Education
Born in Pasadena and raised in Santa Clarita, Smyth attended local public schools and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric and Communications from the University of California, Davis, where he was also a two-sport athlete.
Born in Pasadena and raised in Santa Clarita, Smyth attended local public schools and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric and Communications from the University of California, Davis, where he was also a two-sport athlete.
He succeeded Keith Richman who was term-limited. Prior to being elected to the state legislature, Smyth served on the Santa Clarita City Council, where he was first elected in 2000 and re-elected in 2004. During his time on the council, Smyth twice served as mayor, first in 2003 and again in 2005.
Smyth began his career as a Field Representative for the California Republican Party.
In 1994 he was hired by the late State Assemblyman William "Pete" Knight. In 1996, Smyth served as campaign manager for Knight"s successful State Senate campaign.
Other than Garrett Biggs, who served as on-site manager for the late Assemblyman Nao Takasugi"s successful re-election campaign, Smyth was the youngest on-site manager for any state legislative race in California at that time. In 2000, Smyth moved to the private sector to operate his own consulting business.