[5] He later worked as a senior policy advisor to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage in Auckland before returning to Ruawai to become a beef and sheep farmer on his family farm.
After Greg Gent announced his resignation as mayor of Kaipara District in November 2017, Smith stood in the by-election to replace him.
Smith was successful in the election, held in February 2018, defeating seven other candidates including acting Mayor Peter Wethey, who came second by over 300 votes.
[7] Smith stood for re-election as mayor in 2019, when he was challenged for the position by activist Moemoea Mohowhenua, also known as Benjamin Nathan, best known for denting the America's Cup in 1997.
[10] Following his 2019 re-election, he appointed second-term councillor Anna Curnow as Deputy Mayor to replace Wethey, partly to bring a gender balance to the KDC leadership.