Robert John Smith (Garland City Council, Texas)

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Robert John Smith

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Garland City Council District 8

Successor: Chris Ott

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Education

High school

North Garland High School

Bachelor's

University of Texas, Dallas

Personal

Profession

Chief information security officer

Contact

Personal website

Robert John Smith was a member of the Garland City Council in Texas, representing District 8. Smith assumed office on May 16, 2017. Smith left office on May 16, 2023.

Smith ran for re-election to the Garland City Council to represent District 8 in Texas. Smith won in the general election on May 1, 2021.

Biography

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Smith earned a B.S. in business administration with a concentration in information systems from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Smith's career experience includes working as a chief information security officer. He has been involved with more than 40 local and state campaigns and served as a precinct chair and a member of the Garland Parks and Recreation Board and the Lieutenant Governor's Grassroots Leadership Council.

Elections

2021

See also: City elections in Garland, Texas (2021)

General election

General election for Garland City Council District 8

Incumbent Robert John Smith won election in the general election for Garland City Council District 8 on May 1, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert John Smith (Nonpartisan)	100.0	798

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 798
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2019

See also: City elections in Garland, Texas (2019)

General election

General election for Garland City Council District 8

Incumbent Robert John Smith won election in the general election for Garland City Council District 8 on May 4, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert John Smith (Nonpartisan)	100.0	784

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 784
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2017

See also: Municipal elections in Garland, Texas (2017)

The city of Garland, Texas, held an election for mayor and city council on May 6, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was February 17, 2017.

Mayor Douglas Athas ran for re-election in 2017. The city council seats in Districts 3, 6, 7, and 8 were also up for election. Robert John Smith defeated Jack Blackshear, James Scot Sullivan, and Terry G. Kaliney in the general election for the District 8 seat on the Garland City Council.

Garland City Council, District 8 General Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Robert John Smith	58.03%	513
Jack Blackshear	25.11%	222
James Scot Sullivan	10.97%	97
Terry G. Kaliney	5.88%	52
Total Votes		884
Source: Dallas County Elections, "May 6, 2017 - Joint Election," accessed June 9, 2017

Campaign themes

2021

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Robert John Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Robert John Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

2017

Smith's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

“	Smart Spending Many elected officials have it backwards. They look at what they think they need to spend, then they figure out how to collect the money. Instead, spending must be prioritized based on the core functions of city government using the tax dollars we already have. The city must reduce its long-term debt while continuing to provide essential services to the community. Streets and Sidewalks Our infrastructure is the lifeblood of our city. Years of drought followed by historic flooding left many of our sidewalks and streets buckled and broken. My first priority is to continue the work to repair and replace our aging infrastructure without raising taxes. Taxes Taxes are tied to property values. But the recent real estate bubble has raised tax revenue beyond what anyone expected. We should use the windfall to both pay down our debt and address our unfunded liabilities instead of creating new programs that require tax dollars for future maintenance. As we learned (again) in the 2007 housing collapse, property values do not always grow consistently. We can't put our kids in the position of having to pay the bill thirty years from now for irresponsible spending today. Law Enforcement Our men and women who put themselves in danger to protect us deserve our full support. I fully support the 2017 annual budget line item which provides our officers with body cameras, enhanced patrol car cameras and more options for non-lethal force. Parks and Recreation As a two term member of the Parks and Recreation Board, I've witnessed first-hand how much our city staff can accomplish on 1/3 of the budget of our neighboring cities. I support the continued improvement and maintenance of Garland’s award-winning parks system. I'm excited to see the future of our community garden and the addition of a pedestrian bridge over the creek along Namaan School road.	”
—Robert John Smith's campaign website, (2017)

In response to a question from the Dallas Morning News about the three most important actions he would take if elected, Smith said:

“	My first step as a city councilman is to take a deep dive into the city’s operating budget. We are still funding our street repairs with debt, when streets should be one of our top priorities. We have to find new ways to cut spending in other areas to keep our roads safe. Second, the city has a long list of funded projects – some dating back to the 1997 bond election – that are still not complete. It will be my goal to work with the city manager to finish or close those projects. Lastly, I will undertake a comprehensive review of the safety, compensation and benefits for our first responders.	”
—Robert John Smith

See also

2021 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Personal

Website

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Garland City Council District 8 2017-2023	Succeeded by Chris Ott