Baltimore Co. Exec. Smith undergoes successful triple-bypass

Baltimore Co. Exec. Jim Smith (D)Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith, Jr. (D-Reisterstown), underwent a successful emergency triple-bypass open heart surgery this morning.

He checked into the St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson on Tuesday morning for "minor chest pain," and cardiac specialists decided to upon surgery this morning to correct blockages.

"I want to thank everyone who has been so supportive," his son, Michael Paul Smith, said in a statement. "Knowing my father, he will be running circles around the rest of us in a matter of weeks."

The current president of the Maryland Associations of Counties, Smith will spend the next few weeks in recovery and will not be able to attend the annual summer convention in Ocean City. His campaign committee, Friends of Jim Smith, has a reception scheduled for Thursday evening there.

Smith cannot seek re-election in 2010 due to term limits, but may have his sights on statewide office. He and Comptroller Peter Franchot (D-Takoma Park) had a number of clashes earlier this year, which some view as a precursor to a 2010 primary challenge.

Besides his two terms as Baltimore County Executive, one of the most coveted posts in Maryland government, Smith served on the County Council from 1978 to 1985, when he was appointed Associate Judge of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. He stepped down from that post in 2001 to run for executive, which he was first elected to in 2002.