John Arthur Smith (born 1942) is an American politician who served as a member of the
New Mexico Senate
The New Mexico Senate ( es, Senado de Nuevo México) is the upper house of the New Mexico State Legislature. The Senate consists of 42 members, with each senator representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts across the state ...
, representing the 35th District from 1989 to 2021.
In 2002, he sought to represent New Mexico's second congressional district when veteran congressman
Joe Skeen
Joseph Richard Skeen (June 30, 1927 – December 7, 2003) was an American politician who served as a congressman from southern New Mexico. A conservative Republican, he served for eleven terms in the United States House of Representatives between ...
announced that he was retiring. He defeated
Las Cruces mayor Ruben Smith in the Democratic primary, but ultimately lost to
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 ...
Steve Pearce 56 to 44 percent.
Career
Smith chaired the Senate Finance Committee. He has been nicknamed "Dr. No" for fiscal conservatism, breaking with his party to refuse funding for many spending programs. Critics have called Smith "the primary obstacle to more substantial investment in early childhood education" for his refusal to allow a vote on whether to withdraw 1% more each year from the state's $18 billion
Land Grant Permanent Fund to fund early childhood programs.
Smith faced opposition in the 2020 Democratic primary from Neomi Martinez-Parra, a special education teacher and former New Mexico Democratic Party vice chair. In the July 2, 2020 primary, Smith lost to Martinez-Parra.
References
External links
Senator John Arthur Smithat the NM Senate website
Project Vote Smart - Senator John Arthur Smith (NM)profile
* ''Follow the Money'' - John Arthur Smith
*
20082006200420001992
campaign contributions
* http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/legislator_details.aspx?SPONCODE=SSMIT
Democratic Party New Mexico state senators
1942 births
Living people
People from Deming, New Mexico
21st-century American legislators
{{NewMexico-politician-stub