Vince Leibowitz at Capitol Annex is reporting that State Representative John Smithee (above) is retiring. The soon-to-be-56-year old lawyer is a 22-year veteran of the House and chaired the House Insurance Committee for several sessions.
Smithee's middle name is True, and that's probably a good indicator of the regard in which he was held by the Capitol crowd. He is a rural conservative but not an ideologue His office door is always open to people and he'll hear you out, even if he is not going to agree with you. And he's a straight shooter, so you know where you stand with him.
Vince goes on the speculate that the Republican Party will hunt for a very conservative candidate to replace him. The district is very Republican and Smithee got 86.5 percent of the vote in cruising to re-election last fall. These electoral dynamics are favorable for extremist candidates. I hope the district chooses someone who has John's openness and sense of balance.
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