Joe F. Smith (December 25, 1918 – August 2, 2013) was an American politician. Born in

Bristol, Virginia Bristol is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State S ...

, he served in the

United States 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, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He graduated from

Virginia Polytechnic Institute Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

in 1941. After World War II, he worked for C&P Telephone and moved to

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

. In 1967, he served on the Charleston City Council and then in 1975, Smith was elected city treasurer. In 1980 he was selected mayor of Charleston serving until 1983. In 1985, Governor

Jay Rockefeller John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV (born June 18, 1937) is a retired American politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia (1985–2015). He was first elected to the Senate in 1984, while in office as governor of West Virg ...

appointed Smith executive secretary of the West Virginia Public Employees System. He then served in the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...

from 1993-1994 and 1997-2002 as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. He died in Charleston, West Virginia.Matt Murphy
Joe F. Smith, former mayor, dies at 94
(August 6, 2013)

Notes

1918 births 2013 deaths People from Bristol, Virginia Virginia Tech alumni West Virginia city council members Mayors of Charleston, West Virginia Democratic Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates United States Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from West Virginia City and town treasurers in the United States 20th-century West Virginia politicians 21st-century West Virginia politicians {{WestVirginia-politician-stub

See also

Notes