‘Went Into Campaign Eyes Wide Open’

‘I went into this campaign with eyes wide open.’ — Anyse Smith

PALM DESERT —Anyse Ruth Smith is not the typical type of person this affluent desert city attracts to seek a seat on the city’s governing board, but there is nothing typical about Smith. She has a checkered past that includes being homeless, being in debt, being incarcerated, stealing U.S. mail and more.

Doesn’t exactly make for a catchy campaign slogan.

A self-described “recovering addict,” Smith told Uken Report, that she “I went into this campaign with eyes wide open. I was prepared to be honest; I was prepared to be transparent, accountable for my actions of the past, who I am and everything that I’ve done since then.”

Will it be enough for voters?

Some are already questioning her residency in Palm Desert.

Smith, 38, works as an attorney for Starting Over Inc. and is also employed as a Professor of Law at California Desert Trial Academy. She is one of three residents who have to date entered the City Council race to represent Palm Desert’s newly created District 3, which blankets much of the city’s fast-growing northern region. The others are incumbent Gina Nestande and Stephen Nelson, a tech executive.

Smith’s mother died of cancer when Smith was 16. At 17 years old, Smith began her academic career at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She earned her bachelor’s degree in international Affairs. That led her to the Paris Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi in 2010, where she earned a master’s degree in international law and diplomacy.

After returning to California, Smith started to wrestle with issues of drug and alcohol dependence that led to a period of incarceration and homelessness, and numerous hardships.

“For me, I do refer to myself as a recovering addict because for me it is an everyday part of my life,” Smith said. “I’m part of the work that I have to do to maintain my sobriety. Well, during my, I guess you could say ‘using’ career, I definitely was using a lot of everything, but specifically included in that was methamphetamine, marijuana and alcohol for sure. But it wasn’t only those, those were just the two I would say were primarily the issues.”

Avoidance of “early losses” in life contributed to her addiction, she said.

“I didn’t seek the help,” she said. “It wasn’t that the help wasn’t available, I just thought that I could handle it on my own. And that’s just how I moved forward in life, through college, through my master’s degree. It was during that time. I didn’t have a definition for it. I didn’t know what was happening, but I was dealing with using, and I was drinking a lot more than my friends. Isolating, dealing with depression and anxiety, and I didn’t know, because I hadn’t sought the help, exactly what was happening, but it was a progressive issue that just got worse over time. That ultimately culminated with my not being able to work and ending up unhoused.”

A simple Google search shows that a 27-year-old Wildomar woman was arrested Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 28, 2013, in connection with a dozen community mailbox break-ins across Murrieta that month, authorities said. That woman was Anyse Smith.

Smith was arrested at her home in the 36000 block of Yanas Drive and booked into the Southwest Detention Center in French Valley on suspicion of burglary and fraud. Her bail was set at $5,000. Smith was released that Thursday, jail records show.

The series of thefts, in which someone was forcing open the boxes in the night, began Aug. 3, Murrieta police said at the time, according to The Press Enterprise.

On Aug. 26, 2013, she was admitted to the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission. She refers to that as her “sobriety date.”

So, how was she getting from the CVRM to Murrietta?

Smith said the dates don’t align with what actually transpired. She was arrested in July 2013, but the case was not filed until September 2013. At that time, she was already at the Rescue Mission. Smith provided Uken Report proof of her account, the same proof she had to submit to The State Bar of California. 

Uken Report is not publishing the document she provided the State Bar due to the sensitive nature of some information contained in the document, including driver’s license number, Social Security number and more.

“So that story, yes, that story is true.,” Smith said. “They ran that, and they accused me of that. But ultimately, what I was charged with and what I was convicted of was commercial burglary. And that was along the line with my possession charges and all of it was related to me trying to get money to feed my drug addiction. I was 100% active addiction during that time.”

All of her arrests were directly related to addiction, Smith said.

“It was a very dark time in my life. And for anybody who has had that experience, particularly being on the street, suffering from addiction, whatever it may be, mental health issues, it can bring you to a place that you never expected that you would go to in life,” Smith said. “That’s not an excuse, but it just provides some context for understanding the actions that I took during that time, as well as the consequences. I was very aware of when the consequences came for that, that I was responsible for my actions. Nobody else. I could not blame anybody else. It was nobody else’s fault. The buck stopped with me on those issues.”

Smith acknowledges she was once charged with possession of a controlled substance and was charged with a felony. She spent some time in the Banning Jail. Her original sentence was 120 days, but she was released early, she said.

She seems open and candid about her past, but the true extent of any other crimes she might have committed remain under wraps. She taught herself how to expunge her record and now teaches others how to expunge theirs.

But as a public official, does she owe the public full transparency?

“Oh, 100%. Absolutely,” Smith said. “And going into this, I was aware of that. “I think it is so important to be honest and transparent, and to be accountable for our actions. These are exactly the things that we expect of our elected officials, and that is the way that I live my life. I think it is an entirely fair question, and I’m happy to talk about it because that is part of my journey.”

That’s part of the story, but it’s not the entire story, she said. It’s important to understand where she came from, her drug-related arrests, theft arrest, all those things all happened, Smith said.

And to your question about expunging, that is actually how I got on the road to working in re-entry services now, she said. “When I was trying to clean up my own record, my attorney encouraged me to … I could pay him $600, or I could do it myself. And I said, OK. And that for me started a path to now, I help other people clean their records, become contributing members of society, and I learned how to do that because I had to do it for myself.”

She graduated from CVRM in spring 2014 and from law school in spring 2020.

In 2013, Smith failed to pay her credit card after amassing $4,753 in debt with Capital One. She was unemployed with no ability to pay her bills and meet her commitments, she said.

“Paying off that credit card took years, ” she said. And it was important to me. It was important to me to be accountable and be responsible that I owed that money. So, I paid $50 every month that I could, $25 sometimes just based off my income, and it took me years, but I finally paid off that credit card and that case is now dismissed.”

You purchased a home in 2018 for $890,000. Is that correct?

“Yeah, 2018 sounds about right. And I do want to clarify because I’m aware that for some reason this has been brought up as an issue. So, my family purchased a home in Palm Desert in 2018, and it is myself and my sister, as you may have seen on the records, on the title of that home. And so, like many, we are homeowners in Palm Desert. We’re proud homeowners in Palm Desert, and it’s a family home. It is being rented out.”

In 2023 The Girlfriend Factor released a promotional video. Smith is featured as receiving financial help while going to law school.  In 2018, she was an owner of a $890,000 home. It’s unclear when Smith received the financial aid. Did the Girlfriend Factor know about the home?

“I’m not sure,” Smith said. “I will say, I’m not sure. You may want to reach out to them about that, but I do want to be clear about something though, which I’m sure that you’re probably aware. Being a homeowner doesn’t necessarily translate to having money in your pocket. It’s a name on a document, right? It’s a name on a document, and I don’t own it by myself.”

Three attempts to reach The Girlfriend Factor by both phone and email were unsuccessful.

According to its website: recipients of its Go Girl! Grants are real women with real dreams and goals and stories to tell. To date, it has supported more than 180 local women with more than $700,000 in grants as they pursue four-year degrees or occupational certifications. They must be at least 25 years of age, show financial need and be passionate about a specific educational path that will lead them to a specific career. Some of the schools they’ve attended are College of the Desert, CSUSB, California Desert Trial Academy, Loma Linda School of Dentistry, Brandman University and International School of Beauty.

To date, Smith has been keeping close to her chest the names of political leaders endorsing her. Joey Acuña, Democratic Assembly candidate, attended her announcement gathering. She has been endorsed by The Democratic Women of the Desert; Smith serves as vice president of the organization.

Smith said she knows her story is “going to start some conversation, but I think it’s an important conversation.”

“I think it is important, especially for people with backgrounds like mine, who have then turned their lives around, gotten back on their feet, and work in the community, that we’re not limited by our past,” Smith said. “And our track records can show that. For me, I think it is important to demonstrate to others that there is hope, that the future can be whatever we make it, if we work hard and we stay committed to what it is that we’re supposed to be doing. So, I am excited, honestly, to share this story. I went into this campaign with eyes wide open.”

For me, it’s about the voters, Smith said.

“They deserve to know who they’re voting for, and they deserve the best. And so, to me, it is up to them,” Smith said. “They deserve to know the whole story. My experience, my journey is what has prepared me to lead. I’ve been on the street receiving services and I’ve managed programs that have provided services to people on the street across this desert. I’ve been on the side of being arrested, but I’ve also worked with Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies across this desert to bridge the gap, and help people make better decisions to improve their own lives. For me, it comes down to the voters. They deserve honest, transparent leadership, and that’s what I will provide.”

Nothing typical about this woman.