John Robert Smith Explained

John Robert Smith
Order:	Mayor of Meridian, Mississippi
Term Start:	July 1, 1993
Term End:	July 1, 2009
Predecessor:	Jimmy Kemp
Successor:	Cheri Barry
Party:	Republican

John Robert Smith served four terms as mayor of Meridian, Mississippi and formerly serves as the President and CEO of Reconnecting America, a national non-profit transit research and advocacy think-tank.Senior policy adviser at Smart Growth America and chairman of Transportation for America.

Career

John Robert Smith was elected Mayor of Meridian in 1993 and re-elected three times. In 2005, while seeking a fourth term, he narrowly defeated Lauderdale County Supervisor Jimmie Smith, a Democrat, by only 104 votes in the general election.^[1] He decided not to run for a fifth term.

Recognition

In 2002, Smith was elected as Chairman of the Board of the Amtrak Board of Directors. He had served on the board since June 1998.^[2]

As mayor, Smith was known as a strong supporter of the arts. In 2005, he won a Public Leadership in the Arts Award from Americans for the Arts.^[3]

In 2009 he was named Reconnecting America's President and CEO.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Jimmie Smith is Meridian’s projected Mayor-Elect . Williams . Tom . 9 June 2021 . WTOK-TV . 18 November 2021 . Mayor-Elect Smith served on the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors for 20 years. Smith previously ran for mayor of Meridian in 2005, but lost by 104 votes to John Robert Smith..
2. News: Meridian Mayor John Robert Smith Elected Chairman of Amtrak's Board of Directors. Ron. Thaniel. March 4, 2002. U.S. Mayor Newspaper. Washington, D.C.. July 24, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20110612014400/http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/us_mayor_newspaper/documents/03_04_02/amtrak_meridian.asp. June 12, 2011. dead.
3. Web site: News: Awards for Arts Achievement. 2005. Americans for the Arts. United States. January 13, 2018.
4. Web site: John Robert Smith Named Reconnecting America President And CEO. July 31, 2009. January 13, 2018.