About Jarrett

Network Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Government Relations Advocate
March 2021 - Current

Councilmember, City of Takoma Park Ward 5
July 2012 - Present · 10 yrs 

 Associate Broker Capitol CREAG, LLC
February 2012 - March 2018 · 6 yrs 
A full service Commercial Real Estate Consulting Firm 

Former Chairman,  Current member of COLTA 
City of Takoma Park - Commission on Landlord and Tenant Affairs
 April 2004 - July 2012 · 8 yrs
​The city council appointed position adjudicates cases between landlords and tenants.

Associate Broker, Fairfax Realty
2010 - 2012 · 2 yrs

Principal, The Forsythe Group, LLC Commercial Real Estate Services
January 2002 - October 2009 · 7 yrs 
​A commercial real estate services firm specializing in tenant representation.
Network partner, RE/MAX Commercial Real Estate

Councilmember Smith is a devout Roman Catholic.  He is months away from completing his Executive Masters in Public Administration from The University of Pennsylvania.  He graduated from Howard University in 1993 with a Bachelors of Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance.   He is an avid reader, movie enthusiast, golfer, and fisherman. He is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi. He and his wife Sonya live in Ward 5 of Takoma Park, Maryland.

Always a proponent for small businesses and fiscal prosperity, Councilmember Smith’s volunteer effort for Accion USA was to understand available financial solutions to small businesses perceived to be disadvantaged.  Accion USA is a non-profit micro-lending organization that is focused on bringing affordable micro-financing solutions to small business owners who need options. With a nationwide reach as being the largest domestic micro-lending network, Accion has helped thousands of small business owners grow and thrive. Since its inception, Accion has lent over $380 million to small business owners.

The largest business entity in the city of Takoma Park was Washington Adventist Hospital. As the formation of the Washington Adventist Hospital Land Use Committee (WAHLUC) was taking place, Jarrett would again see a purpose he wanted to become involved in. The charter for the organization was to advise on issues associated with the future use of the hospital’s campus in the event the hospital relocated its headquarters outside of Takoma Park’s Ward 5. The committee was in place for a fixed amount of time, but during his involvement, Councilmember Smith established himself as one of Takoma Park’s thought leaders. Given the latter, Jarrett made the decision to compete in a special election to represent the city as the Councilmember for Ward 5.

After his being elected to City Council, Jarrett immediately became more involved in matters that were of importance to Takoma Park, the state of Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington, DC.  Jarrett was appointed to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) and served on their Human Services and Public Safety Policy Committee (HSPSPC). 

Willing to challenge the status quo, some of Councilmember Smith’s accomplishments include:
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Elected and re-elected to Takoma Park City government to represent Ward 5 for 5 terms; many votes cast
included ‘’first time” voters.

Mr. Smith currently serves on several government and administrative bodies, which include:

• National League of Cities: Transportation Infrastructure Services Committee and the Technology Committee. Jarrett spoke at a forum sponsored by the Chair of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Task Force at the Congressional Visitors Center.​
• Raised $2.3M for a major construction redevelopment effort in the city of Takoma Park’s Flower Avenue;  the effort involved funding from the Federal Transportation Alternative Program (TAP), the State Highway Administration, and Montgomery County.
• Maryland Municipal League Summer 2015 Convention Speaker & Panel Member; The discussion/presentation topic,“Smart Growth America in Takoma Park."
• Conceived and developed a scholastic achievement program titled “Lunch & Learn” that is a youth summer literacy program featuring breakfast and lunches while enrollees learn or improve math, reading, and spelling skills. Program is designed to close the achievement gap that exists among youth who are underprivileged vs. privileged. The program is its ninth year.
• Conceived and administered a “kick start” $20,000 Anti-Littering initiative in 2013 for the city of Takoma Park; the program’s intent was to promote no littering in the city through education and cleanup programs primarily focused on hotspots; a yearly set aside of $12,000 is used to maintain the program’s success.
• Supported the Safe Grow Act 2014, which bans the use of pesticides on both residential and commercial lawns in the city of Takoma Park. Realizing that the Safe Grow Act for Takoma Park was part of a national effort, Councilmember Smith developed and included language in the Safe Grow Act legislation for Takoma Park that ensures regular water testing of Sligo Creek to ensure its safety. Through this advocacy, a very large institution in Takoma Park stopped its pesticide use before the ordinance went into effect. Additionally, this effort garnered the city of Takoma Park national recognition.
• Responsible for a paradigm shifting voting initiative in 2013 that amends the Takoma Park voting laws to allow disenfranchised former felons the ability to vote once they have been released from incarceration and become residents of Takoma Park.
• Authored a op-ed titled “Takoma Park Passed Other Voter Reforms” in May 2013 bolstering an issue important to the Democratic Party; Jarrett made a couple of television appearances covering two of his community programs, and has been quoted several times in various newspapers.
• Derailed a Montgomery County Zoning Text Amendment effort in 2015, which is unprecedented in that it was a major Takoma Park institution’s effort to change city land use laws, which ultimately apply to all of Montgomery County. Mobilized community activists, city elected officials, and county elected officials to stop the proposal while it was still in the Planning Housing and Economic Development Committee.
• Sponsored numerous benevolent efforts throughout the city including a Takoma Park youth backpack program featuring free backpacks with school supplies to youth recipients. Orchestrated a free Food Pantry grocery delivery service for eligible recipients monthly that began in 2013.
• Spearheaded a Takoma Park-based Non-Profit’s college bound program funding supplementation by garnering the support of the entire Takoma Park City Council to award $15,000 to the organization; this was a first time direct grant to the organization from the city.
• Marshalled a $35,000 grant to Takoma Park based Non-Profit whose mission is to empower the most disadvantaged in our community by analyzing their greatest needs and facilitating actions to address those needs.
• Successfully proctored a $2,500 grant to support a Takoma Park based non-profit organization’s application to former Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown’s Health Enterprise Zone initiative. In so doing, Jarrett garnered the attention and support of Maryland senior veteran political leaders: County Executive Ike Leggett, then Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin, Former Maryland State Delegate & then Gubernatorial Candidate Heather Mizeur, and Montgomery County Council Tom Hucker.
• 2015 Martin Luther King Community Event keynote speaker and master of ceremonies.  
• Appointed to the Maryland Chapter of the Local Leaders Council - The organization is comprised of 220 National members and is invitation only. It is the Smart Growth America organization whose composition is made up of elected and appointed officials including Governors, business owners, bicycle activists, parents, and organizations across the country. 

Through all of his accomplishments, Jarrett believes in the community of Takoma Park. Takoma Park is known as one of the most liberal and progressive cities in the United States. The latter is something every resident of Takoma Park can be proud of. A proponent for continuous advancement, Councilmember Smith once said, “change takes participation”.  Nimble with respect to his Ward 5 responsibilities, Jarrett’s vision has been shaped by the lens of his early childhood observations. Jarrett invites the participation of every resident in the city of Takoma Park. It is through participation that the city can continue to thrive, maintain its progressive status, and lead the nation.

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