After serving as an elected city councilwoman in Lakewood from 2010 to 2014, Representative Smith was elected to the Ohio State House in 2020. As part of the council leadership team, she shepherded in a new era of fiscal responsibility and innovation that turned the city around. At the Statehouse, her passion for public service and working with others to create community based solutions has allowed Monique to fight to restore Ohio’s Promise to its citizens. She has focused her efforts on protecting and expanding access to quality health care, investing in public schools, making college more affordable for everyday Ohioans, and investing in job training and other pro-worker initiatives to expand opportunity for working people. Upon re-election, her priorities include fair and higher wages as well as supporting safer communities through improved gun regulations and justice reforms.