Meet Barbara

Barbara Smith Warner is proud to represent the people of House District 45 (NE Portland, Maywood Park and Parkrose) in the Oregon Legislature. She was born and raised in Erie, PA, where her father was a college professor and her mother worked in public television. She moved to Portland in 1999 and has lived here ever since. In December 2013, Barbara was appointed to the Oregon House of Representatives. She has served on a wide variety of House and Joint Committees including House Rules, House Revenue, Joint Student Success, Joint Transportation, Joint Ways & Means Subcommittee on Education, Joint Tax Expenditures, and several others.

Barbara biggest inspiration to serve in the Oregon House is her two children. As a PTA board member and active classroom volunteer, Barbara saw firsthand the impact of state funding cuts on the success of our kids, their educators, and our public schools. As your voice in the State House, she is a strong advocate for our kids, and chaired the committee that developed and passed the 2019 Student Success Act, the first stable funding source for education in decades.

Prior to her appointment to the state legislature, Barbara served as a Portland Field Representative for U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, where she was a conduit between the Senator and community groups and constituents across the state. Barbara worked to ensure that labor unions, health care organizations and other advocacy groups were in the loop about the Senator’s work and—importantly—she made sure that the people’s voices were heard in DC. Prior to working for Senator Wyden, Barbara spent nearly 20 years as a grassroots and community organizer, giving working families a stronger voice in government and fighting for economic justice.

When not working or volunteering in her community, Barbara enjoys running, reading and spending family time with her husband Chris and the kids in the Rose City Park neighborhood—often on their bicycles.

Barbara Smith Warner’s professional life’s work has been focused on  giving “We the People” a voice in our government. As your representative, Barbara remains deeply committed to an open, accessible government that is of, for and by the people. Please visit the “Get Involved” tab to get in touch or to leave a message for Barbara.