Greg Smith (Kansas)

Greg Smith
Kansas State Senate District 21
Incumbent
In office
January 14, 2013 - Present
Term ends
January 9, 2017
Years in position	0
Party	Republican
Compensation
Base salary	$88.50/day
Per diem	$123/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 6, 2012
Next election	November 8, 2016
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
Kansas House of Representatives District 22
2011-2013
Education
Bachelor's	Avila University (2006)
Associate's	Johnson County Community College (2003)
Master's	Avila University (2010)
Military service
Service/branch	United States Navy
Personal
Birthday	October 8, 1959
Place of birth	Emporia, Kansas
Profession	Teacher
Religion	Christian
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Greg Smith (b. October 8, 1959) is a Republican member of the Kansas State Senate, representing District 21 since 2013. He previously served in the Kansas House of Representatives, representing District 22 from 2011 to 2013.

Smith formerly served in the United States Navy Submarine Service, and was honorably discharged in November 1989. In 1990, Greg began a law enforcement career which continued until 2008. He began as a deputy sheriff in Berkeley County, South Carolina, and rose to the rank of lieutenant. In 2007, Smith's daughter Kelsey was abducted from a department store and later murdered. This tragedy led Greg and his wife Missey to become tireless advocates of victims rights. The Kelsey Smith Act, passed in 2009, was sponsored by Rep. Rob Olson, and allows law enforcement to quickly utilize cell phone location information to aid in finding persons in danger of serious bodily harm or death. Greg also advocated and lobbied for broader use of the grand jury in Kansas, supporting HB 2226, sponsored by Rep. Lance Kinzer. In honor of their daughter, Greg and Missey started the Kelsey Smith Foundation,® which provides education in safety awareness and victim’s rights, as well as informing the general public on violent crime issues.

In 2006, Smith graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Avila University. Greg then earned his teaching certification in Social Studies in 2007. Greg also earned a Master's Degree in Education, graduating summa cum laude in June 2010.

Issues

Campaign themes

Smith's website highlights the following campaign themes:

On the side of Johnson County Schools

• Excerpt:"Money allocated to schools is not being spent in our students best interest. Greg's experience in the classroom allows him to work for our kids, not special interest groups."

On the side of Johnson County taxpayers

• Excerpt:"Greg voted to pass a tax cut that will jump start the business community by eliminating income tax on small business owners. Families will receive an instant pay raise."

On the side of Johnson County families

• Excerpt:"Greg has been a leader by working to keep our streets safe, equipping our police with the tools they need to do their job, and by keeping violent criminals behind bars."

On the side of Leadership

• Excerpt:"Greg has sponsored or co-sponsored legislation that benefits all Kansans."

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:

Kansas Committee Assignments, 2012
• Judiciary, Vice-chair
• Natural Resources
• Ethics, Elections and Local Government
• Utilities

2011-2012

Smith served on the following committees in the 2011-2012 legislative session:

Elections

2012

See also: Kansas State Senate elections, 2012

Smith won election in the 2012 election for Kansas State Senate District 21. Smith defeated Joe Beveridge in the August 7 Republican primary and defeated Juanita Roy (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.

Kansas State Senate, District 21, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Greg Smith	53.2%	17,527
	Democratic	Juanita Roy	46.8%	15,441
Total Votes				32,968

Kansas State Senate, District 21 Republican Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Greg Smith	52.1%	3,581
Joe Beveridge	47.9%	3,290
Total Votes		6,871

2010

Smith defeated incumbent Lisa Benlon (D) in the November 2 general election.

Kansas House of Representatives, District 22 General Election (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Greg Smith (R)		2,955
Lisa Benlon (D)		2,844

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2010

In 2010, Smith raised $27,199 in contributions.

His four largest contributors were:

Donor	Amount
Kansas Republican Party	$2,000
Kansas Chamber Of Commerce & Industry	$1,000
Koch Industries	$1,000
Lewis, John	$1,000

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Greg + Smith + Kansas + Legislature

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Greg Smith News Feed

• Bill eases land-use rules near historic sites - Kansas.com
• Kermit Gosnell Guilty: Verdict Announced In Abortion Doctor Trial - Huffington ... - Huffington Post
• Kelsey Smith Act would save lives, cost taxpayers nothing - Washington Post - Washington Post (blog)
• Social media emerge as players in state capitols - Kansas City Star
• The Coming GOP Civil War Over Climate Change - National Journal
• Dee says Dolphins moving to Palm Beach is a possibility - WPEC
• Round Rock area school briefs for week of April 27 - Austin American-Statesman
• Nashville People in Business - The Tennessean
• Kansas Governor Announces Appointments to Commissions and Boards - Kansas City infoZine
• Paul Ryan's pro-gay move; Philly's equality bill - Windy City Times

Personal

Smith and his wife Melissa have four children.

External links

Suggest a link

• Official campaign website
• Official House website
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions: 2010

References

Political offices
Preceded by Mark Taddiken (R)	Kansas State Senate District 21 2013–present	Succeeded by NA
Preceded by Lisa Benlon (D)	Kansas House of Representatives District 22 2011–2013	Succeeded by Nancy Lusk (D)