James T. Smith Jr. (born February 8, 1942) is an American politician who served as Secretary of Transportation of Maryland under Governor

Martin O'Malley Martin Joseph O'Malley (born January 18, 1963) is an American politician who served as the 17th commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was th ...

from 2013 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as

Baltimore County Executive The Baltimore County executive is the highest elected official representing the government of Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The office was established with the implementation of the county charter for Baltimore County on November 6, ...

from 2002 to 2010. He succeeded

Dutch Ruppersberger Charles Albert "Dutch" Ruppersberger III ( ; born January 31, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2003 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as an assistant state attorney o ...

who was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

; his successor was former County Councilman Kevin B. Kamenetz. His political career began when he was elected to the Baltimore County Council in 1978, a position he served until he was appointed Associate Judge of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County in 1985. In 2001, Smith resigned as judge to run for County Executive. After two terms in office, he joined his son's Towson law firm, Smith, Gildea & Schmidt. In May 2013, he left to become Maryland secretary of transportation under Gov.

. He returned to the law firm in March 2015. In December 2016, he joined the cabinet of Baltimore Mayor

Catherine Pugh Catherine Elizabeth Pugh (born March 10, 1950) is an American former politician who served as the 51st mayor of Baltimore, Maryland's largest city, from 2016 to 2019. She resigned from office amid a scandal that eventually led to criminal charge ...

as chief of strategic alliances, resigning in April 2019. He has lived in Baltimore County for his entire life. He and his wife Sandy have four children and nine grandchildren.

References

Maryland State Archives biographyBaltimore County Executive update
1942 births Living people Secretaries of transportation of Maryland Baltimore County executives Maryland Democrats Maryland state court judges Wheeling University alumni 20th-century Maryland state court judges County commissioners in Maryland 20th-century Maryland politicians 21st-century Maryland politicians {{Maryland-politician-stub