Edward "Smitty" Smith

Smith was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the working-class neighborhoods of Congress Heights and LeDroit Park.{{cite web|agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/smith-to-launch-bid-for-dc-attorney-general/2014/07/12/1f69a60a-099b-11e4-ba5b-b9d8a4daba13_story.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140726132347/http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/smith-to-launch-bid-for-dc-attorney-general/2014/07/12/1f69a60a-099b-11e4-ba5b-b9d8a4daba13_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-07-26 |title=Smith launches bid for DC attorney general |work=The Washington Post |date=2014-07-12 |access-date=2014-07-22}} His family moved to the District of Columbia in 1943 and he is the third generation of his family to live there.{{cite web|author=Andrew Giambrone |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/09/what-would-a-51st-state-look-like/380586/ |title=Is D.C. Statehood a Matter of Civil Rights? |publisher=The Atlantic |date=2014-09-22 |access-date=2014-09-22}} His father taught physics at Ballou High School and his mother worked in the federal government.

After winning scholarships to attend the Beauvoir School and the Potomac School, Smith earned a Bachelor's degree with honors from Brown University, where he was captain of the track team,{{cite web| title=Who We Are| work=We the People Project| access-date=2014-07-22| url=http://www.equalrightsnow.org/people}} and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Smith began his legal career as an associate attorney at the Washington, D.C. law firm Hogan & Hartson.{{cite web|author=Will Sommer |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2014/07/07/ex-fcc-lawyer-enters-the-attorney-general-race/ |title=Ex-FCC Lawyer Enters the Attorney General Race |publisher=Washington City Paper |date=2014-07-07 |access-date=2014-07-22}} After several years with the firm, he left to work on Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. After the election, he was named Deputy General Counsel of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, and then joined the Department of Commerce, where he worked on the economic development of low-income communities.

At the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Smith was named Program Director of the State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program.{{citation |url=http://broadbandbreakfast.com/2009/07/broadbandcensuscom-transcript-of-ntia-mapping-workshop/ |title=BroadbandCensus.com Transcript of NTIA Mapping Workshop |date=2009-07-27 |access-date=2014-10-21}} Under his leadership, and with funds allocated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the SBDDGP established the $4.7 billion Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, which extended and developed broadband services to reach rural and underserved areas, improved broadband access for public safety agencies, and provided financial assistance to low-income families to facilitate the transition from analog to digital television.[http://connectedplanetonline.com/news/Broadband-Stimulus-post-game-recap-1005/ Broadband Stimulus Post-Game Recap] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140712215131/http://connectedplanetonline.com/news/Broadband-Stimulus-post-game-recap-1005/ |date=2014-07-12 }} October 5, 2010[http://www.ntia.doc.gov/page/2011/american-recovery-and-reinvestment-act-2009 National Telecommunications and Information Administration]

Smith later joined the FCC, where he was appointed Chief of Staff and Senior Counsel of the Incentive Auction Task Force, a multibillion-dollar radio spectrum allocation project assessing whether to set bidding limits on Verizon and AT&T, ensuring that the wavelengths at auction remained reserved for smaller carriers.{{cite web|url=http://www.c-span.org/video/?319385-3/broadcast-tv-spectrum-auction |title=Broadcast TV Spectrum Auction |publisher=C-SPAN |date=2014-05-15 |access-date=2014-07-27}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB20001424052702304626304579510154106120342 |author=Ryan Knutson and Thomas Gryta |title=Verizon, AT&T Are Facing Spectrum Bidding Limits |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=2014-04-21 |access-date=2014-07-28}} On May 15, 2014, he spoke before an open meeting of the FCC in favor of bidding limits, and the Commissioners subsequently voted 3-2 in favor of the limits.

Following his campaign for attorney general, Smith joined DC government to run the District of Columbia's Justice Grants Administration.

{{cite web|author=Mike DeBonis |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/key-dc-agency-posts-remain-unfilled-three-weeks-into-muriel-bowsers-administration/2015/01/21/1e816d18-a18a-11e4-9f89-561284a573f8_story.html |title=Key D.C. posts remain in flux three weeks into Muriel Bowser's administration |work=The Washington Post |date=2015-01-21 |access-date=2015-03-22}} He then rejoined the FCC as an advisor before joining the law firm DLA Piper, where he won an award for his work representing T-Mobile.{{cite web |last1=Eggerton |first1=John |title=FCC's Wheeler Taps Ex-Wireless Tech Exec as Media Advisor |url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/fccs-wheeler-taps-ex-wireless-tech-exec-media-advisor-144938 |website=Multichannel News |access-date=17 September 2020 |date=13 October 2015}}{{cite web |url=https://www.dlapiper.com/en/us/news/2017/02/former-fcc-legal-advisor-joins-dla-piper/ |title= Former FCC Legal Advisor Edward "Smitty" Smith joins DLA Piper|date=9 February 2017|website=DLA Piper|access-date=13 October 2017}}{{cite web |url=https://www.dlapiper.com/en/us/news/2020/10/dla-piper-partner-edward-smitty-smith-named-a-law360-telecommunications-mvp/.|title= DLA Piper partner Edward "Smitty" Smith named a Law360 Telecommunications MVP |date=20 October 2020|website=DLA Piper|access-date=13 March 2021}}

He works with DC Vote, an organization that advocates for D.C. voting rights, and he sits on the Board of Directors of the We the People Project, which pursues litigation in support of “full and equal citizenship” for residents of D.C. and U.S. territories.

On July 12, 2014, Smith announced his candidacy for D.C. Attorney General{{citation |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCpxtNFSvL4 |title=Edward "Smitty" Smith Launches Campaign |publisher=NBC4 WRC-DT Washington, D.C. |date=2014-07-12 |access-date=2014-07-22}} at the former home of his grandmother in Washington, D.C.'s Shaw neighborhood.{{cite web|author=Will Sommer |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2014/07/14/attorney-general-hopeful-smitty-launches-campaign-in-shaw/ |title=Attorney General Hopeful "Smitty" Launches Campaign in Shaw |date=2014-07-14 |access-date=2014-07-22}}

Smith emphasized the need for reform of D.C.'s juvenile justice system. He saw the Attorney General's role as “cooperative” with the Council of the District of Columbia, and has expressed disagreement with sitting Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan's contention{{cite web |url=http://oag.dc.gov/release/dc-attorney-general-irvin-b-nathan-questions-legality-budget-autonomy-measure |title=DC Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan Questions Legality of Budget Autonomy Measure |publisher=Office of the Attorney General of the District of Columbia |date=2013-01-07 |access-date=2014-07-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727045546/http://oag.dc.gov/release/dc-attorney-general-irvin-b-nathan-questions-legality-budget-autonomy-measure |archive-date=2014-07-27 |url-status=dead }} that the 2012 budget autonomy act approved by the Council violates the District of Columbia Home Rule Act.

On August 6, the campaign submitted 6,500 petition signatures, more than double the 3,000 required to get Smith's name on the ballot.{{citation |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/7/simmons-race-for-attorney-general-shaping-up/ |title=SIMMONS: Race for attorney general shaping up |work=Washington Times |date=2014-08-07 |access-date=2014-08-13}} Shortly before Smith's campaign finance report was released on August 11, he announced he had raised over $185,000 during the first fundraising quarter of the campaign, including more from outside donors than all other attorney general candidates combined{{citation |url=http://www.ocf.dc.gov/pdf_files/EFS_generated/PCC_14_170_8245_O_0_1.pdf |title=Smitty for AG Report of Receipts and Expenditures |publisher=District of Columbia Office of Campaign Finance |date=2014-08-11 |access-date=2014-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813041624/http://ocf.dc.gov/pdf_files/EFS_generated/PCC_14_170_8245_O_0_1.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-13 |url-status=dead }}{{citation |url=http://www.ocf.dc.gov/pdf_files/EFS_generated/PCC_14_170_8252_O_0_1.pdf |title=Lorie Masters for Attorney General Report of Receipts and Expenditures |publisher=District of Columbia Office of Campaign Finance |date=2014-08-11 |access-date=2014-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813020849/http://ocf.dc.gov/pdf_files/EFS_generated/PCC_14_170_8252_O_0_1.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-13 |url-status=dead }}{{citation |url=http://www.ocf.dc.gov/pdf_files/EFS_generated/PCC_14_170_8248_O_0_1.pdf |title=Racine for AG Report of Receipts and Expenditures |publisher=District of Columbia Office of Campaign Finance |date=2014-08-11 |access-date=2014-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813051729/http://ocf.dc.gov/pdf_files/EFS_generated/PCC_14_170_8248_O_0_1.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-13 |url-status=dead }}{{citation|url=http://www.ocf.dc.gov/pdf_files/EFS_generated/PCC_14_170_8250_O_0_1.pdf |title=Lateefah Williams for Attorney General Report of Receipts and Expenditures |publisher=District of Columbia Office of Campaign Finance |date=2014-08-11 |access-date=2014-08-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813033308/http://ocf.dc.gov/pdf_files/EFS_generated/PCC_14_170_8250_O_0_1.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-13 }}{{citation |url=http://www.ocf.dc.gov/pdf_files/EFS_generated/PCC_14_170_8253_O_0_1.pdf |title=Zukerberg for Attorney General Report of Receipts and Expenditures |publisher=District of Columbia Office of Campaign Finance |date=2014-08-11 |access-date=2014-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813013228/http://ocf.dc.gov/pdf_files/EFS_generated/PCC_14_170_8253_O_0_1.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-13 |url-status=dead }} (Karl Racine raised nearly $257,000, but he donated or loaned $225,000 of that total to his own campaign). According to the finance report, Smith's campaign paid a company owned by Jauhar Abraham for petition signature collection.{{citation |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2014/08/12/attorney-general-candidates-dig-into-their-own-pockets/comment-page-1/#comment-72437 |title=Attorney General Candidates Dig Into Their Own Pockets |publisher=Washington City Paper |date=2014-08-12 |access-date=2014-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812213558/http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2014/08/12/attorney-general-candidates-dig-into-their-own-pockets/comment-page-1/#comment-72437 |archive-date=2014-08-12 |url-status=dead }}{{citation |url=http://www.ocf.dc.gov/pdf_files/EFS_generated/PCC_14_170_8245_A_1_1.pdf |title=Smitty for AG Report of Receipts and Expenditures: Amendment 1 |publisher=District of Columbia Office of Campaign Finance |date=2014-08-11 |access-date=2014-08-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826161417/http://www.ocf.dc.gov/pdf_files/EFS_generated/PCC_14_170_8245_A_1_1.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-26 |url-status=dead }}

In an interview at the hearing for S.132, the New Columbia Admission Act, Smith told an interviewer at The Atlantic that “as Americans, under no conditions should issues of political convenience or expedience dictate fundamental rights. The fact that [D.C. statehood] might prove politically inconvenient for either party is not a just reason for continuing to deny citizens those rights.”

A mid-October poll conducted by local NPR affiliate WAMU and the Washington City Paper showed Smith tied for second place with Lorie Masters and Paul Zukerberg behind Karl Racine, although a large plurality remained undecided.{{citation |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2014/10/24/poll-karl-racine-leads-attorney-general-race-by-10-points-still-trails-undecided-by-16/ |title="Poll: Karl Racine Leads Attorney General Race by 10 Points, Still Trails "Undecided" by 16" |publisher=Washington City Paper |date=2014-10-24 |access-date=2014-10-30}} According to the City Paper, Smith's campaign tried to persuade two of his rivals, Lorie Masters and Paul Zukerberg, to drop out of the race in order to “[consolidate] the anti-Racine vote,” but both rivals declined.{{citation |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2014/10/29/smitty-campaign-tries-fails-to-get-two-other-attorney-general-candidates-to-drop-out/ |title=Smitty Campaign Tries, Fails to Get Two Other Attorney General Candidates to Drop Out |publisher=Washington City Paper |date=2014-10-20 |access-date=2014-10-30}}

• Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204518504574420750453047942?mod=googlenews_wsj Kaminski, Matthew. "What Labor Wants."] Wall Street Journal. September 18, 2009.
• Jews United for Justice, a progressive Jewish nonprofit{{cite web|author=Mike DeBonis |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/mike-debonis/wp/2014/09/16/smitty-smith-elissa-silverman-pull-down-afl-cio-endorsements/ |title='Smitty' Smith, Elissa Silverman pull down AFL-CIO endorsements |work=The Washington Post |date=2014-09-16 |access-date=2014-09-18}}{{cite web|author=Will Sommer |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2014/09/16/attorney-general-candidate-smitty-at-large-hopeful-silverman-land-labor-endorsements/ |title=Attorney General Candidate "Smitty," At-Large Hopeful Silverman Land Labor Endorsements |publisher=Washington City Paper |date=2014-09-16 |access-date=2014-09-18}}
• D.C. Police Union{{cite web|author=Will Sommer |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2014/10/01/police-union-backs-smitty-for-attorney-general/ |title=Police Union Backs "Smitty" for Attorney General |publisher=Washington City Paper |date=2014-10-01 |access-date=2014-10-03}}
• D.C. Working Families{{cite web|author=Will Sommer |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/looselips/2014/10/07/endorsement-roundup-d-c-working-families-stein-club-back-smitty-for-attorney-general/ |title=Endorsement Roundup: D.C. Working Families, Stein Club Back Smitty for Attorney General |publisher=Washington City Paper |date=2014-10-07 |access-date=2014-10-10}}
• Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, an association of LGBT Democrats
• Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ

Smith came second in the election for attorney general, polling 21.12% of the vote. The winner, Karl Racine, polled 40.65%.{{cite news|title=Karl Racine wins first-ever race for D.C. attorney general |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-voters-set-to-choose-their-first-elected-attorney-general-tuesday/2014/11/04/d06e9160-6141-11e4-8b9e-2ccdac31a031_story.html |access-date=4 November 2014 |work=The Washington Post |date=4 November 2014}}

{{reflist|2}}

• [http://www.smittyforag.com/ Edward "Smitty" Smith for Attorney General campaign website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Edward Smitty}}

Category:Living people

Category:Lawyers from Washington, D.C.

Category:African-American people in Washington, D.C., politics

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Category:Brown University alumni

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Category:Candidates in the 2014 United States elections

Category:1980 births

Category:20th-century African-American politicians