John Arthur Smith (New Mexico)
John Arthur Smith (Democratic Party) was a member of the New Mexico State Senate, representing District 35. Smith assumed office in 1989. Smith left office on January 18, 2021.
Smith (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the New Mexico State Senate to represent District 35. Smith lost in the Democratic primary on June 2, 2020.
Smith passed away on October 7, 2024.[1]
Biography
Smith earned his B.S. from the University of New Mexico in 1966. His professional experience included working as a real estate appraiser.
Committee assignments
2019-2020
Smith was assigned to the following committees:
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| New Mexico committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Committees' |
| • Finance, Chair |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| New Mexico committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Committees' |
| • Finance, Chair |
2013-2014
In the 2013-2014 legislative session, Smith served on the following committees:
| New Mexico committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Committees' |
| • Finance, Chair |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Smith served on these committees:
| New Mexico committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Joint Legislative Capital Outlay |
| • Committees' |
| • Finance, Chair |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Smith served on these committees:
| New Mexico committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Committees' |
| • Finance |
Issues
Lawsuit against Gov. Martinez
Mimi Stewart (D), Henry Saavedra (D), John Arthur Smith (D), and “Lucky” Varela (D) filed two lawsuits against Gov. Susana Martinez (R) over her line-item vetoes in an unemployment bill and a housing bill.
Raul Burciaga, the director of the Legislative Council Service, told committee members of the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) May 19, 2011, that in his opinion two line-item vetoes made by Gov. Martinez violate the state’s constitution. "Some of the governor’s vetoes seem to impinge on the legislature’s appropriation powers and plow new ground in a governor’s exercise of the veto authority,” said Burciaga. That day, Gov. Martinez firmly said she disagreed. Sen. Stuart Ingle (R) said, "I could protest any governor doing this … it’s not partisan. She’s a good governor … but it’s a little bit of stretch to do this."
Burciaga testifed that the veto Martinez made in unemployment bill H.B. 59 a part of a revenue bill and "did not authorize the expenditure of state money because that authorization was already in statute and not amended in this bill.” Burciaga said the veto is “unconstitutional and, hence, unenforceable."
The second veto came when Gov. Martinez reduced an appropriation the legislature made to budget bill H.B. 2 from $150,000 to $50,000. Burciaga said that while state courts have not addressed the issue specifically, reducing “an item of appropriation is a legislative function that the governor has no power to do.”[2][3]
The New Mexico Supreme Court held that the partial veto was invalid. The court found that, "because the effect of the veto was to exempt most employers from making what would otherwise be mandatory contributions to the unemployment compensation fund for calendar year 2012, the Supreme Court held that the partial veto was invalid. The Court therefore issued a writ of mandamus to order that House Bill 59 be reinstated as passed by the Legislature."[4]
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
2020
See also: New Mexico State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for New Mexico State Senate District 35
Crystal Diamond Brantley defeated Neomi Martinez-Parra in the general election for New Mexico State Senate District 35 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Crystal Diamond Brantley (R) | 58.0 | 11,256 | |
| Neomi Martinez-Parra (D) | 42.0 | 8,135 | ||
| Total votes: 19,391 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for New Mexico State Senate District 35
Neomi Martinez-Parra defeated incumbent John Arthur Smith in the Democratic primary for New Mexico State Senate District 35 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Neomi Martinez-Parra | 54.9 | 2,795 | |
| John Arthur Smith | 45.1 | 2,295 | ||
| Total votes: 5,090 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for New Mexico State Senate District 35
Crystal Diamond Brantley advanced from the Republican primary for New Mexico State Senate District 35 on June 2, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Crystal Diamond Brantley | 100.0 | 3,867 | |
| Total votes: 3,867 | ||||
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2016
- See also: New Mexico State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the New Mexico State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was March 8, 2016.
Incumbent John Arthur Smith ran unopposed in the New Mexico State Senate District 35 general election.[5][6]
| New Mexico State Senate District 35, General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  John Arthur Smith Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 12,502 | |
| Total Votes | 12,502 | |||
| Source: New Mexico Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent John Arthur Smith ran unopposed in the New Mexico State Senate District 35 Democratic primary.[7]
| New Mexico State Senate District 35, Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | John Arthur Smith Incumbent (unopposed) | |
2012
- See also: New Mexico State Senate elections, 2012
Smith ran for re-election in 2012. He defeated Larry P. Martinez in the June 5, 2012, Democratic primary and defeated Russell G. Allen (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | John Arthur Smith Incumbent |
61% | 10,446 | |
| Republican | Russell G. Allen | 39% | 6,688 | |
| Total Votes | 17,134 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
John Arthur Smith Incumbent |
56% | 2,031 |
| Larry P. Martinez | 44% | 1,596 |
| Total Votes | 3,627 | |
2008
- See also: New Mexico State Senate elections, 2008
On November 4, 2008, Smith was re-elected to District 35 in the New Mexico State Senate. Smith had no challenger.[10]
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John Arthur Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
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 New Mexico scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2020
In 2020, the New Mexico State Legislature was in session from January 21 to February 20.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to animal welfare.
- Legislators are scored on environmental and conservation issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills relating to economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2019
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In 2019, the New Mexico State Legislature was in session from January 15 through March 16.
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2018
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In 2018, the 53rd New Mexico State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 16 through February 15.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the 53rd New Mexico State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 17 through March 18, 2018.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 52nd New Mexico State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 20 through March 21.[11]
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 51st New Mexico State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 21 through February 20.[11]
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 51st New Mexico State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 15 to March 16.[11]
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the 50th New Mexico State Legislature, second session, was in session from January 17 through February 16.[11]
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the 50th New Mexico State Legislature, first session, was in session from January 18 through March 19.[12]
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See also
2020 Elections
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Voting record from New Mexico Votes.org
- Campaign contributions via OpenSecrets
Footnotes
- ↑ CTInsider, “Ex-New Mexico state senator John Arthur Smith dies at 82" accessed October 8, 2024
- ↑ Capitol Report New Mexico, "Lawmakers file suit over Susana vetoes," accessed May 26, 2011
- ↑ Capitol Report New Mexico, "Legislative director says two vetoes from Susana are unconstitutional," accessed May 19, 2011
- ↑ Justia US Law, "State of NM ex rel Stewart v. Martinez," accessed June 27, 2017
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "2016 general election contest/candidate list," accessed August 18, 2016
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Official Results General Election - November 8, 2016," accessed November 29, 2016
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "2016 Primary Election Contest/Candidate List," accessed March 10, 2016
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Official Primary Results," accessed April 15, 2014
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Primary Candidate List," accessed March 23, 2012
- ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "2008 General Election results," accessed May 12, 2014
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 New Mexico Legislature, "Session dates," accessed July 9, 2014
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2011 Legislative Sessions Calendar," accessed June 6, 2014 (Archived)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
New Mexico State Senate District 35 1989–2021 |
Succeeded by Crystal Diamond (R) |
