Thomas S. Smith (politician) explained

Thomas S. Smith
State Assembly:New Jersey
District:11th
Term Start:January 14, 1992
Term End:September 26, 2002
Alongside:Steve Corodemus
Predecessor:Daniel P. Jacobson
Successor:Sean T. Kean
Office1:Mayor of Asbury Park, New Jersey
Term Start1:1989
Term End1:1993
Predecessor1:Frank Fiorentino
Successor1:Dennis M. Buckley
Birth Date:14 December 1917
Birth Place:Bloomfield, New Jersey
Death Place:Trenton, New Jersey
Party:Republican

Thomas S. Smith (December 14, 1917  - September 26, 2002) was an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1992 until his death in 2002, where he represented the 11th legislative district.[1] At the time of his death, Smith was the oldest serving member of the Assembly and was the only African American Republican in the New Jersey Legislature.[2]

Biography

He was born on December 14, 1917, in Bloomfield, New Jersey and graduated from Asbury Park High School.[3] attended Howard University, majoring in education.[1]

In the assembly, he was the Deputy Speaker from 1998 to 2001, Majority Whip from 1996 to 1998 and the Assistant Majority Whip in 1996. He served in the Assembly on the Senior Issues Committee.[1] Smith served on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission from 1995 until his death, the New Jersey Commission on Discrimination in Public Procurement and Construction in 1992 and the Monmouth County Volunteers in Probation Board of Directors in 1992. He was the Mayor of Asbury Park, New Jersey from July 1989[4] to 1993, served on the Asbury Park Council from 1985 to 1989 and was Asbury Park Police Chief from 1968 to 1979. He served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1945, attaining the rank of First Sergeant.[1] He died on September 26, 2002.[2]

Legacy

District 11 Republican County Committee members voted to fill the vacancy created by Smith's death by naming Sean T. Kean to fill the seat.[5]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tom Smith's legislative web page . 2002-11-08 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20021108003448/http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/smitht.asp . November 8, 2002 ., New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 23, 2008.
  2. News: Thomas S. Smith, N.J.'s only black GOP legislator . https://web.archive.org/web/20121019171547/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-68006793.html . dead . October 19, 2012 . Assemblyman Thomas S. Smith, the state's only black Republican legislator, died Thursday. At 84, he was the oldest member of the assembly. A cause of death was not immediately available. In April, Mr. Smith announced he would not run for a seventh term in November 2003. He said he planned to finish his two-year term and retire, ending 12 years as an assemblyman representing the district that includes Asbury Park. ... . . September 28, 2002 . 2011-09-30 .
  3. https://books.google.com/books?id=gqFMAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Thomas+S.+Smith%22+1917+bloomfield Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 2001
  4. News: Nancy . Shields . Asbury Park gets new mayor, Council . Asbury Park Press. July 2, 1989 .
  5. http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_docid=0F6FBEEF37D980A4&p_docnum=41&p_queryname=NaN&p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated4&p_nbid=E4CP4BCCMTE4NTg0NzQ0OS4yODY4NjU6MTo3OnJhLTE4ODg "Trenton Roundup"