Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith entered office in 2002 as a renaissance man of sorts, both figuratively and literally.

The former county councilman and Circuit Court judge reintroduced the term "renaissance" to county residents—a buzz word for the redevelopment of troubled areas of the county.

The word became part of Smith's signature piece of legislation known as Renaissance Revitalization Regulations—a pilot program that sought to give residents a prominent place in negotiations over development of specially designated areas. Developers were required to meet with citizens and reach an 80 percent consensus on a plan before it could move forward.

Despite the fact that it never fully materialized as planned, Smith said he believes the initiative was successful because it spurred communities into long-term action, one of his proudest accomplishments.

Smith sat down for an hour-long interview with Patch in the waning days of his administration to talk about the last eight years. He talked about the renaissance efforts, Hurricane Isabel and what the future might hold, including a possible run for governor.

Patch: How has Baltimore County changed over the course of the eight years you've been (in office)?

Smith: I think that more people are participating in Baltimore County in their neighborhoods and communities than were participating before. I think that there is a sense of ownership among people in communities in Baltimore County that maybe they didn't feel as fully as they feel now.

And you might say, "What makes you say that?" I think that the approach that I took with the Renaissance Roundtables. With being so available to community associations.

I can remember when David Marks introduced me at the Perry Hall Improvement Association the first time I was there to speak, he said … "This is the first time we've had a county executive come to speak to us when it wasn't an election year." I ended up doing about 60 community meetings.

Patch: But those (Renaissance Roundtable meetings) were all done mostly in your first year. Why did you discontinue the Renaissance Roundtables?

Smith: Well, because the people had taken them over. I just had to go back to continue to demonstrate the interest that I had and I didn't have to do that personally. That's what I was getting at — from all this going, me going out to the community, the community bought into that and started the Dundalk Renaissance Corporation to keep that renaissance moving forward. They took it over. Essex Middle River White Marsh Renaissance Corporation, Randallstown Steering Committee, Tomorrow's Towson. The people just came and took ownership so it wasn't a question of going out to find out what the community believed it's assets were, it's strengths. What they believe the challenges were. What they believed their resources were to maximize the assets and address the challenges. What they thought the county's resources were to be available to help them. We had already done that. We didn't need to go out and re-do it.

What we were really involved in mostly in the second term was the implementation of those visionary plans that had been developed in Pikesville and Reisterstown, in Woodlawn. We were in the execution phase.

I think that all that groundwork, the Renaissance Redevelopment Pilot program which engaged people. That passed the County Council because there was so much community support for it. In a way (the council) was a little concerned the executive was getting a little too much involved in land use management, which was their bailiwick when I proposed the Renaissance Redevelopment Pilot program but the communities and the people in the communities were very excited about it.

Patch: It took you a long time to get that community buy-in. It took you almost 18 months.

Smith: It does take time to do this. It does take time to build credibility, to build confidence in the community. To actually get them to give of their time and talent to a community-based initiative. And we spent a lot of time doing that. I think the foundation work we put into that and the preparation we made bore terrific results because you can just look at all the things that were accomplished.

Just take Towson for example. Because of the Towson (Urban Design Assistance Team) we had 150 to 200 people—business people, residents—participating in the visioning of Towson that came up with that plan. The activists that have always been speaking for Towson were a participant in it, at least for a while. Some of them dropped off but some of them stayed with it. Their voices were heard but they weren't the only voices heard. So that when that plan came out and said, "We need more residential living in the Towson core," that was the people saying that. That wasn't county government saying that.

Patch: But some would say that for all this community involvement, the Towson UDAT, the renaissance corporations, the community interest in Renaissance Regulations, that a lot of these communities are still in various stages or haven't even begun to realize any of the promise that was the idea of revitalization.

Smith: I don't agree with that when you say "haven't realized any of the promise." I think that's dead wrong.

Patch: Some communities would say that they haven't started to see that.

Smith: Well, I'm not suggesting there aren't some communities, I don't know which ones specifically you're talking about, but Towson for example, what do we have? We have The Palisades, The Quarters, The Promenade. None of those projects were appealed by the community to the Board of Appeals, the Circuit Court, to the Court of Special Appeals, to the Court of Appeals.

We introduced 1,800 residences into the Towson. Probably not that many because we didn't do Towson Manor Village because it didn't come to pass but it's been approved. It's been approved without any appeals. That is folks seeing and having an influence on what happens.

Do you think we'd have The Palisades now if, in fact, the development plan had been appealed?

That wouldn't even exist yet because that's a two or three year process.

Patch: But you still have a lot of the same issues we were talking about 30, 40 years ago. In (Eric Rockel's) book, there is a section where (former County Executive) Ted Venetoulis talks about the necessity of revitalizing the Reisterstown Road corridor in Pikesville and the Eastern Avenue corridor in Essex and Middle River and the Towson corridor in the downtown core of Towson. This was back in 1974 and it's 2010. That conversation is still very relevant and (Venetoulis') comments are still as dead-on today as they were (then).

Smith: His comments are still relevant but the landscape has changed.

His comments may be relevant because that may always be the case. That's because renaissance is so important. You always have to be looking at renewing, particularly in Baltimore County where we're so land-use conscious. We're not planning to allow people to build cities up 83 beyond the URDL (urban rural demarcation line).  We're not planning to let Reisterstown become a city outside the densely populated areas outside of Reisterstown. That's why this is going to be an ongoing issue.

But if you're going to suggest to me that there's not been significant response to number one, the renaissance program, and, number two, to the Towson Visionary UDAT process, I just don't agree with you.

We don't have the same. We have some vacant places as you come away from the circle, sure we do. And the recession certainly has set us back. I mean, but for the recession, Towson Circle III would certainly be under way.

But for the recession, Towson Commons would look very, very different.

These are the realities. You have to deal with that. That's life and you can't change life but you can change a community. The Towson core has been changed.

If you don't see that, I just don't think you're looking.

One of the goals of the Towson UDAT was we want people on the street after 4:30 when the government offices close. The only way we can get that is if people live here. So, we've responded to that. That's just one example that flowed out of the Towson UDAT and I think the Towson community clearly bought it and I think it's pretty clear that that's what they want because there was no appeal on these things.

Go into Essex-Middle River. You don't think Essex-Middle River is different now, you haven't talked to anybody down there or you haven't talked to enough people down there.

Patch: Are you surprised, or in any way disappointed, that Renaissance Regulations didn't get used?

Smith: No, I'm not disappointed because I think what happened with the Renaissance Regulations is: number one, the council changed the (Planned Unit Development law) and they provided more opportunity for input, which also provided more opportunity for consensus because there was more opportunity for input and developers had to discuss things with the community.

So yeah, I think Renaissance Redevelopment Pilot Program had a big impact. Not necessarily directly but certainly indirectly.

I also think the people in communities have a different attitude about approaching a development project because they have this idea that they do play a role but they've got to be responsible in the role that they play.

That's the way I see it. It may not be the way you see it, but that's the way I see it.

Patch: Let's go back four years then. We sat in this room almost exactly four years ago as you were about to be sworn in for your second term and I asked you if there would be a focus on tinkering with the Renaissance Regulations because it hadn't been used and whether or not, at some point, you were going to declare it unsuccessful. You said at the time that if we were still talking about the issue in two years you might have to go back and re-evaluate the success of the program. We're four years beyond that and still it has not been used. Four years later, how do you reassess the Renaissance Regulations, and in hindsight could it have used some tinkering?

Smith: How I assess them is that they affected the PUD process which made the PUD process more usable and more inclusive and that was a good thing.

I did not propose to extend the sunset on the Renaissance Redevelopment Pilot Program. But guess who did. The County Council initiated that themselves so they extended the Renaissance Redevelopment Pilot Program. So they obviously believed that whether it was directly influential on the development process in Baltimore County, indirectly it's good to have because they extended it.

I had nothing to do with that. I was just going to let it sunset because I thought it had a very positive impact on the way the PUDs were handled.

I recognized … that a lot of lawyers and developers believe that the PUD process is a better process but the PUD process has been greatly improved because of the response that the council made to the introduction to the Renaissance pilot program.

Patch: Let's talk a little bit about what you see as your most significant or lasting achievement as a county executive.

Smith: The involvement of people across the county, I think is the most important thing. It was the thing I was most concerned about because when I was thinking about resigning from the bench, I knew that the renaissance mission was not going to be successful unless people in the communities across this county bought into it and they became players, stakeholders, owners.

I'm not being self-deprecating. I'm not a dynamic speaker. I'm not a charismatic public figure. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to inspire, or whatever you want to say, people to become engaged.

I don't know how it happened, but they did.

We followed up with what came out of those meetings.

This was also a major factor in getting people to take over the movement, take over the mission, whatever you want to call it.

I picked the low-hanging fruit of their vision and we implemented it. Then we got into the difficult, the more expensive but I promised people that their work, their time spent developing a plan for their community would not sit in a book on a shelf gathering dust.

I had everyone focused on let's take the easy things. What are some of the easy things that we can do. Let's get them done so that the people will see  we meant what we said and we'll keep them with us. We'll keep them engaged and that worked.

That involvement is something that will last, I think, longer than the Smith administration. These folks will be continuing to look toward implementation.

You talk about Pikesville and I think it's dramatically changed from the time of Rockel's book. You maybe able to say the same language applies because things age, businesses close, new businesses come in, facades age and get out of date and new facades have to be built.

You're always going to have that in a business district but you've got people implementing what has to change. That's a good thing and that bodes well for any community.

Pikesville has been dramatically changed.

Pikesville is very proud of itself and rightly so.

I think Essex-Middle River is very proud of itself. Dundalk is very proud of itself if the Eagle would let them be proud. The Eagle loves to run them down, tell them that you know … which really (pause) I'm not happy about.

When I can go and look at all these things and people who have gotten engaged, that, I think, is the biggest accomplishment of this administration.

Patch: There are some who would suggest that the eight years of the Jim Smith administration define you as a good caretaker of the county but not really a lot of bells and whistles. How would you define your administration?

Smith: I would say renaissance and the middle class. I don't know what bells and whistles people want.

I can tell you what we've done. We built eight schools in eight years. We renovated many, many more schools.

We spent over $1 billion in school construction and renovation in the last eight years.

We have built 13 artificial safety turf fields that never existed before. It may not be a bell or whistle but it's something that builds community spirit and that provides 24-7 utilization of these athletic facilities so that our children can play and learn sportsmanship and young adults can get some time on the fields because they can play at night under the lights.

Community centers, the Randallstown Community Center, the West Inverness Community Center, the Watersedge Community Center, the Dundalk Community Center.

They're not bells and whistles but to me they're providing opportunity. particularly in our older neighborhoods.

As I've said, renaissance isn't just about bricks and mortar, sidewalks, curbs and gutters. Renaissance is providing opportunity in our older neighborhoods for people to be the best that they can be. In order to do that, they have to have good schools which is why we concentrated on schools.

First thing they have to have public safety. It's not bell and whistle but it's the foundation on which I was going to build.

It's a meat and potatoes function of government. We had some areas of our county that were concerned about that very issue—the meat and potatoes foundation upon everything else in county government is built.

Libraries. Schools are the heart of a community but libraries are its soul.

We got a library in Lansdowne. It hadn't had a library. The probably most economically challenged area in Baltimore County didn't have a library.

What was the result? The next summer after we opened the library in May, the next summer the summer reading program, the school across the county that had the greatest participation in the summer reading program: Lansdowne Elementary School with 87 percent of the students having participated in that program. That was very exciting to me

That was a bell. A big bell, ringing loudly.

Patch: Did Dutch (Ruppersberger) have any advice for you when you were starting off?

Smith: Team work! Team work! I agree with him. You have to have a good team and you have to let them use their imagination and their creativity. You got to lay out a clear mission for them—which I did.

One of the things I think helped all our departments collaborate was (Hurricane) Isabel.

Isabel was a defining moment in my administration. It was a horrible thing but I think it gave credibility that this administration cares and this administration can respond.

Patch: Anything about the job surprise you, something you can only know having done (the job)?

Smith: Yeah, you know, how critical the media is going to be and how they're looking for a bad angle, is one of the things I'd say is one of the things I felt first hand. It's one of the things judges don't deal with too much and on the council, if I dealt with it I don't remember it too much. I don't think council members are point persons as much as the county executive.

Patch: Do you feel you were treated unfairly (by the media)?

Smith: No, no, not at all. Over all, not at all. I think I had a good relationship with the press, to be honest with you.

Patch: What advice will you give Kevin Kamenetz as he comes in?

Smith: I don't know that Kevin is going to need any advice. He's got 16 years experience and has been pretty active already in moving forward with the administration as he sees it and I'm not sure he's going to need any advice.

Patch: What's next for Jim Smith?

Smith: He wants to stay active in some aspect of public service and may look down the road to running for governor but that's a long way off. In political terms, it's even longer than that.

Patch: What are your prospects in terms of running for governor? Do you think there's a stigma attached to you in any way because you tinkered with the idea of running for comptroller and pulled back and then you moved to Cockeysville and talked about, more than talked about a run for state senate because you were talking to senate President Mike Miller and he was expecting that you were going to get in the race and then you pulled back from that. Do you think contributors and supporters might be wary of getting involved in a third possible campaign without knowing that you're really running?

Smith: I hope not.

Patch: How do you combat that?

Smith: I'm not sure that I'm going to have to combat it. If I know I am running for governor in a couple of years I don't think that's going to be an issue.

Patch: What about being out of the public eye for four years? Whatever you do public policy-wise won't like be as high profile as (being county executive).

Smith: It won't be as high profile as this but I have a lot of very good relationships across the state because of the things that I've already done and two years is not that long a period of time for relationships.

It's a long period of time in the political spectrum but it's not a long period of time for people to forget me completely. I have very good relationships across the state.

Patch: What kind of public policy initiatives or what area of public police draws the most interest for you?

Smith: Education is big and I think education is going to have challenges because there is going to be less money and because of the pension and post-retirement benefits issue that the state has to deal with. That is going to affect education all across the state and it will affect education in Baltimore County and I think we're going to have a lot of challenges in education.

Patch: Is that a possible hint at where you hope to land?

Smith: You just asked me what public policy interested me.