FEBRUARY/MARCH 2001
FSU STUDENT BECAME A POPULAR LEADER IN FLORIDA
Veteran Florida politico and FSU graduate Jim Smith is a familiar figure around Tallahas-see and across the Sunshine State.
But that wasn't always the case. In
the late 1950s, long before he held two Cabinet posts (attorney
general and secretary of state), Smith was a frightened FSU freshman,
and he didn't know a soul. 
"I didn't know anyone - not a single person," he says today in an almost incredulous tone. "It was a scary thought."
Although he was a Jacksonville native, Smith's formative years had been spent in Libya and Spain, where his father worked construction projects. By the time he returned to the United States for college, he had lost contact with most of his childhood friends.
Not only did the hesitant freshman not know anyone when he first ventured on campus, he didn't have the slightest idea he'd end up choosing a career path that would make him one of Florida's best-known elected leaders during the 1980s and '90s.
The catalyst for that career choice was a woman named Juanita Gibson. As Smith's adviser at FSU, she steered him toward a degree in public administration and government, which he earned in 1962. From there it was on to a stint in the military and then to Stetson Law School.
"I had thought about being a teacher," Smith recalled recently. "In the back of my mind I had an interest in government, but it wasn't well developed. There's no question about it. FSU turned out to be an important influence on my life."
After Stetson, the newly-minted lawyer tried private practice, but soon grew bored. Remem-bering the leafy beauty of the FSU campus, he and wife Carole longed to return to Tallahassee and soon got the chance when Smith was offered a job as an aide to then-Secretary of State Tom Adams. Shortly afterward he became involved with Gov. Reubin Askew's bid for the governorship and persuaded Adams to join the Askew ticket.
Another stint in private practice followed, but Smith soon realized he "missed the public policy side of things." So, in 1978 he made his first try for elective office, running for attorney general and handily winning with help from the network he had built during the Askew years. Another term followed in 1982. In 1987 Smith was appointed secretary of state by Gov. Bob Martinez to fill an unexpired term. A year later, he won the office with a 63-percent majority. He also ran unsuccessfully for governor, first in 1986 as a Democrat, then in 1994 as a Republican.
Along the way, he championed enforcement of the death penalty, the establishment of a statewide prosecutor, reform of the corporate income tax, drug enforcement and antitrust prosecutions. As secretary of state he fought for grant money for the arts and unsuccessfully for a cause that turned out to be a slumbering giant - election reform. But his overriding interest was in the state's education system and its need for improvement.
Through the years, Smith has relentlessly stressed the importance of education. "I was the first child in my family to go to college.
"I just look back on my life and without the basic education
I was able to receive I wouldn't have been where I am today."
Although Smith associates point to a long list of achievements
during his public life, he's proudest of the way he depoliticized
the offices he held and made them champions of the average citizen.
"My overriding guide was that I didn't want to be a prototype politician. Politicians need to remember they're there to help the guy who doesn't have anyone speaking for him. I really tried in all my public service to not overly politicize the offices, and I think I achieved that."
Longtime former Smith press aide Don North attributes Smith's
political success to a rock-solid integrity.
North said Smith tried to pattern his behavior in office after
Askew and former Gov. LeRoy Collins, two men whose honor and
decency he admired and tried to emulate.
"There were no memos or lectures about ethics or conduct, but everyone knew his standards were high, and we were expected to meet them," North said. Since leaving elective office in 1995, Smith has been a lobbyist. He remains involved in the political process and in the public eye.
Shortly after the recent Presidential election Smith was named co-chairman of a task force on reforming Florida's election procedures.
He has remained generously involved with his alma mater through
the years, in both service and financial contributions.
At 60, Smith still works out several times every week and spends
much of his free time mountain biking, hiking and hunting at
his Colorado vacation home.
But this self-described "guy from an average background"
is very cognizant of how far he's come from the days when he
first set foot in Tallahassee. "Sometimes I just can't believe
it," he says.
- Joy McIlwain
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