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Columbia County Republican Central Committee urges voters to oppose Commissioner Kelly Jo Smith
Summary
A representative of the Columbia County Republican Central Committee read a resolution at the March 18 commissioners meeting urging voters not to re-elect Commissioner Kelly Jo Smith, alleging past school-board controversies, financial mismanagement, and objections to DEI initiatives; commenters also urged Smith to resign.
A representative of the Columbia County Republican Central Committee read a formal resolution to the Columbia County Board of Commissioners on March 18 urging voters not to re-elect Commissioner Kelly Jo Smith.
The resolution, presented during the public-comment period, alleged that during Smith’s tenure on the St. Helens School District board the district experienced controversy including teacher criminal charges and a large civil lawsuit, that monitoring and protective measures for students were inadequate, and that the district was left in a severe budget crisis. The reader also criticized Smith for supporting diversity, equity and inclusion programs and for votes the committee described as enabling cost overruns on county projects. The resolution concluded: “We, the Columbia County Republican Central Committee, urge all voters not to vote for Kelly Jo Smith in the 2026 primary or general election.” (Presented by the Columbia County Republican Central Committee representative.)
During later public comment, resident Chris Robles directly addressed the commissioners and urged Smith to resign, saying, “I’m asking you one more time to step down to resign,” and charging that Smith and Commissioner McGruder had “teamed up to censor a newly elected commissioner” and had disenfranchised voters. Robles also repeated concerns raised in the committee resolution about DEI initiatives and earlier school-board decisions. (Comments by Chris Robles.)
The board did not take any formal disciplinary action during the meeting. Commissioners moved on to scheduled agenda items after public comment; no formal response or corrective action regarding the allegations was recorded in the transcript.
The resolution was read in full during the public-comment period and placed on the record; the Central Committee’s endorsement language and specific allegations appear in the committee text as delivered to the board.
Next steps: the claims raised in the resolution are matters of public debate. The board did not schedule a follow-up hearing or formal inquiry during this session, and no vote on related personnel or ethics actions occurred at this meeting.
