Marion County Prosecutor

In 1978, Goldsmith began his political career by defeating Judge Andrew Jacobs Sr., a Democrat, in the race for Marion County Prosecutor. Goldsmith continued to serve in this capacity for 12 years (1979–1991), when the opportunity to run for Mayor of Indianapolis presented itself.

1988 lieutenant gubernatorial election

In 1988, Lt. Gov. John Mutz made an unsuccessful bid for Governor of Indiana, calling upon Goldsmith to be his running mate. Mutz and Goldsmith lost to the Democratic ticket of Evan Bayh and Frank O'Bannon.^[7]

Mayor of Indianapolis

In 1991, Goldsmith ran under the Republican banner for mayor, defeating his Democratic opponent Louis Mahern by a clear majority. Goldsmith served as mayor of Indianapolis for two terms from 1992 to 2000, being reelected in 1995.

1996 gubernatorial election

Goldsmith was the Republican nominee for Governor of Indiana in 1996 against Lt. Gov. Frank O'Bannon. O'Bannon defeated Goldsmith 52% to 47%. Despite being mayor of Indianapolis, Goldsmith failed to win Marion County, which includes Indianapolis. O'Bannon overcame an early deficit in the polls by focusing on his long history of public service, his true Indiana roots, and the alleged mismanagement of the city of Indianapolis while Goldsmith was mayor. The Goldsmith campaign was unable to successfully rebut "allegations of influence peddling" and accusations that cuts in spending had undermined the city's ability to process sewage.^[8] "Polls also showed that his negative campaign ads were unpopular with voters."^[8]

Chief domestic policy advisor

Goldsmith was chief domestic policy advisor to President George W. Bush in the 2000 campaign and then served as Special Advisor to President Bush on faith-based and not-for-profit initiatives. He was appointed chair of the board of directors for the Corporation for National and Community Service in 2001, a position he held until 2010.

Deputy Mayor of New York City

On April 30, 2010, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City announced he would appoint Goldsmith to become Deputy Mayor for Operations, a position he held until August 4, 2011.^[9] He had responsibility for the city's police, fire, sanitation, and buildings departments, among others, in his 14-month period of service.^[10] Goldsmith was tasked by Bloomberg with advancing an innovation agenda in the city and his work led to enhancements to the city's use of technology, improvements in restaurant licensing, and faster processing of building permits.^[11] Goldsmith oversaw the launch of the 311 Service Request Map,^[12] the NYC Simplicity Idea Market employee crowdsourcing platform,^[13] and the Change By Us NYC community collaboration portal.^[14] Goldsmith supervised the repair of the troubled CityTime employee timekeeping system ^[15] and initiated several public-private partnerships in the areas of energy, wastewater management, and parking.^[16] The New York Times suggested that his "short tenure was complicated by controversies, most notably after the city's slow response to a crippling snowstorm in December".^[17]

Just days before his resignation, Goldsmith was arrested after a domestic altercation with his wife and spent two nights in a Washington jail due to a mandatory arrest law.^[18] Charges were not filed and the Goldsmiths contested the police report. Mayor Bloomberg came under criticism for not disclosing the reason for the resignation.^[19] On January 4, 2012, a Washington Superior Court judge found that Goldsmith was, as a matter of law, "actually innocent", and that there was no assault during the argument between him and his wife. A ruling of "actual innocence" requires the defendant to appear before a judge and demonstrate proof that the offense did not occur - a higher standard than showing a lack of evidence of crime.^[20]