Thomas S. Smith (December 14, 1917 – September 26, 2002) was an American Republican Party politician, who served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

from 1992 until his death in 2002, where he represented the 11th legislative district.,

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...

. Accessed April 23, 2008. At the time of his death, Smith was the oldest serving member of the Assembly and was the only

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

Republican in the

Biography

He was born on December 14, 1917, in

Bloomfield, New Jersey Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 53,105. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District. History The initial patent for the land that w ...

and graduated from

Asbury Park High School Asbury Park High School is a comprehensive high school, comprehensive, four-year community state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school serving students in ninth grade, ninth through twelfth grades. It is in a land ...

. attended

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

, majoring in education. In the assembly, he was the Deputy Speaker from 1998 to 2001, Majority Whip from 1996 to 1998 and the Assistant Majority Whip in 1996. He served in the Assembly on the Senior Issues Committee. Smith served on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission from 1995 until his death, the New Jersey Commission on Discrimination in Public Procurement and Construction in 1992 and the Monmouth County Volunteers in Probation Board of Directors in 1992. He was the

Mayor of Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park, New Jersey incorporated as a borough (New Jersey), borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 26, 1874, from portions of Ocean Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean Township. The borough was reincorporated on Febru ...

from July 1989 to 1993, served on the Asbury Park Council from 1985 to 1989 and was Asbury Park Police Chief from 1968 to 1979. 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 ...

from 1942 to 1945, attaining the rank of First Sergeant. He died on September 26, 2002.

Legacy

District 11 Republican County Committee members voted to fill the vacancy created by Smith's death by naming Sean T. Kean to fill the seat."Trenton Roundup"
''

Newark Star-Ledger Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-th ...

'', October 29, 2002. Accessed August 9, 2007. "Sean T. Kean, a Monmouth County Republican Party activist from Wall Township, was sworn in yesterday as an assemblyman from the 11th District. Kean, 39, replaces Assemblyman Thomas S. Smith, who died Sept. 26 at age 84."

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Thomas S. 1917 births 2002 deaths African-American state legislators in New Jersey Asbury Park High School alumni Howard University alumni Politicians from Monmouth County, New Jersey Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey city council members People from Asbury Park, New Jersey United States Army soldiers Mayors of Asbury Park, New Jersey 20th-century American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American people African-American mayors in New Jersey Black conservatism in the United States