Early life and education
She is the youngest of her 6 siblings and descendant of parents who emigrated to Arizona from Mexico. Raised by her farmworker parents in Somerton, Arizona, Romero became the first person in her family to graduate from college and the first to vote. Regina Romero got her BA atPolitical career
Romero worked as a program coordinator in Pima County, Arizona from 1996 to 2005. From 2005 to 2007, Romero was a council aide for the Tucson City Council. From 2007 to 2019, she was a Tucson City Council member.Mayor of Tucson
Romero ran in the 2019 Tucson mayoral election. She won the Democratic primary in August 2019, defeating state senator Steve Farley and developer Randi Dorman. After winning the mayoral primary, her main general election opponent was Ed Ackerley, who was a longtime Democrat running as an independent in hopes of receiving conservative votes. She defeated Ackerley in the general election. Romero became the first-ever female and first-ever Latina mayor of Tucson, and the first Latino mayor of the city since Estevan Ochoa, who was mayor from 1875 to 1876. In June 2023, Romero's budget proposal for the next fiscal year was approved by the city council. Money was included in the budget to upgrade roads, acquire new public safety equipment, and to keep up the city's fare-free system. $1 million was included to fight climate change, however funds for the effort are much larger when state and federal funding are included. Romero supported an extension of Proposition 411. Proposition 411 is a 0.5% sales tax designed to generate revenue specifically for residential street repairs which passed in 2022 with 57,024 votes.Re-election campaign
During Romero's reelection campaign in the 2023 Tucson mayoral election, she said she wanted to use the city's general fund and the Highway User Revenue Fund to improve roads; continue using federal funds to transition to lower-emissions buses, continue the goal of planting 1 million trees by 2030, and increase water levels in Lake Mead through reservoir usage; and allow non-law enforcement citizens to respond to non-emergency calls. She faced Republican Janet Wittenbraker, and won reelection 61% to 31%. During her re-election campaign, Romero asked voters to vote yes on Proposition 412. If passed, Tucson would agree to a new deal with a local power suppliers that will raise residents' electricity bill by less than $1 a month. She expressed to her voters that this change would help Tucson's fight against climate change, by sourcing electricity in a more sustainable way. Voters rejected the proposition. In addition, Proposition 413 was passed in the November 7, 2023, election. Romero's salary was increased from $42,000 to $96,000 annually. In the same proposition, the city council's salary was matched to that of thePersonal life
Regina Romero has two children with her husband, Ruben Reyes. Reyes was the district director for the lateElectoral history
City Council
;2007 ;2011 ;2015Mayoral
See also
*References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Regina 1974 births Living people 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century mayors of places in Arizona 2020 United States presidential electors American politicians of Mexican descent Arizona city council members Arizona Democrats Hispanic and Latino American city council members Hispanic and Latino American mayors Hispanic and Latino American people in Arizona politics Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Mayors of Tucson, Arizona University of Arizona alumni Women mayors of places in Arizona Women city councillors in Arizona