| Jeff Smith | |
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Member of the Missouri Senate
from the 4th district |
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| In office 2007 - 2009 |
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| Born | December 9, 1973 St. Louis, Missouri |
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| Political party | Democratic |
| Religion | Judaism |
Jeff Smith was a Democratic member of the Missouri Senate, representing the 4th district since 2007. His district covered the western portion of the City of St. Louis. On August 25, 2009 he pled guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice and resigned his seat. He admitted his involvement, and attempted cover-up, in two federal election law violations committed during his 2004 campaign for Congress. These violations involved his campaign's coordination with an independent group to fund and create a mailer with information about the voting record of his opponent, Russ Carnahan.
Smith is Jewish-American and was raised in the St. Louis suburb of Olivette, Missouri and graduated from Ladue Horton Watkins High School. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in African-American Studies and political science. He received his MA and PhD in political science from Washington University in St. Louis.[1]
Smith has taught at Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Missouri–St. Louis, and Dartmouth College and won the 2002 Washington University Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2001, Smith co-founded the Confluence Academies, a group of charter schools in North St. Louis focusing on math and science education.[1]
In 2004, Smith was a candidate in the crowded Democratic primary election for the U.S. House of Representatives to replace retiring Congressman Dick Gephardt. Beginning as an unknown, Smith finished second in the ten-candidate field, narrowly losing to Russ Carnahan.[2] His campaign was widely recognized as an example of successful grassroots organizing. It was the subject of the documentary film Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?, which won the 2006 audience choice award at the Silverdocs film festival.[3] In February 2007, the documentary aired on the award-winning PBS series Independent Lens.[4]
A year after his unsuccessful Congressional campaign, Smith announced his intention to seek the Missouri State Senate seat being vacated by Pat Dougherty. The race was heavily contested and other candidates included State Representatives Yaphett El-Amin, and Amber Boykins, former State Representative Derio Gambaro, and former St. Louis Alderman Kenny Jones. Smith won the primary election on August 8, 2006, and was unopposed in the general election.[5]
On December 22, 2008 Sen Smith introduced Paternity Reform legislation in the Missouri State Senate. Sen. Smith's SB 140 created "fathering courts" throughout the state, while SB 141 is generally like the maketherealdadpay.org model legislation. [6] Governor Jay Nixon signed both bills into law shortly the 2009 legislative session. Smith also emerged in 2009 as the Legislature's leading advocate for historic preservation tax credits.
In September 2004, Smith submitted a false affidavit to the Federal Election Commission relating to a conspiracy with a group called Voters for Truth in the summer of 2004, to run negative advertisements against Russ Carnahan, Smith's opponent in a congressional race. In January 2009, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office, acting upon newly discovered information, opened a criminal investigation to determine whether anyone had attempted to obstruct the Federal Election Commission proceeding. Smith pleaded guilty to two felony counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice. Each conspiracy count is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. He resigned effective August 25, 2009 and was sentenced to 1 year of prison. [7]
References
- ^ a b "About Jeff Smith". Jeff Smith 2006 Missouri State Senate campaign site. http://www.jeffsmith2006.com/index.php?page_id=2.
- ^ "Election Night Reporting: U.S. Representative - District 3 - Summary". Official Election Returns, State of Missouri Primary Election, Tuesday, August 03, 2004. State of Missouri. http://www.sos.mo.gov/enrweb/raceresults.asp?eid=116&oid=29211&arc=1.
- ^ "Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? website". http://www.mrsmithmovie.com/.
- ^ "Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?". Independent Lens. PBS. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/mrsmith/. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
- ^ "Election Night Reporting: State Senator - District 4 - Summary". Official Election Returns, State of Missouri Primary Election - Primary Election, Tuesday, August 08, 2006. State of Missouri. http://www.sos.mo.gov/enrweb/raceresults.asp?eid=173&oid=39286&arc=.
- ^ "Paternity Fraud Reform Introduced in the Missouri Senate". Allvoices.com. http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/2122724-paternity-fraud-reform-introduced-in-the-missouri-senate.
- ^ http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/political-fix/political-fix/2009/11/smith-gets-one-year-in-prison/ (visited November 17, 2009)
External links
- Missouri Senate - Jeff Smith official government website
- Jeff Smith for Missouri Senate official campaign website
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
- Follow the Money - Jeff Smith
- 2006 campaign contributions
- KWMU 2006 election guide
- KWMU election night coverage
- CAN MR. SMITH GET TO WASHINGTON ANYMORE? site for Independent Lens on PBS
- Mo Senator Jeff Smith submits SB141 in Missouri MakeTheRealDadPay.org
- Paternity Fraud Reform Introduced in the Missouri Senate AllVoices.com
- [1] Smith resigns after guilty plea
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