SALEM – State Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, hasn’t had a good summer.

First a misdemeanor charge of harassment then a speeding ticket.

In July, Smith pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of harassment after giving a spanking to one of his children that caused bruising. Smith must pay $124 in legal fees, is on probation and must attend counseling, according to court documents.

Smith said the issue was a private family matter. He spanked his 7-year-old son in March after the son threw a rock through a school window then lied about it.

In a written statement, Smith said his ex-wife notified the Department of Human Services about the spanking. The department then contacted the Morrow County District Attorney.

Smith characterized the timing of the issue appearing in the media as a ploy to hurt him politically in the November’s election.

“Somebody decided it was time to take a private family matter and make it public,” he said.

Smith said in a public statement that he went through a “bitter divorce” over the last three years and was awarded sole custody of his three sons.

Morrow County District Attorney David Allen charged Smith with unlawfully and intentionally harassing the boy by subjecting him to an offensive physical contact by striking him. Smith stressed that he was never arrested, indicted or convicted of any crime.

“He said he was disciplining him,” Allen told a newspaper. “I took a different view on that.”

Morrow County Circuit Court Judge Jeff Wallace ordered Smith to obey all laws and court orders, to not use any form of physical discipline or corporal punishment on any of his minor children, and to attend regular family counseling sessions.

The representative said he and his family have been attending counseling sessions, which they were doing before the spanking incident.

The family is stronger because of the counseling, he added.

This month, while Smith was in Salem for the Legislature’s special session, he got a $295 speeding ticket for driving 41 mph in a 20-mph school zone. Salem Police spokesman Lt. Bill Kohlmeyer said Smith was argumentative during the stop.

“He told the officers that he was a legislator and on his way to the Capitol and that they don’t have the authority to stop him because of legislative immunity,” Kohlmeyer said.

Smith said Tuesday that he paid the ticket the day he received it and didn’t argue with officers. Salem Municipal Court had not recorded receiving any payment as of Monday, however, and his court appearance still is scheduled for Friday.

“Right now, I’m just focusing on raising my three sons and representing my district as best as I can,” Smith said.

The first-term lawmaker is an economic development specialist who worked for the Port of Morrow before his successful campaign for the Oregon Legislature in 2000.

He was first elected to the former district that stretched from Crook County to the Idaho border, but those lines changed under the state’s 2001 redistricting plan. Heppner is now part of a district that covers much of northeast Oregon.

Smith is seeking re-election in November. He said he hopes the incidents won’t sway voters.