 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Nick Smith" American politician – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Nick Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's7th district | |
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Dale Kildee |
| Succeeded by | Joe Schwarz |
| Member of theMichigan Senate from the19th district | |
| In office January 1, 1983 – December 31, 1992 | |
| Preceded by | John Mowat |
| Succeeded by | Philip E. Hoffman |
| Member of theMichigan House of Representatives from the41st district | |
| In office January 1, 1979 – December 31, 1982 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Porter |
| Succeeded by | Michael E. Nye |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nicholas Hart Smith (1934-11-05)November 5, 1934 (age 91) Addison, Michigan, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Education | Michigan State University (BA) University of Delaware (MS) |
Nicholas Hart Smith[1] (born November 5, 1934) is a retired American politician from theU.S. state ofMichigan, who served as aRepublican member of theUnited States House of Representatives from 1993 until 2005, representing the 7th District of Michigan.[2]
Smith was born inAddison, Michigan, where he still lives. He earned aB.A. fromMichigan State University inEast Lansing, Michigan, in 1957 and anM.S. ineconomics from theUniversity of Delaware in 1959. Smith served in theUnited States Air Force from 1959 to 1961 where he became a captain. He was squadron commander in theCivil Air Patrol and later an intelligence officer. He operates a dairy farm in Addison.
Smith served on theSomerset Township board of trustees, 1962 to 1968. He was township supervisor and on theHillsdale County board of supervisors from 1966 to 1968. He then served as assistant deputy administrator and director of energy in theUnited States Department of Agriculture between 1972 and 1974.
Smith served as a member of theMichigan State House of Representatives from the41st District from 1979 to 1983. He then served as a member ofMichigan Senate from the19th District from 1983 to 1993. While in the Michigan Senate, he was appointed President Pro Tempore from 1983 to 1990.
Smith ran for Congress in the 7th District in 1992, winning the Republican primary by seven points. His nearest opponent was fellow state senatorJoe Schwarz, a considerably more moderate Republican. Smith was the major candidate from the eastern portion of the district, while Schwarz and the others were all from the western portion. The candidates from the western portion split the vote, allowing Smith to win despite getting only 37 percent of the vote. No Democrat even filed for the general election, handing the seat to Smith. He was reelected five times.
Smith was a relatively low-profile congressman for most of his career, compiling a reliably conservative voting record despite representing a fairly marginal district. However, Smith gained national attention in 2004 in the controversy over theMedicare Modernization Act. Smith had announced earlier he was not running for reelection later that year, having promised during his initial run to only serve six terms (12 years) in the House. However, he'd endorsed his son, Brad, as his successor. Smith stated that members of the House Republican leadership told him that if he voted for the Medicare bill, business interests would give $100,000 to his son's campaign. When Nick Smith refused to vote for the bill, he was told that his son would never get into Congress. Ultimately, Brad Smith was defeated in the Republican primary by Schwarz, who was elected in November.
In March 2004, theHouse Ethics Committee admonished fellow Representative from MichiganCandice Miller and House Majority LeaderTom DeLay for their involvement in the affair.
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's 7th congressional district 1993–2005 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
