Tigard's state representative and Oregon House Majority Leader Ben Bowman declined to comment when asked whether Rep. Greg Smith should face legislative consequences after a record-setting $12,000 ethics fine.
The Oregon Capital Chronicle reported Aug. 20 that reporters contacted Bowman, a Democrat representing House District 25, along with all 35 Republican members of the Oregon House and Senate.
Bowman was the only Democratic leader asked to weigh in. He offered no response.
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission voted unanimously on Aug. 14 to fine Smith, R-Heppner, $12,000 for using his position as executive director of the Columbia Development Authority to give himself a $66,000 raise on his $129,000 salary through a federal grant application.
The commission also found Smith approved his own vacation time without guidelines, taking more than 54 days of paid time off between December 2024 and August 2025, costing the authority $26,248.
The $12,000 penalty ranks among the largest in the commission's history. For comparison, former Gov. John Kitzhaber paid $20,000 in a 2018 settlement and former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan paid $3,600 in 2025.
Smith, the state's longest-serving current lawmaker, agreed to the fine on July 16 without admitting intentional wrongdoing. The authority's board ordered him to repay roughly $33,000 from the unauthorized raise; as of Aug. 14, he had not returned the money.
Limited consequences so far
House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, removed Smith as co-chair of the General Government budget subcommittee of Joint Ways and Means on Aug. 15. Smith kept his vice chair position on the full Ways and Means Committee and his seat on the Capitol Construction Committee.
"Speaker Fahey made the decision to remove him as Co-chair of the General Government Subcommittee of Joint Ways and Means, but to make no changes to his committee memberships," Jack Lehman, Fahey's chief of staff, said in an email to the Capital Chronicle.
Bipartisan silence
Of the 35 Republican lawmakers contacted, only three senators and two representatives responded. House Minority Leader Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville, did not respond. Rep. Dwayne Yunker, R-Grants Pass, was the only Republican lawmaker to publicly call for action, posting on Facebook in early August that House Republicans should ask Smith to "take responsibility and do the right thing."
Bowman's silence stands in contrast to a joint statement he co-signed on Sunday, Aug. 9, with Speaker Fahey, Senate President Rob Wagner and Senate Majority Leader Kayse Jama condemning intimidation and violence after Sen. Janeen Sollman was physically accosted by a constituent. In that instance, the four leaders spoke within days.
Smith has faced four ethics commission investigations in two years and is also named in a pending Oregon Department of Justice civil lawsuit alleging he conspired with other eastern Oregon officials to enrich themselves through a deal with Amazon. Smith denies those allegations.
Smith is the Republican nominee for House District 57 in the Nov. 3 general election. Bowman's office can be reached at [email protected] or (503) 986-1425.
