Denny Smith

Dennis Alan Smith (born January 19, 1938) is an American businessman, publisher, Vietnam War veteran, and former United States congressman from the state of Oregon. A native of the state, he served in the Air Force before working in the airline industry and taking over the family's newspaper business. A Republican, he served 5 terms in Congress from 1981 until 1991. His father was former Oregon Governor Elmo Smith.

Early life Dennis Smith was born in the Eastern Oregon city of Ontario, Oregon, on January 19, 1938. In 1956, he graduated from Grant Union High School in John Day and enrolled at Willamette University in Salem.

Political career Smith was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1980 to represent Oregon's 2nd congressional district as a Republican. While still serving in Congress, Smith established and headed Oregonians Against Crime, which placed Oregon's 1988 Anti-crime Bill on the ballot by initiative petition and successfully campaigned for its passage.

Campaign for governor In 1994, Smith was the Republican nominee for Governor of Oregon, but lost to Democratic state Senate President John Kitzhaber.

He was also the Republican National Committeeman for Oregon up until 2000.

Later years Smith is the chairman of Eagle Newspapers, a printing and publishing company in the Pacific Northwest. He was inducted by the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association into the Oregon Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2012.

Family life Smith married Sandra in 1962 and was divorced in 1967, after the couple had one son.

He married Kathleen Barrett, and they had three children, divorcing in 1986. Deanna died in 2011.

The only son of former Oregon Governor Elmo Smith and his wife Dorothy, he is also a cousin of Steve Symms, a former congressman and Senator from Idaho.