Gary Smith (political candidate)

Gary Smith was an American retired Army veteran and political candidate known for challenging incumbent Janice Arnold-Jones for the Republican ticket in the 2012 U.S. House election to represent the 1st Congressional District of New Mexico. He was disqualified from the ballot, after which he was convicted of stalking and harassing Arnold-Jones and other politicians.

This article is about the New Mexican political candidate. For other people with the same name, see Gary Smith.
Gary Smith
Personal details
CitizenshipUnited States
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
ResidenceNew Mexico
OccupationArmy; politician
WebsiteTwitter: @garysmith2012
Military service
Allegiance United States of America
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1971-1991
RankSergeant first class

2012 election

In late 2011, Smith announced his intention to represent the 1st Congressional District of New Mexico in the 2012 elections. To do so, he would have needed to oust incumbent Arnold-Jones in winning the Republican ticket, then win the popular vote after gaining the GOP nomination.[1] His campaign was managed by Rhead Story, another local Republican politician. Smith's announcement said:

"The people of New Mexico are hurting... New Mexicans need a congressman who will be honest and straightforward with them and who will be focused on creating solutions to the problems facing our nation and our great state."[2]

At the Republican pre-primary convention on March 17, 2012, incumbent Arnold-Jones was challenged by then Albuquerque City Councilman Dan Lewis and Smith. Arnold-Jones took 62% of the vote, with Lewis following at 33% and Smith garnering 4%.[3] The Washington Post stated Smith "wasn't even close to defeating" Arnold-Jones.[4]

A complaint was raised by Arnold-Jones that stated some of Smith's nomination petition signatures were invalid. Smith would have had to have gathered 1,579 signatures to qualify for the Republican nomination ballot. Responding to the complaint, Judge C. Shannon Bacon ruled that some of the signatures were indeed invalid, thus disqualifying Smith from the race. Of the 1,823 Smith gathered, 492 were deemed invalid, meaning he needed 248 more signatures. Signatures can be considered invalid if "signers either were duplicates from other petitions, registered in another district or not registered as Republicans."[5][6]

With Lewis withdrawing from the race and Smith being disqualified, Arnold-Jones was granted the GOP ticket by default. Eventually, Arnold-Jones lost the seat to Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham in the popular election. Arnold-Jones was defeated ~59% to ~41%.[7]

In total, Smith spent nearly $300,000 on his congressional campaign, with most of that amount being his personal funds. The exact amount came to $296,951.[8]

Post-disqualification crimes

Following Smith's disqualification, Arnold-Jones had her tires either slashed or stabbed 19 times by early December.[9] She installed a surveillance system at her house, which caught Smith slashing her tires again.[9] Smith was arrested twice for stalking Arnold-Jones at her residence, as well as for the vandalism.[10][11] He was convicted of aggravated stalking and misdemeanor stalking in 2014 and sentenced to 30 months in prison with 17 months credit for time served.[12]

Personal life

Gary Smith was the son of Claire and LaVerne E. Smith (née Grapp) from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Smith served in the Army as an intelligence officer for more than 20 years before being honorably discharged.[2] He retired from the military in 1991 as a Sergeant first class.[13]

Smith's mother LaVerne died January 19, 2014, at the age of 87.[14] Gary had died by the time his father Claire died on May 15, 2022; Gary was listed as deceased in Claire's obituary in the Albuquerque Journal.[15]

See also

United States House of Representatives elections in New Mexico, 2012

References
  1. "Another GOP candidate enters NM 1st District race". Freeport-McCoran Copper & Gold. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  2. Haussamen, Heath. "Retired Army sergeant joins CD1 race". NM Politics. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  3. "Wilson, Arnold-Jones and Newton win in GOP pre-primary convention". Capitol Report New Mexico. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  4. Blake, Aaron (7 Nov 2013). "The 9 best sore-loser moments in politics". Washington Post. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  5. Nikolewski, R. "Gary Smith kicked off ballot in congressional race, Luevano appealing his loss in court". Capitol Report New Mexico. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  6. "CD1: District court judge takes Smith off GOP primary ballot". New Mexico Telegram. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. "New Mexico 1st District - Arnold-Jones vs. Grisham". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  8. "Reports Image Index for Committee ID: C00505685: GARY SMITH FOR CONGRESS". Federal Election Commission. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  9. Lohmann, Patrick (December 29, 2012). "Ex-Candidate Accused in Tire-Slashing". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  10. Murray, Rheana. "New Mexico politician Gary Smith behind bars for stalking after tire-slashing arrest". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  11. Davis, Linsey; Owings, Bethany (January 3, 2013). "New Mexico Republican Arrested for Stalking, Slashing Tires of Political Rival". ABC News.
  12. "Tire slasher heads to prison". Santa Fe Reporter. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  13. Spence, Jim (8 Nov 2011). "Gary Smith Enters C.D. # 1 Race". News New Mexico. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  14. "OBITUARIES". Albuquerque Journal. 24 Jan 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  15. "Claire James Smith". Albuquerque Journal. May 29, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
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