Prior to his time in office, Smith held various professional positions. Between 1988 and 1993 he was an accounting and finance instructor at the
University of Phoenix. He held leadership roles in home building companies: from 1994 to 2003 he was president of Great Western Homes. Great Western was acquired by
Hovnanian Enterprises in 2003. From 2003 to 2007, Smith was a regional president for K. Hovnanian Homes. Before and during the time that he held these aforementioned positions he was active as a financial and business consultant at ExecuShare, Ltd. Incumbent
Keno Hawker was
term limited. Smith ranked first with 39% of the vote, qualifying for the run-off election. Griswold ranked second with 33% of the vote and Walters was last with 28% of the vote. Walters endorsed Smith. In the May run-off election, Smith defeated Griswold 56%–44%. It was the first time that a candidate defeated someone who had resigned from the city council to run for mayor in more than a generation. Al Brooks was successful in 1983 and Willie Wong was successful in 1991. His first attempt at public office,
Mayor of Mesa (2008–2014) Smith's first term of office ran from June 2, 2008 to January 22, 2013. It is the largest of six cities and a town with populations of 100,000 or more (followed by
Glendale,
Chandler,
Scottsdale,
Gilbert,
Tempe and
Peoria) that surround Phoenix in its metropolitan area. In March 2009, Smith advocated for a development deal to bring a 1,200 room
Gaylord Hotel and Resort to the
Mesa Proving Grounds. Proposition 300, passed by the largest margin in the history of the city with 84% of voters approving. In November 2011, Proposition 420 proposed an incentive package that would build the
Chicago Cubs a new
spring training facility. The Cubs, who had trained in Mesa for over 50 years, had offers to move their operations to
Naples, Florida. Proposition 420 passed with 63% of the vote. Renderings of the planned stadium, and accompanying "Wrigleyville West" entertainment district were released prior to the election and it was expected that the stadium would be complete by the 2014 spring training season. In August 2011, it was reported that the
Arizona State University baseball team would join the Cubs and move their facilities to the new stadium upon completion instead of renovating
Packard Stadium, however they later moved to
Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Smith played a role in the
Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) agreement, which allows Mesa to lease the facility and eventually own it while maintaining its highly classified status. The AFRL site is the only such secured facility in Arizona and is one of just a handful in the United States. In January 2011 Smith unveiled iMesa, an improvement effort where residents submit, vote and comment on ideas for the community. Smith was unopposed in his election for a second four-year term on August 28, 2012. His second term of office would have run from January 22, 2013 to January 23, 2017. Smith was
term limited. Smith resigned April 16, 2014, before the end of his term, in order to run for governor. He was president of the
United States Conference of Mayors (USCM). He was the first Arizona mayor to serve as president of the organization.
The Wall Street Journal,
Politico and
The Arizona Republic have run
op-ed pieces about the national debt crisis co-authored by Smith, then USCM president
Antonio Villaraigosa and USCM vice president
Michael Nutter. Smith has also been featured on
Bloomberg Television,
Andrea Mitchell Reports,
CNBC's
The Kudlow Report and in
The Washington Post.
2014 election for governor Smith announced that he would run for
Governor of Arizona on January 9, 2014. During the campaign, Smith was endorsed by Governor
Jan Brewer on August 6, 2014, ahead of the Republican primary. While a gubernatorial candidate, Smith faced accusations from fellow Republicans that he was insufficiently conservative, due to his support for
Medicaid expansion and
Common Core education standards. In the end, Smith placed second to
Doug Ducey in the Republican gubernatorial primary.
2024 election for Mesa Mayor In early 2023, Smith was considering returning to politics and running for the open Mesa Mayor position in 2024. Smith announced his candidacy on February 11, 2024. He faced opponent
Mark Freeman but was narrowly defeated in the runoff.
Post-government activities In 2016, Smith became been the chief executive of
Valley Metro, the regional transit system operating in
Phoenix and surrounding communities. Smith announced his resignation from this role in 2021, effective 2022. Smith stated that after five years in the role, he is "ready to move on to the next chapter in my life and turn the keys over to new leadership." During the
2016 Republican Party presidential primaries, Smith was a supporter of the
presidential campaign of
Carly Fiorina. ==Personal life==