Joe Smith is proud to call St. Lucie County home and is pleased to serve as your independently elected Clerk of the Circuit Court. A product of Fort Pierce, Clerk Smith has lived here for nearly all his life.

Elected by the voters of St. Lucie County on November 4, 2008 after serving one term on the Board of Commissioners, Clerk Smith received his Master of Arts degree from The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management in Washington, D.C. He earned a Bachelor's degree from the University of Central Florida. Clerk Smith also earned his Advanced Commissioner Certification through the Florida Association of Counties. Clerk Smith is already working toward earning his Clerk of the Circuit Court certification.

Smith is a native of Fort Pierce and a graduate of Lincoln Park Academy, the same school his mother and sister attended. His first job in our community was working after-school as a production assistant at WQCS 88.9FM, broadcast from the campus of Indian River State College here in Fort Pierce.

Clerk Smith is a recipient of the Bronze Congressional Award, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizen Award, and the coveted Young Floridian Award, in Music. Clerk Smith owes his success to the good sense and strong convictions he learned in our community.

As county commissioner, Smith was a driving force behind the “greening” of St. Lucie County.  He first began pushing the concept to county leaders after attending a national conference in 2005, which helped lead to the environmentally-friendly designs of several county facilities including the Clerk of the Circuit Court building in Historic Downtown Ft. Pierce and the Havert L. Fenn Center.  Additionally, Smith served as Chair of the Executive Roundtable of St. Lucie County, where he worked with other community leaders to improve the lives of children.  He also serves on the board for Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the board of Treasure Coast University Schools--the founding board for the Palm Pointe Research and Educational School at Tradition.

Clerk Smith is a graduate of the Citizens Academy #4 with the St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office, and is a member of the UCF Alumni Association. Smith serves on the Board of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee Counties. Smith also serves on the Board of Trustees at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center and Heart Institute. A life-long Episcopalian, Smith is Junior Warden of the Vestry at St. Simon's Church in Fort Pierce.

Clerk Smith is the youngest of four siblings (James, Michael, Carolyn), proudly educated in St. Lucie County Public Schools and is the son of James H. Smith, Jr. and Carolyn Mackey Smith.