Jimmie Todd Smith (born October 12, 1965) is an American

Citrus County Citrus County is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 153,843. Its county seat is Inverness, and its largest community is Homosassa Springs. Citrus County compris ...

Commissioner and former member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

for the 34th District, which includes

and northern

Hernando County Hernando County is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 194,515. Its county seat is Brooksville, and its largest community is Spring Hill. Hernando County is incl ...

, elected in 2012. He also was a House member representing the 43rd District from 2010 to 2012. He is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

veteran.

History

Smith was born in

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958,Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in 1975. He joined the United States Army and served from 1983 until 2003 in the 101st Airborne and

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

. He retired as a

Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

. Smith was deployed to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, and in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

(where he served during

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

). After serving in

once more, Smith was stationed at Fort Bragg in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, before being relocated to

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, where he retired. He moved to

where he worked as a security guard for the Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant. Smith is married with children and grandchildren.

Florida House of Representatives

In 2010, Smith ran for the

in the

primary against incumbent State Representative Ron Schultz. He narrowly defeated Schultz by 399 votes, with 51% of the vote. Smith was unopposed in the general election. When Florida House districts were redrawn in 2012, Smith ran for re-election in the newly created 34th District. He was opposed by former State Senator and Public Service Commissioner

Nancy Argenziano Nancy Argenziano (born January 1, 1955) is a former state legislator in Florida and served as chairman of the Florida Public Service Commission. She was the Reform Party of Florida's candidate for lieutenant governor in 2018. Personal life Arg ...

, who ran as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate after serving as a

in the legislature. Lynn Dostal, a teacher, won the Democratic primary, but dropped out in favor of Argenziano, who received support from the

Florida Democratic Party The Florida Democratic Party (FDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Florida, headquartered in Tallahassee. Former mayor of Miami Manny Diaz Sr. is the current chair. Andrew Jackson, the first territorial governo ...

. Argenziano was endorsed over Smith by the ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single y ...

'', which criticized Smith for offering "few substantive ideas," noting that "his most notable achievement is pushing a law that requires random drug testing of state employees, which is tied up in court." Smith defeated Argenziano, receiving 58% of the vote. In 2014, Smith was re-elected to the legislature without opposition, winning his third term entirely uncontested. While serving in the legislature, Smith sponsored legislation that "would make it easier for Florida cattle ranchers and other owners of private property adjacent to state-owned land to exchange public parcels of equal value in return for conservation easements," which drew criticism from environmentalists. Additionally, he authored a bill that would "block welfare recipients from using their electronic benefit cards at places like casinos, bottle clubs, bingo facilities and strip clubs," declaring, "I don't want you to get a lap dance on my dollar."

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives - Jimmie T. Smith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jimmie Todd 1965 births Living people Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives County commissioners in Florida 21st-century American politicians People from Ridgewood, New Jersey