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Christopher Smith (Florida)
Christopher L. Smith (b. March 15, 1970) is a former Democratic member of the Florida State Senate, representing District 31 from 2008 to 2016. He served as Minority Leader from 2013 to 2014.
Smith did not seek re-election to the Florida State Senate in 2016 because of term-limits.
Smith served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1998 to 2008; from 2004 to 2008 he was Minority Leader. He also served on the Broward County Democratic Party Executive Committee.
In March 2017, Smith was appointed to the Florida Constitution Revision Commission, a 37-member commission that reviews and proposes changes to the Florida Constitution.[1]
Biography
Smith earned his B.S. in political science from Johnson C. Smith University in 1992 and his J.D. from the Florida State University College of Law in 1995. His professional experience includes working as an attorney for Johnson, Anselmo, Murdoch, Burke and George.
Florida Constitution Revision Commission
In March 2017, Smith was appointed to the Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) by Florida State Senate President Joe Negron, a Republican.[1]
The Florida Constitution Revision Commission is a 37-member commission provided for in the state constitution that reviews and proposes changes to the Florida Constitution.[2] The CRC refers constitutional amendments directly to the ballot for a public vote.[3] The commission convenes every 20 years.[2] Members of the commission travel to different parts of Florida to perform research and receive public testimony before recommending these ballot measures.[4]
The Constitution Revision Commission of 2017-2018 was composed of 37 members. Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, appointed 15 members of the CRC. President of the Florida Senate, Joe Negron (R), appointed nine members. Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Richard Corcoran (R) appointed nine members. Jorge Labarga, chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, appointed three members.[5]
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Environmental Preservation and Conservation |
| • Ethics and Elections |
| • Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight, Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Criminal Justice, Vice chair |
| • Rules, Vice chair |
| • Appropriations |
| • Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities |
| • Community Affairs |
| • Governmental Oversight and Accountability |
| • Legislative Budget Commission |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance, Vice chair |
| • Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities |
| • Criminal Justice |
| • Rules |
| • Administrative Procedures |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities |
| • Higher Education |
| • Reapportionment |
| • Rules |
| • Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2012
- See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2012
Smith won re-election in the 2012 election for Florida State Senate District 31. Smith ran unopposed in the Democratic primary on August 14, 2012, and defeated Christopher Smithmyer (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[6][7]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Christopher Smith Incumbent |
84.4% | 147,618 | |
| Republican | Christopher Smithmyer | 15.6% | 27,222 | |
| Total Votes | 174,840 | |||
2008
- See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2008
On November 4, 2008, Smith won election to the Florida Senate from Florida's 29th Senate district. Smith received 117,553 votes in the election, defeating Michael Nellons (write-in), who received 17 votes.[8] Smith raised $268,588 for his campaign.[9]
| Florida Senate, District 29 (2008) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Christopher Smith (D)
|
117,553 | 100.0% | ||
| Michael Nellons (write-in) | 17 | 0.0% | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Florida scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2016
In 2016, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 12 through March 11.
- Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues.
- Legislators are scored on their stances on healthcare related issues.
- Legislators are scored on whether the organization believes they are making an effort to provide “a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education.”
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2015, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 3 through May 1.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 3 through May 5.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 5 through May 3.
|
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Smith and his wife, Desorae Giles-Smith, have two children.
See also
- Florida State Senate
- Senate Committees
- Florida State Legislature
- Florida state legislative districts
- Florida Constitution Revision Commission
External links
- Campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Project Vote Smart Christopher Smith summary
- Project Vote Smart Christopher Smith biography
- Christopher Smith on Facebook
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2008, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Partnership for Revising Florida's Constitution, "CRC Appointments," accessed June 5, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Florida Legislature, "The Florida Constitution," accessed May 2, 2017
- ↑ D'Alemberte, T. (2016). The Florida State Constitution. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- ↑ Holland & Knight, "Anna Marie Hernandez Gamez Appointed to Florida's Constitution Revision Commission," accessed May 23, 2017
- ↑ Florida Constitution Revision Commission, 2017-2018, "Commissioners," accessed May 2, 2017
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Candidate List," accessed April 15, 2012
- ↑ Florida Department of Elections, "Official Primary Results," accessed December 18, 2014
- ↑ Florida Department of Elections, "Florida Senate official election results for 2008," November 4, 2008
- ↑ followthemoney.org, "District 29 Florida Senate candidate funds, 2008," November 4, 2008
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Eleanor Sobel (D) |
Florida State Senate, District 31 2012–2016 |
Succeeded by Jeff Clemens (D) |
| Preceded by ' |
Florida State Senate, District 29 2008–2012 |
Succeeded by Jeremy Ring (D) |
