Gregory Z. Smith

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Introduction

Gregory Z. Smith (born October 29, 1953) is a politician and prominent community member in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Currently, he is most known for his leadership in school safety efforts, border issues, historic preservation, environmental conservation, development of accessible public spaces, and promoting the role of arts and culture in civic life.

Unaffiliated with any political party, Smith is registered as an independent,.. or “decline to state” in New Mexico, and is City Councilor for District 2. He was first elected to the seat in 2011 registered as a Democrat, and later, registered as “decline to state,” was reelected to a second term in 2015 with the highest percentage in any of the Las Cruces Council races that year. In 2013 and 2015, he was elected by the members of the City Council to also serve as Mayor Pro Tem.

Born at Fort Bliss (El Paso, TX), the son of an Army officer, Smith grew up on military bases and in cities throughout the western hemisphere, from Anchorage, Alaska, in the north, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the south. The family also lived in California, in Oklahoma, in Indiana, and three more times in Texas, as well as in El Salvador and the Panama Canal Zone. After his high school junior year in Balboa, Panama Canal Zone, Smith has lived all subsequent years in the United States (Texas and New Mexico).

After a twenty-year career as an elementary school teacher in Austin, Texas, Smith moved home to Las Cruces where three generations of his family have lived since 1972 and where four generations of his wife’s family have lived since that same year. In Las Cruces, he has been a founding member and president of both the Paleozoic Trackways Foundation and AGUA (Aquatics Get Us Active). He is also a founding member of Mesilla Valley Preservation, Inc. and continues to serve on its board and as vice president. Additionally, he has served as a board member and vice president of Doña Ana County Senior Olympics and as a board member and president of Downtown Las Cruces Partnership.

Early life and education

Smith was the elder of two sons born to parents Joan (Jo-an) Richardson Smith, a celebrated Las Cruces painter and jeweler, and the late Donald Evans Smith, Lt. Col. US Army (retired at the time of his death in 1980). Smith's parents met at the University of Washington and married in 1952.

Smith’s paternal grandparents, Raymond and Lillian Smith, died in a 1962 aerial jet show crash north of Seattle, Washington, during the opening ceremonies for the World’s Fair there. His maternal grandparents, John (Rich) and Evelyn Franzke Richardson divorced at the end of WW II; so, Smith never knew them as a married couple. After living in San Francisco and Mill Valley, CA after WW II, Richardson and his second wife, Anne McDonald Richardson, moved to Las Cruces in 1986, three years before her death in 1989. Richardson then married recently widowed Matilde (Beba) Saladrigas Galban in 1991. He died in 2005, and Beba Richardson still lives in Las Cruces near the Smith/Papen home. Evelyn Richardson continued to live in Seattle with her second husband, Ed Hunter, and both are now deceased. Smith’s younger brother, Jeffrey, is a New Mexico State University graduate and an electrical engineer.

Moving almost annually, and frequently near the middle of the school year, Smith attended a total of twelve schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. Three of those were during his four high school years: freshman year, Escuela Americana (San Salvador, El Salvador); sophomore and junior years, Balboa High School (Balboa, Panama Canal Zone); and senior year, Burges High School (El Paso, Texas). He went on to study architecture at Texas A&M University, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Design in 1975. He later attended the University of Texas at Austin, earning a teaching certificate and a Master’s of Arts Degree in Curriculum and Instruction.

Through his early years, Smith was active in several sports, but the one that remained fairly constant was swimming, starting age group swimming with the El Paso Aqua Posse, then honing skills with the Bloomington (Indiana) Barracudas (while legendary coach Doc Counsilman oversaw the team along with the IU team), competing on the team in San Salvador, continuing with the Fort Clayton and Amador (Canal Zone) teams, and ending with the El Paso Aqua Posse team for something of a full circle. He also swam on the varsity teams for Escuela Americana and Balboa High School (Burges did not have a swimming team at that time). His first two years in college, Smith swam on the TAMU Swimming Team (varsity), also playing varsity water polo his freshman year.

Scouting was another of the activities that had some recurrence in Smith’s youth. He joined a Cub Scout troop in Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, a Boy Scouts troop in Bloomington, Indiana, and was an Engineering and Architecture Explorer Scout in the Panama Canal Zone.

Career

Architecture

This (along with being a railroad engineer and an author) was Smith’s career choice from about age five. After railroad engineering goals quickly faded and as authoring receded to a back burner, he made free time choices out of school (Explorer Scouts) and elective choices in high school (drafting classes) that pointed to architecture. The Environmental Design program at TAMU’s College of Architecture and the university’s also having a varsity swimming team made TAMU a logical choice for college where he received his B.E.D. in 1975.

Along with several temporary jobs between 1975 and 1978, Smith did a few designs after college. His design work continued as a design associate with Fred R. Soto Interiors in Victoria, Texas. Then, after his father’s death in 1980, he took a twenty-two year detour into teaching.

Moving to Las Cruces was a return to architectural roots. He started a residential design business, DnA - Designs in Adobe in 2006, which he continued until 2013, two years after his election to the City Council.

From 2007 to 2009, Smith also worked as an intern architect at ASA Architects in Las Cruces. During that time, he participated in the design for the remodeling of the main ASA office as well as leading design work on the remodel of the historic Isidoro Armijo House nearby. He also worked on designs for additions to the Third District Courthouse, a Veterans Museum, and a joint Police and Fire training facility, but these three projects have yet to be funded. Smith also led recruitment efforts that resulted in architecture students working as summer interns and others in the field coming on board as regular employees, including one of the former interns.

On the City Council, Smith has brought his architectural background into play in planning for the Plaza de Las Cruces, I³ (I-Cubed), Amador Proximo, the addition to the Las Cruces Convention Center, the Las Cruces Museum of Art moving into the Old Post Office Building, and various other projects that have been or will be undertaken by the City.

Elementary education teacher

This detour occurred when Smith decided to return to college to pursue a graduate degree in architecture. What was planned turned into the unplanned after a scheduled visit with a graduate advisor at the UT Austin College of Architecture and an unscheduled visit to the UT Austin College of Education.

Austin Independent School District

Smith taught at three schools in the AISD: Gullett, Sims, and Galindo Elementary Schools. At each he started several "out of the box" traditions with his students, among them "The Scholars' Code" at Gullett, the "Cadillac Plaque" at Sims, and "Unfair Kickball" at Galindo. Smith also taught magnet school classes at Gullett, promoted the "Campus within a Campus" and "The Academy" at Galindo, represented teachers on the PTA at Sims and Galindo, and led anti-drug efforts at all three schools.

NYOS Charter School

After his first wife's death, Smith accepted a request to teach at NYOS (Not Your Ordinary School). He taught a third/fourth/fifth grade class his first year there and third/fourth grade classes his subsequent three years at the school. He was the teacher representative on the school's governing council, and he coached the high school swimming team the last three of his years at NYOS.

City Council

Smith’s involvement with several non-profits that included numerous requests before the Las Cruces City Council, culminated in it being suggesting in 2010 that he run for the City Council, which he did, winning in his first City race in 2011. Prior to that, Smith held two "publicly" elected positions: first in 1973-1974 on the Student Senate at Texas A&M representing the College of Architecture and from 2002 to 2005 on the NYOS Governing Council representing the teachers.

On the City Council, Smith not only brings his architectural background into play, but his previous career as an educator comes into play also when the City Council discusses school safety, collaborations between Las Cruces Public Schools and the City for after-school and student internship programs, and other ways to improve quality of life and job opportunities through education in Las Cruces.

Mayor Pro Tem

This position is required mainly to ensure that someone is designated to step in to chair meetings or perform other official functions when the Mayor is unavailable. In order to ensure that the City of Las Cruces or the City Council was represented on boards and entities with a seat for the Mayor, Smith as Mayor Pro Tem, took several of the positions listed as "Previous committees or groups" below. Often the Mayor Pro Tem also takes a more visible role in promoting certain projects or in advocating for Council colleagues when they need an advocate with the Mayor, who chairs meetings and sets agendas.

Border wall

While Mayor Pro Tem, Smith authored a City of Las Cruces resolution in opposition to the proposed border wall. His arguments have been that constructing a wall is an outdated and ineffective approach to border security, doing so sends an insulting message to our neighbors and trade partners in Mexico, and it expensively fails to address underlying issues.

School safety

In 2018, he proposed a resolution to better ensure the safety of students in Las Cruces schools. This issue and its connections to gun violence have made the topic a controversial one.

The proposal came after parents and grandparents of students spoke to Smith about the negative impact of threats and school lockdowns on school attendance and learning in the local schools following the February 14 shootings in Parkland, Florida.

The NRA initiated a protest against the inclusion of a request to the New Mexico Legislators and Governor that restrictions on semi-automatic weapons be enacted in the state.  Some protestors attended the Council meeting with weapons in full view while the Council discussed the resolution and listened to input from the public.

A motion to table received unanimous consent after Smith’s predecessor as Councilor for District 2, Dolores Connor, spoke as a member of the public and suggested that a work session on the topic would be advisable.  The work session was held as a joint meeting with the School Board of Las Cruces Public Schools at Oñate High School on May 2, 2018. All schools are gun-free zones in New Mexico; so, there were no guns in evidence this time other than with police and security officers.

Amador Proximo – The Innovation Gin

After attending the 2012 Congress of Cities put on by the National League of Cities in Boston, Smith reported back to the City Council about a number of topics he had seen and learned about at the Congress.  The topic that had the most impact upon him was Boston’s Innovation District.

In 2014, Smith began sharing ideas about converting the largely abandoned “Cotton Gin” area in Las Cruces into an innovation district, suggesting that it might be called “The Innovation Gin.”

In 2015, a blueprint for “Amador Proximo” was developed. It was revisited in 2018, with discussion including the possibility of employing a Tax Increment Development District as a funding mechanism for getting things started.

Arts and Culture

Smith has frequently worked for regional economic development, human rights, and the preservation of the region's history and culture. He has advocated for local artists, construction of a downtown plaza, the city's aquatic center , an increase in the minimum wage based on local circumstances and assisting homeless with safe shelter.

In 2017, he opposed the approach being taken to remove the Doña Ana Arts Council as tenant and manager of the historic Rio Grande Theatre, and he subsequently received their Public Service in the Arts Award, even though the DAAC did choose to leave the RGT, which they had owned at the beginning of the restoration and repurposing project before deeding ownership to the City of Las Cruces.

Current committees and groups

• Animal Service Center of the Mesilla Valley, Former Chair and Current Board Member
• City of Las Cruces Infrastructure/ Capital Improvements Policy Review Committee, Chair
• City of Las Cruces Transportation Policy Review Committee, Chair
• Historic Preservation Ad Hoc Committee, Ex-Officio Member
• I-25/University Ave. Bridge Art Selection Committee, Member
• Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority (MRVDA), Former Chair and Current Board Member
• New Mexico Municipal League Budget Committee, Member
• New Mexico Municipal League Environmental, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Member
• New Mexico State University Campus Planning Committee, Ex-Officio Member
• New Mexico State University Town and Gown Commission, Member
• South Central Council of Governments, CLC Representative
• University Avenue Citizen Design Review Board, Member
• White Sands Missile Range Military/Civilian Council, Member

Previous committees and groups

• Community Unity Coalition Against Bullying, Former Member
• Doña Ana County Juvenile Justice Continuum Board, Former Member
• I-25/Missouri Ave. Bridge Art Selection Committee, Former Member
• National League of Cities Transportation and Infrastructure Services Committee, Former Member
• Rio Grande Council of Governments, Former CLC Representative
• South Central Regional Transit District (SCRTD), Former Board Member and Treasurer
• Southern New Mexico-El Paso Joint Land Use Study, Former Member
• Success Partnership Leaders Circle, Former Member
• TEX-21 Regional Transportation Council, Former Member

Community activities and volunteerism

Paleozoic Trackways Foundation

The establishment of the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument occurred during Smith’s tenure as president of the Paleozoic Trackways Foundation. The greatest credit for its establishment goes to the decades of effort by Jerry MacDonald, but the Foundation provided support and encouragement to MacDonald at critical times and in critical ways along with advocating for the monument at the local, state, and national levels.

Smith, as president, represented the PTF in Albuquerque, at the formal announcement of the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument as part of the 2009 Omnibus Bill by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. Some of the trackways are now on display at the Las Cruces Museum of Nature and Science. PTF acknowledged that its work was done in 2017 and disbanded.

Downtown Las Cruces Partnership

Smith joined what was then Las Cruces Downtown in 2006, shortly after his move home to Las Cruces. While he was a board member of DLCP, the name was changed, efforts were made to diversify board membership and include members from adjacent neighborhoods, and Smith was president in 2009 and 2010.

With an emphasis on citizens feeling downtown is safe and accessible, there are public spaces to enjoy, and pieces of the historic fabric have been preserved, DLCP continues to work with the City of Las Cruces to make the most of New Mexico MainStreet (NMMS), Tax Increment Development District (TIDD), Municipal Redevelopment Area (MRA), and Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) opportunities.

AGUA – Aquatics Get Us Active

The city's new aquatic center had received state funding and was being designed in 2008, but there were concerns about plans, or lack thereof, for a multipurpose pool, which could accommodate instruction, recreation, and competition. A previous group, SWIM! Las Cruces, had been working for years on getting a competitive pool built outside the university so that a broader range of community members could use the pool, and that group had disbanded shortly before the funding was approved; so, AGUA took up the effort. Smith was a founding member and its first president. As it became clearer that the Las Cruces Regional Aquatic Center was going to be built without a multipurpose pool, AGUA's efforts shifted to making such a pool part of Phase II of the Aquatic Center.

Smith was instrumental in seeing that funding from a revolving bond cycle was dedicated to construction of the pool, and it is expected that groundbreaking will occur in 2019, ten years after construction started on Phase I of the LCRAC.

Las Esperanzas

In 2009, Smith joined a group with Las Esperanzas that was working on gateway pocket parks for the historic Mesquite Neighborhood or "Original Townsite" in Las Cruces. Three more gateways were intended to complement the one that have been built on the north side of the neighborhood, Jardín de Mesquite. Of the three, only Entrada del Sol has been built as an east side gateway, but later Councilor Smith designated $10,000 of the proceeds from the sale of two City properties toward the eventual construction of a Tribal Gateway, on the south side of the neighborhood, to commemorate the first people who lived where Las Cruces is now.

The group also worked on unique bus stop designs for the district, but funding for that project failed to materialize.

Mesilla Valley Preservation, Inc.

After the demolition of the historic Miller Home on University Avenue in 2008, Smith joined efforts to better preserve the architectural legacy of the area. He is a founding member and vice president of MVP, Inc., which has conducted five very successful Casas de Antaño tours of historic homes in Las Cruces and Mesilla.

Historic Preservation Coalition

Several efforts to initiate an historic preservation ordinance for Las Cruces have been attempted in recent years, and despite the appearance that they were being incorporated into a City ordinance, over the Mayor's objections on one occasion and without his objection on another, an ordinance has yet to be voted upon by the Council. The most recent effort that included a number of organizations focused on and related to historic preservation has resulted in the establishment of the Historic Preservation Ad Hoc Committee to write an ordinance and the inclusion of an Historic Preservation Officer in the 2018-2019 budget.

Las Cruces Centennial Committee

Smith became involved in a project to commemorate the Centennial of New Mexico's Statehood in 2010 and was soon chairing the committee. Their Centennial SalsaFest in conjunction with the Downtown Las Cruces Partnership kicked off statewide observances in 2011. Their Centennial Parade, one day after the reenactment of the signing into statehood at the exact moment 100 years later, is often remembered as the best parade ever in Las Cruces. Other events included a ball at the historic Amador Hotel

Members of the committee also argued in favor of the newest high school in Las Cruces being named in honor of anniversary of statehood

Team Zane

For nine years, an extraordinary effort has been undertaken in Las Cruces to benefit non-profits in Las Cruces, and Smith has participated six of the years. For the first six years of the Team Zane Celebrity Waiter event, the beneficiary was March of Dimes. In the subsequent three years local nonprofits were the beneficiaries: Jardín de los Niños, CARE, and Hearts for Autism.

Tents to Rents

In 2018, Smith will participate for the third time in the Tents to Rents effort to help some of those who have found themselves homeless to be placed in rental properties. This is an effort initiated by the Community of Hope in Las Cruces to find more permanent housing than Camp Hope for some.

Personal Life

Marriages

Smith and Deborah Mae Greenacre-Smith married in 1996. This was the second marriage for Greenacre-Smith and the first for Smith. They met teaching at Emma H. Galindo Elementary School. As Smith was a fourth grade teacher and Greenacre-Smith was a special education teacher, they taught some of the same students. Greenacre-Smith was a twenty year ovarian cancer survivor in 1999 when her immune system, weakened by radiation and chemo therapy years before, was not strong enough to overcome a case of the flu that worsened into pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Smith and Allison Kuper Smith, daughter of Mary Kay Papen and the late George Kuper, married in 2009. They met in 1989 when both joined their mothers, who were friends, at the Kuper cabin in Cloudcroft for a bicycling weekend. To commemorate their meeting there twenty years before, the Smiths married in Cloudcroft in 2009.

Swimming: Masters & Senior Olympics

Smith restarted his competitive swimming career after seeing a Senior Olympics poster at the gym. He has said his first thought on seeing the poster was regarding how great it was that older folks were staying active. He then says he saw that swimming was one of the events and was impressed. Finally, he says, he noticed that one only had to be 50 to participate, and having just turned 50 himself at that point, he decided to get back in the pool. Smith has subsequently participated in practices as a Masters swimmer and competitions as both a Masters Swimmer and a Senior Olympian in both Austin and Las Cruces.

Smith won first place in the 50 yard Freestyle event with a time of 25.79 seconds at his first national Senior Olympics in Pittsburgh in 2005.

Travel

The Smiths enjoy travel and have been out of the continental U.S. to Panama, Italy, Puerto Rico and the Czech Republic together. They have also been to multiple locations in "the lower 48" since their marriage. Smith often refers to the city planning and cultural awareness benefits, in addition to the recreational ones, when he returns from a trip.

Prior to marrying Allison, Greg had traveled as far north as Fairbanks, AK; as far south as Ushuaia, Argentina; as far east as Constanta, Romania; and as far west as Kauai, Hawaii. Allison has lived in Switzerland and Zimbabwe, as well as traveling as far north as Alaska, as far south as South Africa, as far east as Azerbaijan, and as far west as China.

Category:City Council - Las Cruces

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