Roby Smith

Roby Smith
Iowa State Senate District 47
Incumbent
In office
January 10, 2011-Present
Term ends
January 10, 2015
Years in position	2
Party	Republican
Compensation
Base salary	$25,000/year
Per diem	$135/day
Elections and appointments
First elected	November 2, 2010
Next election	November 4, 2014
Term limits	N/A
Education
Bachelor's	Concordia University
Personal
Profession	Small Business Owner
Religion	Lutheran
Websites
Office website
Personal website

Roby Smith is a Republican member of the Iowa State Senate, representing District 47 since 2013 and currently serving as an Assistant Minority Leader. He previously represented District 41 from 2011 to 2013.

Smith, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Concordia University, is a small business owner in Bettendorf. He is an Eagle Scout and attends Trinity Lutheran Church with his wife, Kari, and their three children.

Committee assignments

2013-2014

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

Iowa Committee Assignments, 2012
• Appropriations
• State Government
• Ways and Means

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Smith served on these committees:

Iowa Committee Assignments, 2011
• Education
• State Government
• Ways and Means

Elections

2010

See also: Iowa State Senate elections, 2010

Smith defeated Democratic candidate Richard Clewell by a margin of 13,865 to 9,432 in the November 2 general election.

In the June 8 primary election, Smith defeated incumbent David Hartsuch by a margin of 2,487 to 2,307.

Iowa State Senate, District 41 (2010) General Election
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Roby Smith (R)		13,865	32.4%
Richard Clewell (D)		9,432	67.6%

Iowa State Senate, District 23 - Republican Primary (2010)
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Roby Smith		2,487	51.9%
David Hartsuch		2,307	48.1%

Across the country in 2010, state senate elections were held in 43 states. 1,167 state senate seats were at stake. In all 1,167 state senate districts with an election in 2010, only 19 challengers (12 Democrats and 7 Republicans) defeated an incumbent state senator. Smith is one of the 7 Republican challengers who defeated an incumbent Republican state senator.

On his campaign website, Smith lists his positions on:

Job Creation:

• "Iowa needs to be more business friendly to encourage job growth."
• "Reduce burdens and taxes on small businesses."
• "Jobs are created by entrepreneurs, not government bureaucrats."

Taxes:

• "Taxes should not be increased to balance the budget."
• "Stop residential property tax increases."
• "Lower commercial property taxes to be competitive with surrounding states."

State Budget:

• "Start requiring that all lines of pork barrel spending have a recorded vote so that it cannot sneak through hidden in a 200 page piece of legislation."
• "Have a pay-as-you-go approach to state debt. The state should pay for new buildings with cash and not go into debt."
• "Grow employment opportunities by not increasing taxes."

Property Taxes:

• "Stop raising property taxes to balance the budge. People should keep more of what they earn because they will save, spend, and invest those additional dollars, promoting freedom and responsibility, raising our standard of living, and benefiting the economy for us all."

Education:

• "A strong education system is critical to the long-term success of our community. Education is the foundation upon which our economy, our government, and our community is built. We cannot let that foundation crumble."
• "We must do more to ensure Iowa can attract and retain teachers who are qualified."
• "We must implement strategies to reduce the administrative burdens on school districts and school district personnel, especially teachers."

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2010

In 2010, Smith raised $82,381 in contributions.

His four largest contributors were:

Donor	Amount
Iowa Republican Party	$12,454
Cockrell, Harry	$10,100
Iowa Bankers Association	$2,500
Smith, Roby	$2,025

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Roby + Smith + Iowa + Senate

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

Roby Smith News Feed

• Davenport council pans tax deal - Quad City Times
• 21 Iowa senators back putting abortion ban to vote - Iowa City Press Citizen
• Iowa Senate revisits 'dead' policy issues during budget debate - The Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines (blog)
• Capitol digest: Budget bills, NRA president to Iowa, online hunter education - Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
• Urbandale's Zaun Backs Fetal 'Personhood' Amendment - Patch.com

Personal

Smith and his wife Kari have three children.

External links

Suggest a link

• Roby Smith for State Senate campaign website
• Iowa State Senate - Sen. Roby Smith
• Biography from Project Vote Smart
• Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions: 2010

References

Political offices
Preceded by Mark Chelgren (R)	Iowa State Senate District 47 2013–present	Succeeded by NA
Preceded by David Hartsuch	Iowa State Senate District 41 2011–2013	Succeeded by Mark Chelgren (R)