News
Young Adults Making a Big Difference
Koasta Larrance Interviews A. J. Smith, City of Middletown Councilman
by Koasta Larrance
Have you ever heard of a city councilman whose age is 20? You might think to yourself that this is almost impossible! How could such a young guy, who is barely out of high school, achieve such a difficult task? The process of becoming a city councilman is a tough one. You have to know your city and have great care and concern for it to convince the people that you are the right fit for the position. You have to be someone that will do what’s right when it’s not popular and someone that’s willing to put action behind words. Can somebody that young obtain such a high position? The answer is yes he can and his name is A. J. Smith!
Born and raised in Middletown he has experienced some of the same problems as lots of the residents have. He is passionate about this town, where he grew up with his family and friends, and is committed to going the distance to get this town back on track, away from the old policies, with fresh thoughts and fresh ideas!
A. J.’s quest in the world of politics all began in 2007. While In high school he witnessed a seven million dollar levy fail resulting in the School Board’s having to cut many programs. A. J. valued some of these programs and wanted his sister to benefit from them, as she was in the same high school at the time. Changed from his old, wrong ways, A. J. knew how crucial these programs were to his sister’s growth and other kids who were in high school. The very next day he organized a 300 student protest against the levy defeat. After walking 3.3 miles to the administration building with a police escort, and demanding a re-vote on the defeated levy, students persuaded the Board of Education to go back to the ballot again on August 2007.
In August the second levy failed once again and A. J. knew that he had to do something about it. The Board of Education went back to the ballot in November with the same levy, this time having three Board of Education positions open. A. J. knew that this was his chance to take a stand for the students, so he decided to run for one of the BOE seats. His campaign was forceful and powerful. He spent many hours talking to voters about various issues that needed to be addressed in the BOE, while focusing greatly on the tax levy. On Election Day, A. J., who was only expected to get 1,000 votes, got more than 3,500, which was close enough for the third seat, but unfortunately was not enough to get into the position. Many people were greatly surprised by this because some of his opponents were a former BOE Vice President and Council Member, a retired fire chief with 17 years of experience, and a well known member of the Chamber of Commerce. Eighteen at the time, A. J. far exceeded the expectations of many in that election. Although he did not make it on the BOE, the tax levy did pass!
By this time A. J. Smith was making a big name not only locally, but also state-wide. Many news agencies and newspapers knew who he was and the ambition that he had to do what is right! Shortly after Smith’s defeat, Brendon Kelly, a director of SFBO (Students for Barack Obama) out of Columbus, Ohio, called him to possibly bring him on board to help out with Obama’s campaign. At first A. J. was hesitant because he was a Clinton supporter and didn’t know much about the young Democrat out of Illinois, but after taking Kelly’s advice he researched Barack Obama and found his policies not too far different from Clinton’s. So, he jumped on board. Not too far down the road he found himself in a conference call that launched him into the world of politics.