Cayuga County Legislator Bernie Smith has been recovering at University Hospital in Syracuse following triple bypass surgery, Clerk of the Legislature Lee Brew said Wednesday.

Smith, who represents District 3 (Montezuma, Mentz and Throop), underwent a 5 1/2-hour successful operation Feb. 16 after a heart catheterization revealed all of the arteries

to his heart were blocked, Brew said.

He is expected to be released from the hospital today or Friday. Recovery will likely take four to five weeks, Brew added.

Smith, who is in his mid-60s, is a first-time legislator.

In last year's primaries, he defeated Peter Marshall, son of 27-year legislator and former Legislature chairman Herb Marshall, for the Republican slot on the ballot by a margin of 27 votes. In November, he beat out Democrat Philip Simkin for the District 3 seat.

He now sits on the Legislature's Judicial and Public Safety, Health and Human Services and Planning and Economic Development committees.

Legislature Chairman George Fearon, R-Springport, does not expect Smith to attend the legislative meeting on Feb. 28 but that he was looking at Smith's absence as temporary.

“It leaves a hole for a moment in time,” Fearon said.

Smith is retired after working for 31 years with the state Department of Corrections.

He has been married to his wife, Sharon, for more than 40 years. They have four children.