Roy Schmidt is serving his first term as State Representative for the 76th House District, which covers the west and northeast sides of Grand Rapids.
- Creating good-paying jobs for Michigan's working families, while protecting the jobs we have from being outsourced.
- Ensuring Michigan schools have the funding they need to provide students with an excellent education from an early age.
- Reforming state government and reining in spending so Michigan can focus on important issues like creating jobs, building a world-class workforce and getting our economy back on track.
Schmidt has extensive experience as a community advocate and public servant. In the late 1980s, he joined the West Grand Neighborhood Organizations, where he became a board member and eventually president of the group. He was elected to four consecutive terms as Grand Rapids City Commissioner, where he served for 16 years. He was elected president of the City Commission in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Schmidt built his reputation on listening to residents and taking their issues and concerns seriously – a practice that will be a top priority of his as State Representative.
A life-long resident of Grand Rapids, Schmidt received his bachelor's degree from Aquinas College. He has over 30 years of experience in the corporate world – from food service to customer service to sales – and most recently as a territory manager for Wyeth Inc. He is also active in a number of community organizations, has been a standing member of the Knights of Columbus for over 30 years, is a former director of the West YMCA, and is a member of St. James Catholic Church.
Schmidt and his wife, Donna, live in Grand Rapids. They have three sons, Eric (and his wife, Kim), Ryan (and his wife, Lisa) and Tyler.