Wayne K. Smith announces his Republican bid for Carbon county commissioner.

Born and raised in Jim Thorpe, Smith graduated from Jim Thorpe Area High School. He went to Penn State and Connor Institute with courses in construction management and building codes.Smith owns Wayne K. Smith Contracting, a business he has successfully operated for over 35 years.Smith sits on the steering board of the building trades program at Carbon Career & Technical Institute.A member of the Carbon County Builders Association for over two decades, Smith served as president for three consecutive terms. He served on the Board of Directors, was a member of the Pennsylvania Builders Association and National Association of Home Builders. While serving with the Pennsylvania Builders Association, he sat on various committees at the state level responsible for reviewing and supporting legislation to benefit the building trades.Smith is a member of Carbon Lodge 242 Free and Accepted Masons of Jim Thorpe, member of the Lilly Royal Arch Chapter No. 181, a 32nd-degree Mason in the Valley of Allentown Consistory, charter member of the Carbon County Shrine Club, member of the Rajah Shrine in Reading, and a 100 Million Dollar Club Member to the Shriners Hospital for Children.Smith is a life member of the Phoenix Hose Company of the Jim Thorpe fire department. For the past 14 years, he has been involved with the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.Smith is a member of St. John's Lutheran Church (Heights), Jim Thorpe, where he serves on the church council. He belongs to the Juke Box Cruisers and is a member of the Carbon County Republican Committee.Smith has been married to Sally (Mase) Smith for 35 years. They have a daughter Bridget, wife of Eric Johnston of Jim Thorpe and grandson Blake.Smith has never been politically driven, but feels that the county's future needs a different direction. His goal will be to run the county as a sound business venture.Smith announces Duane A. Dellecker from Lehighton will be his running mate for Carbon County Commissioner.For more information,

www.facebook.com/carboncommonsense or contact Wayne at

salway@ptd.net.