Donald B. Smith

Donald Blaine Smith,[2] born on September 18, 1947[3] in Danbury, Connecticut, grew up in the Putnam County town of Patterson, New York.[1] Smith married Jane Powell (born 1951) on June 24, 1972, at the Holy Trinity Church in Pawling, New York; she died of breast cancer on December 6, 2015. Smith has two children (Christopher and Cherilynne)[4] and, as of December 2017, nine grandchildren.[1] That same year, records showed that Smith owned multiple properties in New York, Florida, and Virginia with a summative value of US$1.149 million (equivalent to about $1.372M in 2022).[5]

Smith graduated from the New York Military Academy in 1965, and the United States Military Academy in 1969. After receiving his Bachelor of Science from the latter, Smith was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. Smith later earned his Master of Science in systems management from the University of Southern California.[1]

While in the Army, Smith attended and graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the National Defense University (1986). From 1993–1996, Smith served as the chief of the United States delegation to the International Military Sports Council.[1]

Awards received during his military service include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, two Legion of Merits, the Bronze Star Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals, and two Army Commendation Medals.[1] Smith's promotion from colonel to brigadier general was scheduled to go before the United States Senate on March 3, 1992;[6] he later retired from the Army at that higher rank.[7]

Robert D. Thoubboron was elected as the Putnam County, New York sheriff in 1985, but by 2001, he and his office were embroiled in controversies including abuse of civil and political rights, drunken law enforcement officers, and retaliatory abuse of power.[8] Smith, then the deputy county executive for Putnam County (since 1999),[1] had no law-enforcement experience. Despite this, he secured the endorsement of the Democratic, Conservative, Independence, and Green parties[8] before defeating Thoubboron in the 2001 Putnam County Republican Party primary election. With the single-purpose platform of "bring[ing] integrity back to the Sheriff's Department leadership,"[9] Smith received 62% of votes to Thoubboron's 38%.[10] Instead of conceding however, Thoubboron ran against Smith again in the general election under the banner of "Safe County", a political party created solely for the incumbent sheriff;[9] on November 11, 2001, Smith defeated Thoubboron again, this time with 76% of the vote.[11]

Elected as the 54th sheriff of Putnam County,[12] Smith took office on January 1, 2002. According to the Putnam County Sheriff's Department biography of Smith, during the sheriff's tenure he has focused his efforts on community policing, "increasing the intensity of the war on drugs," and promoting "drivers’ safety programs and safety belt usage". Smith's biography also said that his leadership is responsible for the expansion of school resource officers in Putnam County middle and high schools.[1]

Smith has been a three-time officeholder with the New York State Sheriffs' Association (NYSSA), serving as their president, chairman of their legislative committee, and as a trustee on their executive board.[1] In 2013, while representing the NYSSA, Smith evoked the United States Declaration of Independence and the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution when he spoke out against the NY SAFE Act. The NYSSA and Smith personally joined the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association's lawsuit alleging the legislation violated the constitutions of the United States and of New York.[13] After the 2016 death of Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, the lawsuit was dropped out of fear that the court could rule against them, setting precedent.[14]

By 2017, Smith's county salary was $142,818 (equivalent to $170,505 in 2022).[5] Running that year for his fifth term as sheriff, Smith lost to Robert L. Langley Jr. by 341 votes. After 16 years as sheriff, Smith stepped down as Langley was sworn-in on December 29, 2017.[15]

In the Putnam County region, Smith has been involved in community organizations including as president of the Westchester–Putnam Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Mental Health Association in Putnam County.[1] As of December 2017, Smith was the chairman of the American Security Council Foundation's board of directors.[21]

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