Robert D. Thoubboron was elected as the Putnam County, New York sheriff in 1985, but by 2001, he and his office were embroiled in controversies including abuse of civil and political rights, drunkenlaw enforcement officers, and retaliatory abuse of power. Smith, then the deputy county executive for Putnam County, had no law-enforcement experience. Despite this, he secured the endorsement of the Democratic, Conservative, Independence, and Green parties before defeating Thoubboron in the 2001 Putnam County Republican Party primary election. With the single-purpose platform of "bring integrity back to the Sheriff's Department leadership," Smith received 62% of votes to Thoubboron's 38%. Instead of conceding however, Thoubboron ran against Smith again in the general election under the banner of "Safe County", a political party created solely for the incumbent sheriff; on November 11, 2001, Smith defeated Thoubboron again, this time with 76% of the vote. Elected as the 54th sheriff of Putnam County, Smith took office on January 1, 2002. According to the Putnam County Sheriff's Department biography of Smith, during the sheriff's tenure he has focused his efforts on community policing, "increasing the intensity of the war on drugs," and promoting "drivers’ safety programs and safety belt usage". Smith's biography also said that his leadership is responsible for the expansion of school resource officers in Putnam County middle and high schools. Smith has been a three-time officeholder with the New York State Sheriffs' Association, serving as their president, chairman of their legislative committee, and as a trustee on their executive board. In 2013, while representing the NYSSA, Smith evoked the United States Declaration of Independence and the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution when he spoke out against the NY SAFE Act. The NYSSA and Smith personally joined the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association's lawsuit alleging the legislation violated the United States and New York Constitutions. After the 2016 death of Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, the lawsuit was dropped out of fear that the court could rule against them, setting precedent. Running in 2017 for his fifth term as sheriff, Smith lost to Robert L. Langley Jr. by 341 votes. After 16 years as sheriff, Smith stepped down as Langley was sworn-in on December 29, 2017.
Electoral history
Adam Levy controversy
Adam Levy served as the Putnam County, New York district attorney from 2007–2015, and his relationship with Smith quickly befouled when each began arguing with the other over "perceived intrusions into each man's respective county agency." By January 2013, Smith had begun writing to New York and United States federal law enforcement agencies about Levy's alleged interference. Alexandru Hossu was a Romanian in the United States on a years-expired travel visa. A friend and personal trainer to Levy, Hossu was arrested by the Putnam County Sheriff's Department on March 20, 2013, and charged with raping a 12-year-old girl. Levy claimed the arrest was a political stunt by Smith in an effort to embarrass the district attorney; the sheriff's office issued press releases declaring Levy's address as Hossu's, though the latter "had not stayed there for months." Smith responded by saying that Levy was interfering with the investigation and that "Levy, 'or someone acting at his direction,' had even tipped off Hossu and coached him on what to say during a monitored call with the alleged rape victim prior to the arrest." While district attorney, Levy contributed to his friend's defense, and Hossu's lawyer was Levy's brother-in-law. Levy denied interfering in the criminal investigation nor knowing Hossu's visa status at the time of the arrest. In June 2017, Levy's defamation lawsuit against Smith was settled with the sheriff agreeing to drop his own lawsuit against Levy and pay. Smith also released a retraction "in which he apologized and acknowledged statements he made about Levy were 'untrue.
