Gary Romine is an American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

, former Republican member of the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 181,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

, and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

. He represented the 3rd senatorial district, which includes Iron County, Reynolds County, St. Francois County, Ste. Genevieve County, Washington County and part of Jefferson County, from 2013 to 2020.

Early life and career

Gary Romine graduated from Poplar Bluff High School, then went to Three Rivers Community College where he received an

associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

in applied sciences. He also received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in marketing and education from the

University of Central Missouri The University of Central Missouri (UCM) is a public university in Warrensburg, Missouri, United States. In 2024, enrollment was 13,734 students from 48 states and 52 countries on its 1,561-acre campus. UCM offers 150 programs of study, incl ...

. Later he taught in the Branson and Farmington school districts. After teaching, he went on to start his own business, Show-Me-Rent-To-Own. The company has grown from one store when he opened it to 9 stores today and is currently being sued for racial discrimination in the workplace, including a company policy of not renting to renters from majority black areas. He continues to serve as president and CEO of that company. He has served as chairman of the board of MRV Banks since it opened in 2007.

Family

Gary Romine and his wife Kathy have five children.

Political career

Gary Romine served as the chief of staff to state senators

Bill Alter Bill Alter (May 15, 1944 - November 29, 2024) was a former Missouri Republican politician who served in the Missouri Senate. He lived in High Ridge, Missouri, with his wife Merijo. He was born in Iowa City, Iowa, in 1944. After moving to Missour ...

and Kevin P. Engler. He was legislative liaison for the Missouri Rental Dealers Association, president and public relations chairman of the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations, and a member of the Government Relations Committee of the Missouri Bankers Association. In 2004, Romine ran for an open seat in the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

. He lost in the Republican primary to

Steven Tilley Steven Tilley (born June 11, 1971) is a lobbyist and former Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives. He represented District 106 (Perry, St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve Counties) in the Missouri House of Representatives. A Republica ...

, who would later become

Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives Speakers of the Missouri House of Representatives are (listed by year they assumed office): * 1820 James Caldwell Democratic-Republican - St. Genevieve * 1821 Henry S. Geyer Democratic-Republican - St. Louis * 1826 Alexander Stuart Democrat ...

. He is also a former president of the board of trustees of the

Mineral Area College Mineral Area College is a Public college, public junior college in Park Hills, Missouri. Students can participate in the 2+2 programs offered on campus by Central Methodist University or University of Missouri-St. Louis. The college enrolled 2, ...

, an elected body. In 2009, Romine declared his intention to run for the

. He eventually defeated Terry Varner in the Republican primary and state representative Joseph Fallert, Jr. in the general election for the 3rd district. On April 2, 2013, Romine introduced an amendment to bill Missouri SB 712 that removed a section containing penalties for employers who fired victims of domestic violence requesting unpaid leave.

Committee assignments

*Education (Vice-Chairman) *General Laws *Jobs, Economic Development & Local Government *Seniors, Families and Pensions *Joint Committee on Education *Joint Committee on Tax Increment Financing

Electoral history

References

External links

Official Missouri Senate profile

Interest Group Ratings

Campaign Finance Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romine, Gary Republican Party Missouri state senators Living people University of Central Missouri alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) People from Farmington, Missouri Businesspeople from Missouri 21st-century members of the Missouri General Assembly