Monica Montgomery Steppe

Monica Montgomery Steppe was born and raised in San Diego and spent most of her life in District Four. She currently serves on the San Diego City Council, representing over 160,000 San Diegans and serves as chair of the Budget & Government Efficiency Committee-- overseeing the process for the City’s $5.2 billion dollar budget. She’s also on the San Diego City-County Reinvestment Task Force, the board of MTS, the San Diego Workforce Partnership, and the San Diego Housing Authority.

An attorney by trade, Monica has a deep connection with the San Diego community. She began her education at Pacific View Leadership Elementary. After completing her undergraduate degree at Spelman College, she returned to San Diego to earn her Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law.

Before entering elected office, Monica dedicated her life to public service law. She fought for families to stay in their homes during the foreclosure crisis in the Great Recession, worked at the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties as a Criminal Justice Advocate, and served as a Senior Policy Advisor at the City of San Diego with specific focus in the policy areas of criminal justice reform and public safety, neighborhood revitalization, workforce development, small business development, equal opportunity contracting, and youth services.

Monica's experience positioned her to make a significant impact in City Hall in a short time. She brought historical levels of investment to her district-- bringing in over $100 million in new parks, paved streets, repaired sidewalks and street lights, a new senior center, a new library, graffiti removal, neighborhood clean ups, affordable and market rate housing, and small business support. Monica invested heavily in San Diego’s unhoused population, partnering with County leadership to provide job training, mental health resources, addiction treatment, and affordable housing opportunities to those who need it most.

Amid the 2020 public outcry against police brutality and systemic racism, she led the effort to ban the police carotid restraint, increase oversight over MTS security, and pass Measure B, creating a Commission on Police Practices with subpoena power and independent investigators.

Monica also worked tirelessly during the budget process to create the Office of Race & Equity with a $3 million Equity Fund and an equity program for COVID-19 recovery funds. She helped lead the effort to keep renters in their homes and support small businesses during the crisis. She also co-authored a City Council resolution condemning the national spike in AAPI hate crimes during the pandemic.

As regressive and irresponsible far-right “leaders” incited acts of domestic terrorism and unrest, she worked with community leaders to foster peace in District Four. She helped create The Peace Movement: Let’s Live, Let’s Love to reduce neighborhood violence and ensure that seniors in the community who were impacted by the isolation of COVID-19 received necessary services, food, and other necessities. She also led the “No Shots Fired” Program to reduce gang violence by providing outreach, job opportunities, and services to gang members and fought to prioritize the removal of graffiti, a common cause of violent gang clashes.