Conan Smith (D)

Commissioner Smith was elected to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners effective January 1, 2005. For 2010 he serves as the chair of the Board. 

Representing the north and west sides of Ann Arbor, Commissioner Smith is the third generation of public servants in his family.  His wife, Rebekah Warren currently serves in the state Senate.  His mother, Alma Wheeler Smith, represented parts of Washtenaw County as a County Commissioner and in the Michigan state Senate and House of Representatives.  His aunt, Nancy Francis, is a Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge.

Commissioner Smith earned his B.A. in Creative Writing and Literature at the University of Michigan's Residential College before serving speech writer on the Democratic staff of the Michigan Speaker of the House.  He directed land programs with the Michigan Environmental Council for six years before becoming the executive director at the Michigan Suburbs Alliance where he works today.  

An ardent environmentalist, Commissioner Smith is a nationally recognized leader on land use, transportation and energy issues. He advises the People and Land program of the W.K.Kellogg Foundation, serves on the board of directors of Michigan Saves and is a Senior National Fellow in the Environmental Leadership Program. In 2010, Commissioner Smith was appointed by Governor Granholm to serve on the Utility Consumer Participation Board.  He is also a board member of the national Climate Communities coalition.