Thomas S. Smith (politician)

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]

Thomas S. Smith
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 11th district
In office
January 14, 1992 – September 26, 2002
Serving with Steve Corodemus
Preceded byDaniel P. Jacobson
Succeeded bySean T. Kean
Mayor of Asbury Park, New Jersey
In office
1989–1993
Preceded byFrank Fiorentino
Succeeded byDennis M. Buckley
Personal details
Born(1917-12-14)December 14, 1917
Bloomfield, New Jersey
DiedSeptember 26, 2002(2002-09-26) (aged 84)
Trenton, New Jersey
Political partyRepublican

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]

References
  1. "Tom Smith's legislative web page". Archived from the original on November 8, 2002. Retrieved 2002-11-08., New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 23, 2008.
  2. "Thomas S. Smith, N.J.'s only black GOP legislator". Associated Press in The Record. September 28, 2002. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved 2011-09-30. 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. ...
  3. Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 2001, p. 259. E. J. Mullin, 2001. "Thomas S. Smith, Rep., Asbury Park - Assemblyman Smith was born Dec. 14, 1917, in Bloomfield. He is a graduate of Asbury Park High School. He attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., from 1937 to 1939."
  4. Shields, Nancy (July 2, 1989). "Asbury Park gets new mayor, Council". Asbury Park Press.
  5. "Trenton Roundup", Newark Star-Ledger, October 29, 2002. Accessed August 9, 2007. "Sean T. Kean, a Monmouth County Republican Party activist from Wall Township, was sworn in yesterday as an assemblyman from the 11th District. Kean, 39, replaces Assemblyman Thomas S. Smith, who died Sept. 26 at age 84."
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