RasTafari I. "Ras" Smith (born December 29, 1987) is an American politician from

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

. He has served in the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, forme ...

since 2017, as a legislator from District 62.

Personal life, education, and early career

RasTafari Smith was named for the royal title and given name of

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

. The name was selected by his mother, Belinda Creighton-Smith, a pastor. Smith's father L. C. is a retired factory worker for

John Deere Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, a ...

. His brothers include Rameses and Myron. Smith is married to Amelia, an educator, with whom he has two children. Smith was raised in northeast

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 67,314, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. The city is part of the Waterloo – Cedar Fall ...

, and attended

Northern University High School Northern University High School was a small high school in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States, run by the University of Northern Iowa. It comprised grades 9-12 of the Pk-12 Malcolm Price Laboratory School. It closed in July 2012 under controversy ...

Cedar Falls, Iowa Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 40,713. It is home to the University of Northern Iowa, a public university. History Cedar Falls was first settled in March 1845 ...

. He enrolled at

Wartburg College Wartburg College is a private Lutheran liberal arts college in Waverly, Iowa. It has an additional campus, Wartburg West, in Denver, Colorado. History Wartburg College was founded in 1852 in Saginaw, Michigan, by Georg M. Grossmann, a nativ ...

and

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...

before completing a bachelor's degree in exercise science at the

University of Northern Iowa The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and gr ...

. Smith then worked as the strength and conditioning coach at

Waterloo East High School Waterloo East High School in Waterloo, Iowa, United States is a public high school consisting of approximately 1000 students in grades 9–12. It is a part of the Waterloo Community School District. History The school was founded at its cur ...

and volunteered as a member of the high school's American football coaching staff. He left East High to work at a

Target Corporation Target Corporation (doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a compo ...

distribution center, then joined Four Oaks, a special education program, as a counselor and later, shift leader. During his time at Four Oaks, Smith worked toward a master's degree in leisure, youth and human services from the University of Northern Iowa. After completing his master's degree, Smith began working for

Communities In Schools Communities In Schools (CIS) is a non-profit organization based in America. CIS works within public and charter schools to help at-risk students. CIS works with schools in 25 states and the District of Columbia. In In February 2020, CIS announced ...

. Smith is a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...

Political career

After Deborah Berry announced her retirement, her seat in District 62 was left open. Smith contested that seat in 2016 as a

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

candidate, defeating Republican Party candidate Todd Obadal and political independent John Patterson. Smith was reelected in 2018 and 2020, both times uncontested. On June 15, 2021, Smith announced that he would run for governor of Iowa in 2022. He suspended his campaign in January 2022, citing lack of funds. A month later, Smith stated that he would not be running for reelection to the state legislature. Republished b
KYOU-TV
/ref> As a result of redistricting prior to the 2022 state legislative elections, Smith's residence was placed in House District 61, a seat held by

Timi Brown-Powers Timi Brown-Powers (born 1967) is an American therapist and politician serving as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives, representing District 61. She was first elected to the House in 2014. Early life and education Timi Brown-Powers was ...

. In April 2022, Smith joined

Michael T. Franken Michael Thane Franken (born November 8, 1957) is an American retired United States Navy vice admiral. His final posting was as deputy director of military operations for the United States Africa Command. Franken was a Democratic candidate i ...

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and ...

campaign. Republished by the
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
'

References

External links

Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ras 1987 births 21st-century American politicians African-American state legislators in Iowa Baptists from Iowa Iowa State University alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Politicians from Waterloo, Iowa University of Northern Iowa alumni Wartburg College alumni 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people