09-Jun-2011
John Arthur Smith Receives Spirit of Bipartisanship Award

John Arthur Smith was one of ten New Mexico state lawmakers honored May 25 by New Mexico First for his exceptional leadership and bipartisan contributions to our government.

The awards highlighted the annual First Forum lecture series in Albuquerque, and this year New Mexico First hosted keynote speaker Cokie Roberts discussing “The Politics of Good Government.” Roberts is best known for her work on ABC and National Public radio. She was joined at the event by her ABC colleague Sam Donaldson who served as moderator for the evening.

Donaldson read this tribute to State Senator Smith:

“John Arthur Smith once said, ‘You get politicians and money together, and it’s like stampeding buffaloes.’   And in his role as chair of the legislative finance committee, this Deming Democrat is highly regard for his ability to rein in the stampede and ferociously fight for sound fiscal policy. Republican colleague Sue Wilson Beffort has called Smith ‘a master of the fiscal process with the budget.’ And with the state’s economic turndown, he is widely praised for helping produce a budget this year without tax increases and widespread employee layoffs.”