First Black commissioner ready to take seat
Monica Hunt was selected from 30 applicants to fill Randy LeVasseur’s seat
Monica Hunt makes her living as an attorney, but she has made her life among friends and relatives in diverse communities.
“I feel like Royal Oak is my city and my home, and I want to be part of it,” said Hunt, who was appointed to the Royal Oak City Commission and takes her seat at the first commission meeting next month. “I want to help not only make decisions to further the city itself, but to make sure all citizens’ voices are heard.”
Hunt was selected from among more than 30 applicants to fill the seat of former Commissioner Randy LeVasseur, who resigned last month and is moving to Oxford.
She will be the first Black person to serve on the commission.
“I believe that it is a natural progression,” said
Hunt, who grew up in Oak
Park. “Our community is becoming more diverse. I think people understand now that the commission needs to reflect the population and the residents. I don’t know that I feel like a trailblazer, but more of a natural reflection of residents and visitors in our area.”
Hunt bought a house and moved to Royal Oak 13 years ago. She is a Michigan State University business administration graduate and got her law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2005.
She works in employment law for municipalities, school districts and other governmental entities. Hunt is also a volunteer member of the state’s Foster Care Review Board and reviews foster care placements of children in Macomb and Oakland counties.
In her application, Hunt said her work with the review board has given her experience in “challenging what is perceived as the status quo within the foster care system and challenging foster workers to go above and beyond what is required in order to do what is most beneficial for the children.”
Closer to home, Hunt is a dog
lover and has a two-yearold golden doodle,
“I’m a runner,” she said. “It helps me relax and clear my head for at least an hour.”
Her parents still live in Oak Park and she said she is part of a close-knit family with two older sisters who are her best friends.
“I had a great childhood growing up in Oak Park,” Hunt said, “and I was lucky to be part of a diverse community with so many people of racially and economically diverse backgrounds … it was great growing up in a community that represented the world.”
Hunt had recently been appointed to the city Planning Commission, said Mayor Michael Fournier.
“I think she is going to be extremely successful on the City Commission,” he said. “I got a strong vibe from her, she has the ability to collaborate. Her expertise will be valuable to the community and, given her background, she can hit the ground running.”
Hunt’s appointment lasts until the next city election in November 2021. She expects she will then seek election to a full four-year term.
“Serving the public — and particularly the underprivileged and advocating on their behalf — is something I’m passionate about,” she said.