Oregon elections officials ruled Dec. 21 on a vexing question in local politics: They say Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith is, in fact, a candidate for the Portland City Council, despite her claims otherwise. If true, Smith broke state law when she declared in September that she planned to run for City Council and then failed to change the registration of her campaign finance committee accordingly. The Oregon Secretary of State's Office will fine Smith $250. The ruling is also significant because it says Smith is indeed a candidate to succeed Commissioner Dan Saltzman—and that could mean she's violating county rules against seeking another elected position while holding county office. Jef Green, treasurer for the Committee to Elect Loretta Smith, says the violation was the committee's fault: "We take full responsibility for this error."