Regina Romero (born September 20, 1974) is an American politician. She is mayor of

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, having been elected after previously serving on the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

. She is the first woman and first person of Mexican descent to hold the office since the 1870s.

Career

Romero was raised in

Somerton, Arizona Somerton is a city in Yuma County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 14,287. It is part of the Yuma Metropolitan Statistical Area. Somerton was established in 1898 and incorporated in 1918. Somerton's economy is ...

. She graduated from Kofa High School in

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

, and the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

. She earned a postgraduate certificate at the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

. Romero worked as the Latino outreach director for the

Center for Biological Diversity The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit membership organization known for its work protecting endangered species through legal action, scientific petitions, creative media and grassroots activism. It was founded in 1989 by Kieran Suckl ...

. Prior to her election as mayor, Romero served three terms as a Tucson city councilwoman, having first been elected to the city council in 2007. Romero ran in the 2019 Tucson mayoral election. She won the Democratic primary in August 2019, defeating state senator

Steve Farley Steve Farley (born December 24, 1962) is an American politician, artist, and graphic designer who previously served as a State Senator from Arizona, including serving in the capacity of assistant minority leader. He also served previously in th ...

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 is the first-ever female and first-ever Latina mayor of Tucson, and the first

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

mayor of the city since

Estevan Ochoa Estevan Ochoa (March 17, 1831 – October 27, 1888) was a Mexican-born American businessman and politician who participated in the creation of the Arizona Territory. Biography Ochoa was born to Jesus Ochoa in Chihuahua, Mexico on March 17, 183 ...

, who was mayor from 1875 to 1876.

Personal life

Romero is married to Ruben Reyes, a district director for U.S. Representative

Raúl Grijalva Raúl Manuel Grijalva (; born February 19, 1948) is an American politician and activist who has served as the United States representative for since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 7th from 2003 to 20 ...

. They have two children.

Electoral history

City Council

;2007 ;2011 ;2015

Mayoral

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Regina 1974 births 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 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 women in politics Living people Mayors of Tucson, Arizona University of Arizona alumni Women mayors of places in Arizona Women city councillors in Arizona