Candidate for
Trustee; Cabrillo Community College District; Trustee Area 6

Alan Smith was born and raised in California. He attended grammar and high school in Southern California. He attended Orange Coast College after high school.

Mr. Smith was drafted into the U.S. Army in January, 1969. He took basic training at Ft. Ord. California and Advanced Military Police Training in Fort Gordon, Georgia. In June, 1970, he received orders to report to the 57th Military Police Company at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. After six months stateside duty, he was ordered to Ft. Dix, New Jersey for Vietnam orientation. He then received orders to report to Headquarters Company, US Army Depot in Long Binh, Vietnam.

While in Vietnam Mr. Smith served in a supply depot security guard company where he was responsible for several miles of perimeter bunker line night time defenses. He was selected as the Soldier of the Month for Saigon Support Command in March, 1970. Mr. Smith received an honorable discharge as a Sergeant E-5 on November 14, 1970.

After military service, Mr. Smith used the G.I. Bill to complete his undergraduate education at Chapman University. He then worked two years in the title insurance business before attending law school. While in law school Mr. Smith worked at the Sacramento legislative offices of California Rural legal Assistance, Inc. and the Western Center on Law and Poverty. He also interned at the United States Attorneys Office and worked briefly for then State Senator John Garamendi.

Mr. Smith received his J.D. from the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law in May, 1979. In law school he received certificates of recognition for excellence in both oral and written advocacy. He was the only member of his law school class to receive honors in both written and oral advcacy. Mr. Smith's constitutional law professor was Anthony Kennedy, now Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Mr. Smith moved to Santa Cruz County in the summer of 1979. In November, 1979, Mr. Smith was admitted to the California Bar and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. He was admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California in 1981, the Central District in 1982 and the Southern District in 1983. He has practiced law with the Santa Cruz County law firm of Grunsky, Ebey, Farrar & Howell since 1982 where he is a shareholder and a member of the management committee.

Mr. Smith is married to Barbara M. Smith, a registered Physical Therapist in Private practice. They have three children. Molly, aged 14, Jenny, aged 13 and Matthew, aged 11. All three children attend Santa Cruz County public schools. Barbara has been a Girl Scout leader and held a number of parent leadership roles at Valencia School in Aptos. Barbara also manages the Aptos Blackouts Girls Under 14 soccer team and co-manages the Aptos Tide Boys under 11 soccer team. The Smith family has lived in Larkin Valley since 1987.

Mr. Smith has a strong interest in local history. He and his daughter Molly developed the web site at Valencia Elementary School http://www.valencia.pvusd.net as a place to record the school's history. Mr. Smith and his daughter interviewed members of the community as a local history project. They obtained a grant to televise and commemorate the school's seventy-fifth anniversary. The guest of honor was Ramon Cortines, former Valencia School sixth grade teacher and later superintendant of the Pasadena, San Francisco and New York School districts. Mr.Cortines was also Assistant Secretary of Education in the Clinto Administration. Mr. Cortines was recently appointed vice mayor of the City of Los Angeles. Community Television videotaped and broadcast the Cortines visit as well as interviews with Leo and Ann Bass which were also filmed and broadcast of Community Television. Ann Bass and Noel Paddon were members of the first Valencia classes to attend Aptos School (now Valencia School). Aptos History Museum Director John Hibble and Capitola History Museum Director Carolyn Swift contributed to this work.

Mr. Smith has been actively involved in leadership roles in the community throughout his legal career. He served on the Board of Directors of the Monterey County Law Library between 1980 and 1982. In 1983 and 1984 he served on the Board of Directors of Friends Outside of Santa Cruz County. Between 1991 and 1995 he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and served as its president in 1993. He has been a member of the Watsonville Rotary Club since 1989 and served on its Board of Directors in various positions. He has served on the Governing Board of the Cabrillo Community College District since 1994. He has served twice as Chair of the College's Governing Board, in 1997 and this year (2006). He has served on the Cabrillo College Foundation for over 9 years years where he has been a member of its Finance Committee.