Ada Smith

Ada Lavern Smith (April 18, 1945 – March 10, 2025) was an American politician from New York. A Democrat, Smith served in the New York State Senate from 1989 to 2006.

In 2006, Senate Minority Leader David Paterson stated that Smith had engaged in "a pattern of inappropriate, unprofessional and often abusive behavior". A staffer accused Smith of menacing her with a knife in 1996. In 1998, Smith was taken into custody after engaging in an altercation with a police officer. Smith was removed from a Senate leadership post in 2004 following a criminal conviction that arose from an incident at an Albany parking garage. She was convicted of misdemeanor harassment in 2006 after throwing hot coffee onto a member of her staff. Following the coffee attack, she was stripped of a stipend and a state-issued vehicle. She was defeated by Shirley Huntley in a 2006 Democratic primary.

Early life and education Smith was born on April 18, 1945 in Amherst County, Virginia, and was raised in New York City.

Career In the 1980s, Smith worked as a deputy city clerk. She employed more than 200 staffers during her Senate tenure. Challenger Shirley Huntley defeated Smith in the September 2006 Democratic primary and went on to win the general election later that year.

Complaints, altercations, and crimes A 2006 article in the New York Daily News stated that Smith had "a history of bizarre, allegedly abusive behavior that dates back nearly 20 years".

Smith was taken into custody in 1998 after allegedly biting a police officer in Brooklyn. Smith allegedly argued with police when she was unable to drive past a police vehicle and officers declined to move it. (The officers were in the process of making a traffic stop.) Smith refused to exit her vehicle and refused to provide identification. When one officer reached into Smith's vehicle, Smith allegedly bit his hand. She was subdued with mace, handcuffed, and brought to the police station.

In 2004, Smith faced legal difficulties following an incident at a state parking garage in Albany. Smith allegedly cursed at a state trooper, defied his order to hand over her identification, and drove into the parking garage. The state trooper testified that he had to step out of the way of Smith's oncoming vehicle so that his foot would not be run over. Smith's actions led to a conviction; following that conviction, then-Senate Minority Leader David Paterson removed her from a leadership post.

In 2004, a former Smith staffer, Wayne Mahlke, alleged that Smith had subjected him to verbally abusive comments relating to sexual orientation. The following year, the state's Division of Human Rights dismissed his claims due to insufficient evidence. Smith's lawyer denied the charges and accused Jackson of lying to authorities, claiming that Jackson actually told the senator she needed to lose 100 pounds. In the aftermath of the coffee attack, then-Senate Minority Leader David Paterson stripped Smith of her state-issued car, her honorary title, and a $9,500 per year stipend attached to her leadership position. Paterson stated that the coffee attack was the latest example of what he called "a pattern of inappropriate, unprofessional and often abusive behavior" from Smith.

Smith was charged with assault in the third degree, a misdemeanor, in connection with the coffee attack on Jackson. She pleaded not guilty in Albany City Court.

In 2006, the New York Daily News referred to Smith as "'the Wild Woman of Albany'".