By Donald H. Harrison 

Some 22 years ago, after working as an aide to County Supervisor Tom Hamilton, Greg Smith was appointed as the county tax assessor.  Since that time, his office has been expanded to include the functions of the county recorder and the county clerk. 

Smith recently announced that he will run this year for another four-year term.  I am absolutely delighted.  I consider Greg Smith to be a model public official. 

Although our paths had crossed many times over my years in journalism, I really came to admire Greg Smith while I was researching my book, Louis Rose: San Diego’s First Jewish Settler and Entrepreneur.

Rose, who came to San Diego in 1850, owned vast tracts of San Diego real estate prior to his death in 1888.  The research for Rose’s biography meant going through seemingly equally vast quantities of microfilmed records in the County Recorder’s office.  I didn’t have the slightest idea how to begin my search through the real estate records; in fact, I was such a neophyte I didn’t even know how to threat the microfilm viewer.

Whenever I had problems—or needed information—staff members in the recorder’s office cheerfully came to my rescue.  I not only checked deeds, but also maps, and other valuable materials that helped me understand Rose’s buying and selling patterns. 

You expect such service to researchers in a library, or at the wonderful archives of the  San Diego Historical Society, but what about at a busy government office? At such places,  haven’t we all experienced some bored bureaucrat telling us to go fill out that form, then go to another line, wait, and maybe, someday, someone would get around to answering our question?

Just the opposite occurs in the various offices administered by Smith.  Whether you are searching for someone’s marriage license, birth or death records, or want to sort through records of property purchases and sales, the staff always cheerfully explains to you how to access the information. If you are having technical difficulties with their equipment or understanding their system, they will come to your assistance and show you just what to do.

If you ever sit at the computer terminals in the recorder’s office, you’ll witness the friendliness among staff members and regular customers such as the people who do land title searches for escrow companies.  It’s a very friendly place.

It soon occurred to me that this didn’t happen by some happy accident.  This is a direct reflection of Smith’s belief in putting customer service first.  Staff members are told that helping consumers to find the information they need is a high priority. I think it’s fairly well known in business, but perhaps not so well known in bureaucracies, that satisfying customers is contagious.  The customers smile; the workers feel good; they in turn smile, and that makes other customers feel good. It's a positive feedback loop.  If only the U.S. Post Office, or the California Department of Motor Vehicles,  understood this!

I’ve had the chance to talk with Smith about his philosophy of customer service, and it turns out he is gung-ho about it.  The county clerk section of his office issues marriage licenses and even performs weddings.  I think Smith enjoys this part of his job more than any other.  Not only has he set aside a small but cheerful room as a wedding chapel, but he also has arranged an area in front of the County Administration Building to serve as a picturesque outdoor locale.  He’s delighted to deputize your friends, or people special to your family, for a day to serve as the officiant at your wedding.  Customer service!

After I wrote the Louis Rose book, I and my former co-publisher of the San Diego Jewish Press-Heritage,  Norman Greene, founded the Louis Rose Society for the Preservation of Jewish History, which is trying to make Jewish history more accessible by building a monument to Louis Rose at the area of Point Loma recently designated by the city government as Louis Rose Point.  Additionally, we are developing on this website an online biographical encyclopedia of the Jewish community.

Greg’s wife, Arlette, became a member of our Louis Rose Society steering committee.  Some people are surprised to learn that the Smiths are Jewish.  They are members of Congregation Beth Israel, and, in addition, Arlette is a leader in the Point Loma group of Hadassah.  Theirs is a family that our Jewish community can be proud of.  And Greg is the kind of public official who sets a fine example for others.