State legislator aims to get out of deposition in public records lawsuit

An Oregon legislator is seeking to avoid being deposed in a lawsuit alleging he destroyed text messages and withheld public documents in violation of the state’s public records law in his role as the economic development director for Malheur County.

Greg Smith, a Heppner Republican who has represented House District 57 since 2001, is seeking a court order to quash a deposition in a lawsuit filed by the Malheur Enterprise, a Vale-based newspaper and its…