Before becoming an alderman, Smith was a school teacher and worked for the Chicago Economic Development Corporation.
In that 1983 election, running alongside Harold Washington, he ran a progressive campaign publicly committed to smashing the old system of patronage and corruption within Chicago.
[1] As alderman, Smith was the main sponsor of Chicago's Smoking Ban, passed in 2005 by a vote of 47–1.
Smith was also Chicago's representative on the Transportation, Infrastructure and Service Steering Committee to the National League of Cities.
Smith was Chairman of the Health Committee, where he led campaigns to promote awareness about sexually transmitted infections (STIs).