Sam Smith

Samuel J. Smith (July 23, 1922 – November 16, 1995) was a member of the Washington House of Representatives and the Seattle City Council. He was the first African-American to serve as a Seattle city councilman. Early life Smith was born on July 23, 1922, in Gibsland, Louisiana to a Baptist minister. Smith served stateside in the U.S. Army during World War II; in 1942 he was stationed in Seattle, Washington and, on discharge, decided to stay there. He went on to receive degrees from Seattle University (Social science, 1951) and the University of Washington (Economics, 1952) and went to work for the Boeing Company. Political career In 1958, Smith defeated Republican Charles Stokes for a seat in the Washington House of Representatives representing Washington's 37th legislative district. Smith's victory over Stokes, the third African-American elected to the Washington legislature, made him just the fourth African-American to win a seat in the state house, as well as the second from the Democratic Party. One of his first acts in the legislature was to introduce a bill that would have banned discrimination based on race or religion in the rental or sale of homes. The measure eventually passed in his final term. Smith was reelected to three additional terms, serving in the legislature until January 1967 when he left to seek a seat on the Seattle City Council, which he won. Smith continued to serve on the council until 1991 when he was defeated for reelection due, in part, to mobilization of Seattle's LGBT community, who were upset with some of his socially conservative positions.