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Democratic Committee’s annual banquet to feature Smikle Jr. as keynote speaker

JAMESTOWN — National television and news commentator Basil Smikle Jr. will be keynoting the Chautauqua County Democratic Committee’s annual banquet to be held this year on Thursday, June 29 at the Gov. Reuben Fenton Historical Society in Jamestown. County Executive candidate Mike Ferguson of Fredonia will share the keynote duties.

Smikle Jr. is the executive director of the New York State Democratic Committee and a Ph.D. candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University concentrating in Education and Politics. He holds appointments as an adjunct lecturer at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and the City University of New York’s Murphy Institute for Professional Studies. His commentary is regularly featured on local and national media outlets and his writing has appeared in the New York Times, Salon and The Hill, where he was a contributor.

Recognized as a staunch advocate for public service and education equity, he is quickly becoming part of the next generation of thinkers and policy advocates. In 2010, Basil was featured in the L.A. Times as “Harlem’s New Political Elite.” In his mid-30s, City Hall Magazine named him one of 50 rising stars in New York Politics. United States Senator Cory Booker called him a “much sought-after consultant.”

During a brief run for New York State Senate, Smikle Jr.’s campaign gained national attention for his reforms in education and government. An early profile in the Wall Street Journal led to a feature in a New York Magazine cover story on the next generation of African American leaders. The New York Daily News endorsed Basil, calling him a “fresh thinking…school reformer.” The New York Post “enthusiastically” endorsed saying “New York needs such vibrant leadership.”

Smikle Jr. was a senior aide to Hillary Rodham Clinton during her first campaign for Senate and later on her Senate staff. Mrs. Clinton called Smikle Jr. a “key advisor and tremendous public servant … who makes sure all voices are heard.”

Ron Kirk, the former mayor of Dallas and President Obama’s former US Trade Representative, noted that Smikle Jr. can “negotiate the politics of any community and knows how to marry it with sound public policy.”

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1993 from Cornell University in Industrial and Labor Relations. In 1996, he received a Master of Public Policy degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. While there, he was awarded the Columbia University Departmental Fellowship and the Public Affairs Fellowship.

A child of Jamaican immigrants, he is inspired by his father, a retired textile worker, and mother, a long-time public school special education teacher to give back to the community. Smikle Jr. mentors young people in schools across this city to promote public service and education. He created a literacy program in Flushing Queens, where fifth graders are encouraged to read, write and expand their vocabulary. As a member of the community service organization 100 Black Men, Basil helped start the Eagle Academy in the Bronx.

Tickets for the dinner are $99 each and proceeds go to support the election of Democrats in Chautauqua County. The Democrats each year celebrate the county’s heritage and this year will be celebrating the foods and history of the English and Irish settlers of Chautauqua county. Information and tickets can be found at chqdem.org.

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