Leonard Harvey Smith (born December 19, 1948) is an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who has served in the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

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from January 8, 2008 to January 10, 2010, where he represented the 31st legislative district. He is the former Acting Mayor of Jersey City,

and previously served in the New Jersey Senate.Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith
New Jersey Legislature. Accessed April 13, 2008. He did not seek re-election in 2009.

Biography

Smith received a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

from Long Island University in Health / Physical Education and an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from

New Jersey City University New Jersey City University (NJCU) is a public university in Jersey City, New Jersey. Originally chartered in 1927, and known as Jersey City State College for 40 years of its history, New Jersey City University consists of the School of Business, ...

in Psychology / Counseling. Smith served in the Assembly on the Higher Education Committee and the Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee. A three-term Jersey City councilman who spent four years as City Council President, Smith served as Acting Mayor following the death of Mayor

Glenn Cunningham Glenn Cunningham may refer to: * Glenn Cunningham (athlete) (1909–1988), American runner, Olympic Games medalist *Glenn Cunningham (Nebraska politician) (1912–2003), American politician, mayor of Omaha, and congressman for Nebraska *Glenn Cunni ...

in May 2004 until the certification of the results of a special election in November 2004. Smith ran in the special election to fill the remainder of Cunningham's term which expired in July 2005, but lost to Judge Jerramiah T. Healy. In 2003, Smith ran against Cunningham for a seat in the New Jersey Senate representing parts of Jersey City and all of Bayonne. While endorsed by the Hudson County Democratic Organization, Smith lost in the primary to Cunningham. In October 2003, when State Sen. Joseph Charles resigned early to become a state judge, Smith was selected by Democratic Party leaders to fill the remainder of Charles' Senate term until January 2004. He was sworn into the Senate seat in November 2003. Smith, a former teacher, was appointed as an

Undersheriff An undersheriff (or under-sheriff) is an office derived from ancient English custom that remains in, among other places, England and Wales and the United States, though performing different functions. United States In American law enforcement, ...

Hudson County Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...

after he left the State Senate. He took a leave as undersheriff to serve as acting mayor and then returned to the post. He did not seek reelection to the City Council in 2005. In March 2007, Smith announced his campaign in the Democratic Primary for the State Assembly on a ticket headed by former Jersey City First Lady

Sandra Bolden Cunningham Sandra Bolden Cunningham (born September 4, 1950) is an American Democratic Party politician, who has been serving in the New Jersey State Senate since 2007, where she represents the 31st Legislative District. She was sworn into office on Nov ...

. Smith won a spot on the ballot in the June 2007 primary and won an uncontested election in November 2007. Smith served one term in the Assembly as a representative of the 31st legislative district. On June 8, 2009, Smith introduced a bill into the New Jersey State Assembly that would ban the use of GPS systems in cars.

Operation Bid Rig

Smith was one of 44 individuals arrested on July 23, 2009, as part of

Operation Bid Rig Operation Bid Rig was a long-term investigation into political corruption in New Jersey conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2002 to 2014 ...

, a joint operation of the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey into political corruption and money laundering. Smith was charged with accepting $15,000 in bribes in exchange for obtaining approval of building plans. Despite call for Smith's resignation from Governor

Jon Corzine Jon Stevens Corzine ( ; born January 1, 1947) is an American financial executive and retired politician who served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2001 to 2006 and the 54th governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. Corzine ran fo ...

and others, Smith has said that he would remain in office. In a letter sent to Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts on August 6, 2009, Smith stated, "I believe that the resignation of my position as assemblyman is inconsistent with the presumption of innocence." Roberts, however, has said that he would suspend Smith's pay and benefits. On February 9, 2010, Smith was indicted for receiving $15,000 in bribes from a government informant. He pleaded not guilty and planned to use an entrapment defense for the federal trial, scheduled to begin on November 29, 2010. After a three-week trial, Smith was acquitted of all charges on December 16, 2010.

References

External links

Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith
New Jersey Legislature
20072008Smith & Greene criminal complaint

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

, July 23, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, L. Harvey 1948 births Living people African-American mayors in New Jersey African-American state legislators in New Jersey Long Island University alumni Mayors of Jersey City, New Jersey New Jersey City University alumni Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Democratic Party New Jersey state senators New Jersey city council members 21st-century American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people