselves and limiting masks.
A question the evidence leaves open
How would you finance school, housing and healthcare expansion, and what would you prioritize first?
Sources (6)
- Rieke Smith · campaign prioritiesCandidate statement · Undated campaign page; reviewed September 18, 2026
- 2026 qualified filing · DemocratElection authority · Checked September 18, 2026
- 2026 qualified filing · IndependentElection authority · Checked September 18, 2026
- Rieke Smith · A Plan for ActionCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
- Rieke Smith · aboutCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
- Oregon Secretary of State · filed candidate statement · PDF page 179Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; PDF printed September 9, 2026; reviewed September 21, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign for the state voters’ pamphlet, which is not published until September 29, 2026.