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Elmo Smith

Elmo Smith (19 November 1909-15 July 1968) was the Republican Governor of Oregon from 31 January 1956 to 14 January 1957, succeeding Paul L. Patterson and preceding Robert D. Holmes.

Biography[]

Elmo Smith was born in Grand Junction, Colorado in 1909, and he was orphaned at a young age and raised by an uncle in Wilder, Idaho. In 1932, he moved to Ontario, Oregon, where he became involved in the newspaper business. He managed the Ontario Argus and founded the Ontario Observer before entering Republican politics. He was elected Mayor of Ontario in 1940, and he resigned in 1943 in order to enlist in the US Navy during World War II. Smith commanded an air transport base in the South Pacific, and, after the war, he returned to serving as Mayor and was elected to the State Senate in 1948. Smith went on to serve as Governor from 1956 to 1957 following the death of Governor Paul L. Patterson, and he managed the state's finances in a fiscally conservative manner. Afterwards, he moved to Albany to manage the Albany Democrat-Herald, and he failed in his 1960 bid for the US Senate. He died in Albany in 1968.

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