Smith Files For Re-election After Being Forced To Resign

Lots of excitement today at the state capitol with a surprise Democratic candidate that was especially surprising to Democratic Party of Arkansas officials, when former Rep. Fred Smith (D-Mississippi) showed up to file for House District 50.  This was surprising because in January 2011 Smith had to resign his House seat after being convicted of a felony theft charge.

Today, in the last hour of filing, Smith returned to the capitol to file for office.  He was present at the opening of the filing period, but said on that day he was not planning to file.  A week later, he had a change of heart.

Democratic Party officials were noticeably stunned at the development and at first told him he could not file as he was not eligible for office.  Individuals convicted of a felony cannot serve in the state legislature.  However, after DPA Chairman Will Bond made several phone calls and Smith insisted that a judge is reviewing expunging his conviction, they decided to let him file.

“When he showed up today, we were initially under the impression that that had not been expunged and therefore there could be a question about his eligibility to file,” said Bond. “My understanding from his lawyer is that the judge in that case has an order under consideration for expungement. It is unclear what has happened with that since we don’t know if the order has been entered or will be entered and filing is closing, [so] we are going to go ahead and accept his paperwork with the understanding that he could be ineligible to run and could lose his filing fee.”

The incumbent, Rep. Hudson Hallum (D-Marion), who was elected in a special election following Smith’s resignation and has filed for re-election, said he was surprised to see Smith file.

“I am a little unsure about his status to file and his eligibility to run, so we will take a look at that next week when we get done up here in the session,” said Hallum. “I will take care of things up here this week and I will handle that next week.”

After completing his paperwork, Smith gave what can only be described as a bizarre interview to capitol reporters when he thanked God repeatedly and described himself as the “Tim Tebow” of House candidates.

When asked why he filed, Smith said it is “to clear my name, to clear my name and I give God all the glory. I went through a storm.”

“I am going to try to give everybody a good story. I want to give the truth and right now all I know is that this is about me getting on track with my life. God has given me a second chance. And I am going forward, going back to my district where the people have voted me in and I want people to know what I stand for. And I want to continue to stand as a politician and do the best I can,” said Smith.

Asked repeatedly by reporters if his conviction has been expunged, he avoided  the question saying “it is out of my legal hands right now” and returned to his message of “giving God the glory.”

“God is handling my case,” said Smith when asked which judge was handling his case.

“I am the Tim Tebow of state representatives… and I give him all the glory today,” said Smith pointing to the sky.

When asked where Smith currently lives he replied, “Right now, I thank God again. I thank God.”  In the previous election, Smith’s eligibility was challenged when it was discovered he owned a house in Mississippi and had Mississippi car tags.

Smith listed his address as “P.O. Box 233, Crawfordsville AR 72327” with the Secretary of State’s office.  Smith listed “166 Green Street, Crawfordsville, AR 72327” as his home address on his forms with the Democratic Party.

“I am going to come back and tell you guys a true story, a very unique true story,” promised Smith.  “I never gave up. I repent. I forgave my enemy, candidates.  And I turned it over to God and I am moving forward with my life right now. And as anything comes true, I will deal with it.”

In filing with the Secretary of State, Smith had to sign a form saying, “I hereby certify that I have never been convicted of a felony in the State of Arkansas, or any other jurisdiction inside of Arkansas.”

Smith insisted he was being truthful.