Eric L. Smith (born December 2, 1966) is an American politician and law enforcement officer serving as a member of the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

from the 76th district. Elected in November 2016, he assumed office on January 9, 2017.

Early life and education

Smith was born in

Eureka, Kansas Eureka is a city in and the county seat of Greenwood County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,332. History The first settlement at Eureka was in 1857. The first post office in Eureka was establis ...

. He earned an associate's degree in electronics and minutemen weapon systems from the

Community College of the Air Force The Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) is a federal program offered by the United States Air Force and United States Space Force which grants two-year Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees in association with Air University. CCAF se ...

in 1991 and a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and corrections from

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

Career

From 1988 to 1992, Smith served as an electro-mechanical technician in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. From 2001 to 2009, he was a security officer at the

Wolf Creek Generating Station Wolf Creek Generating Station, a nuclear power plant located near Burlington, Kansas, occupies 9,818 acres (40 km²) of the total controlled by the owner. Wolf Creek, dammed to create Coffey County Lake (formerly Wolf Creek Lake), pr ...

Coffey County, Kansas Coffey County (county code CF) is a county located in Eastern Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 8,360. Its county seat and most populous city is Burlington. History Early history For many millennia, the Great Plains o ...

. From 2012 to 2015, Smith served as an officer with the

Lebo, Kansas Lebo is a city in Coffey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 885. History Lebo was founded in 1883. It was named for Capt. Joe Lebo, a pioneer settler. The first post office in Lebo was establ ...

Police Department. He has also served as a deputy sheriff with the Coffey County Sheriff's Office. He was elected to the

in November 2016 and assumed office on January 9, 2017. Since 2019, Smith has served as vice chair of the House Agriculture Committee and chair of the House Kansas Security Committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Eric 1966 births People from Eureka, Kansas Community College of the Air Force alumni Liberty University alumni People from Coffey County, Kansas Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives Living people 21st-century American politicians