Smith, Raymond J., 1928-

Raymond J. Smit was born on September 21, 1928 in Detroit, Michigan. He received degrees in civil engineering (B.A., 1950; M. A., 1955) from the University of Michigan. Upon graduation, he took a position at Ayres, Lewis, Norris, and May, a firm of consulting engineers, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Raymond Smit's political activities began in the late 1950s when he became involved in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County Republican affairs. From 1958 to 1962, he worked for the campaign committees of various Republican candidates for local offices, and served as director of Ann Arbor's Fifth Ward Republican Committee. In December 1962, he became chairman of the Ann Arbor Republican Committee, and served in that position until May 1965. In addition, he served on the Ann Arbor Housing and Zoning Board of Appeals from 1961 to 1966. As a reward for his service to the party, Smit was chosen to be an alternate delegate to the 1964 Republican National Convention.

Raymond Smit was first elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1966 from the 53rd district, which then consisted of Ann Arbor city and township. Subsequently, he was re-elected in 1968 and 1970. In 1972, he was elected from the newly altered 52nd district which included only a small portion of Ann Arbor along with new territory added to the district primarily in eastern Washtenaw County.

As a State Representative, Raymond Smith served on the following House Standing Committees: Conservation, Environment, and Recreation; State Affairs; Colleges and Universities; Economic Development; and Roads and Bridges. During his years in office, he sponsored and authored legislation relating to his various committee assignments. Legislation in the area of air and water pollution control was his primary interest. In 1968, he was the chief sponsor of Michigan's pollution control bond issue. The bond issue, once approved by the voters of Michigan, was implemented through enactment of new laws and amendments or revisions of existing statutes.

Smit was also the prime sponsor of what was dubbed as the "Truth in Water Pollution" bill that initiated a new concept of pollution surveillance. Through this legislation, industry was to pay the cost of monitoring its uses of state water resources. In 1974, Smit retired from the State House in order to pursue his career in civil engineering.

From the guide to the Raymond J. Smit Papers, 1960-1975, (Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan)