Wyatt S. Baum

The reviewed sources identify Wyatt S. Baum as a founding partner of Baum Smith, LLC in La Grande, serving Union, Wallowa, Baker, and Umatilla counties. He was licensed to the Oregon State Bar on May 16, 2011 after graduating from Willamette University College of Law in 2010. The sources describe a municipal and government-law practice; he serves as Union County counsel and has advised other public bodies across Eastern Oregon. He earned Super Lawyers 'Rising Stars' recognition each year from 2018 through 2021.

In May 2018, the county administrator -- at County Clerk Lisa Feik's request -- asked Baum for a legal opinion on Ordinance 2017-01 after the Oregon Court of Appeals decided State ex rel. Smith v. Hitt. Baum's June 2018 opinion outlined three options: (1) the commissioners could file a petition for validation; (2) the county clerk could file once someone attempted to register for a third term; or (3) a term-limited commissioner could file personally. In January 2025 he reviewed the opinion with the board. According to the January 22, 2025 minutes, he told commissioners he 'prefers the second option, a petition to the court for a writ of review to determine the legality of the measure,' and he named Judge Powers as the likely presiding judge.

Baum filed the validation petition in Union County Circuit Court as Case No. 25CV22067 under ORS 33.710 to 33.720. The notice and summons, dated April 7, 2025, identifies him as 'Attorney for Petitioner, Wyatt S. Baum, OSB No. 111773, of Baum Smith, LLC.' Notice was published in the East Oregonian on April 16, 23, and 30, 2025. Judge Thomas Powers ruled Ordinance 2017-01 unconstitutional on August 25, 2025.

Baum has documented family ties to regional public and nonprofit institutions. His grandfather David C. Baum chaired Grande Ronde Hospital's first Board of Trustees from 1962 to 1977. The GRH Foundation says it was formally created in 1969; the reviewed official history does not attribute its creation to David Baum personally. His father, the late Ray Baum, served in the Oregon House (1989-1997), became House Majority Leader in 1995, chaired the Oregon PUC (2010-2011), and later worked as staff director of the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee under Rep. Greg Walden. The federal RAY BAUM's Act (P.L. 115-141) is named for him. The Foundation's official roster checked August 9, 2026 lists Wyatt Baum as a board member.

The January 22, 2025 minutes document Baum's presentation and presence during the vote. Later reporting said the public record did not show him warning the Board about a possible ethics issue. OGEC Case 25-708ECF concerns Commissioner Scarfo, not Baum; Baum was the County attorney who presented the options and later filed the validation petition.