Todd M. Smola is a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

Massachusetts House of Representatives

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...

  Smola represents the 1st Hampden District, serving the towns of Brimfield

Brimfield, Massachusetts

Brimfield is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,609 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, Holland, Palmer, Sturbridge, Wales, Ware, and Warren.

Education

Smola graduated from Palmer High School

Palmer High School (Massachusetts)

Palmer High School is a public high school located in the town of Palmer, Massachusetts.-Mission statement:The school's mission statement is listed on their website as being:-Demographics and Statistics:...

 in 1995. He earned an Associates degree in liberal arts from Holyoke Community College

Holyoke Community College

Holyoke Community College is a state-funded public two-year community college located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It offers associate degrees as well as a transfer program for students to earn credits for transfer to other colleges...

 and a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography and Regional Planning from Westfield State College

Westfield State College

Westfield State University is a comprehensive, coeducational, four-year public university in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1838 by noted educator and social reformer Horace Mann as the first public co-educational college in America without barrier to race, gender and economic class...

.

City of Palmer

Smola began his career in politics in 1997 at the age of 20, when he became the youngest elected member of the Palmer planning board in the city's history. Three years later, he became the youngest elected member on the Board of Selectmen

Board of selectmen

The board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms.-History:...

; he served both offices simultaneously. While serving in Palmer, he served as chairman of the Board of Selectmen (2002–2003 and in 2004); the Pioneer Valley

Pioneer Valley

The Pioneer Valley is the colloquial name for the U.S. Commonwealth of Massachusetts's portion of the Connecticut River Valley. The Pioneer Valley consists of three counties in Massachusetts which collectively feature much of New England's most fertile farmland...

 Planning Commissioner; and the education liaison to the Palmer Public Schools (for 2 years). As the chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Smola oversaw a local government transition that replaced the 3 member Board of Selectmen and Open Town Meeting with a Town Manager and a 9-member Town Council, first elected in November 2004.

Additionally, Smola has served on the Palmer Senior Center Building Committee and the local Emergency Planning Committee.

Massachusetts state representative

In 2001, State Representative Reed V. Hillman

Reed V. Hillman

Reed V. Hillman is an American law enforcement officer and politician who was the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor for the 2006 gubernatorial election in Massachusetts, as well as a former Massachusetts State Representative...

 tapped Smola to become his legislative aide on Beacon Hill

Massachusetts General Court

The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...

. Smola served in that position until August 2004, when he ran to replace the outgoing Hillman as Representative of the 1st Hampden District.

In the 2008-2009 Legislative session, Smola served as the ranking member of the Joint Committee on Public Service and the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. He has also been a member of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs, the Joint Committee on Municipalities Regional Government, the Joint Committee on Veteran’s and Federal Affairs and the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development. Currently, Smola serves on the Joint Committee on Public Service and is the ranking member of the House Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets.

Additional affiliations

Smola is currently a member of the Sons of AMVETS, the Parish of Divine Mercy

SS. Peter and Paul Parish, Three Rivers

SS Peter & Paul Parish - designated for Polish immigrants in Three Rivers, Massachusetts, United States.Sts. Peter and Paul Parish merged with St. Anne Parish in 2010 to form Divine Mercy Parish in Sts. Peter and Paul's facilities.- History :...

Council, the St. Stanislaus Polish Lyceum, and the St. Joseph’s Society.