However, local elected officials and residents of West Liberty — a growing community near Iowa City, Muscatine and the Quad Cities — saw an opportunity for Smith to help.

He was asked to run for mayor, and he accepted. He was elected in the town of approximately 3,800 residents in November of 2023.

Smith, 72, moved to West Liberty in February of 2023. He had previously lived in Coralville, moving to that community from Marshalltown not long after serving his final term as a legislator. Smith, a licensed mental health counselor, had also retired from his position at the local Substance Abuse Treatment Unit of Central Iowa (SATUCI).

“I moved to West Liberty to be nearer to my daughter, Allison Paarsmith, son-in-law Travis Paarsmith and granddaughter Gwendolyn. “She is 23 months old and has stolen grandpa’s heart,” he said. “And she likes spending time with grandpa.”

PHOTO BY JACOB LANE/WEST LIBERTY INDEX — Smith was sworn in as the new mayor of West Liberty on Dec. 19, 2023.

Travis is the son of Eric and Sarah Paar of Marshalltown. Not long after taking up residence in West Liberty, Smith was approached by the town’s economic development director, the mayor and others.

He learned that they were interested in him running for mayor.

“That surprised me,” he said. “Personally, I thought I was completely retired (from public service) and was new to the community. They liked the fact I had governmental experience, knew how to run meetings, and make political decisions.”

Those skills were honed while consecutively serving 10 two-year terms as a Democratic state representative for Iowa House District 52.

He was later elected by fellow Democrats as house minority leader and selected by the Iowa Democratic Party to serve as the interim state chairperson in 2020.

Smith cited West Liberty’s growing population and the need for more housing as an opportunity and a challenge.

“The biggest challenge is we are going to continue to grow as a community,” he said. “We want to make sure that growth is done in the right way … that we have the right urban planning and activities in that regard,”

As of March 29, there was not a house for sale in the town.

“When a house goes on the market, it is sold quickly,” he said.

Smith, said he, the economic development director and city manager Lee Gertz, and others, have met with developers to determine how best to meet housing needs.

“We have had productive meetings because the developers know there is strong demand,” he said.

Smith also said West Liberty is the first “minority-majority” town in Iowa – meaning Latinos and other minorities make up most of the population. The Latinos were drawn to employment opportunities at the community’s largest employer — West Liberty Foods (WLF) — a turkey processor.

Smith said the company has been “good to work with” during his tenure as mayor.

WLF had recently initiated layoffs because of changing marketing conditions, as cited by the plant manager. He said WLF, the city council and others are working to keep families in West Liberty.

Smith also touted the West Liberty Community School District as a major asset.

“The school district had the first dual-language program in the state,” he said. “As a result, we have residents who work in Muscatine and elsewhere who want their children to go to school in West Liberty. The school district has served as a model for other districts across the state.”

Smith said he does not get back to Marshalltown as often as he would like, much to the chagrin of friends. And when not tending to mayoral duties, he still finds time to ride one of his five bicycles.

“I plan to serve as long as the citizens of West Liberty will have me,” he said of his new chapter in public service.