Roy Romer
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Roy Rudolf Romer (born October 31, 1928) is an American politician who served as the 39th
Governor of Colorado The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either app ...
from 1987 to 1999, and subsequently as the
superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
of the
Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...
from 2000 to 2006.


Family and education

Romer was born in
Garden City, Kansas Garden City is a city in, and the county seat of, Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 28,151. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richa ...
, the son of Margaret Elizabeth (Snyder) and Irving Rudolph Romer. He grew up in the southeastern Colorado town of
Holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...
. Romer received a bachelor's degree in
agricultural economics Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fiber products. Agricultural economics began as a branch of economics that specif ...
from
Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...
in 1950, where he served for one year as President of the Associated Students of Colorado State University. He later received a law degree from the
University of Colorado School of Law The University of Colorado Law School is one of the professional graduate schools within the University of Colorado System. It is a public law school, with more than 500 students attending and working toward a Juris Doctor or Master of Studies in ...
in 1952. He also studied
ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...
for one year at
Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...
, and was a legal officer in the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
. He and his wife, Bea, have seven children, 19 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. His son
Paul Romer Paul Michael Romer (born November 6, 1955) is an American economist and policy entrepreneur who is a University Professor in Economics at New York University. Romer is best known as the former Chief Economist of the World Bank and for co-recei ...
is a Nobel Prize winning economist, and another son
Chris Romer Chris Romer (born 1959) is a former American politician from the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado State Senate as a Democrat in 2006, he represented Senate District 32, which encompasses south Denver. As of 2022, Romer is the C ...
was elected to a Colorado State Senate seat from Denver in November 2006.


Early professional activities

In the 1950s and 1960s, Romer was an attorney in
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. He was also active in the management of his family's agricultural operations throughout Colorado.


Political career


Colorado state government

Romer served in the
Colorado House of Representatives The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distr ...
from 1958 to 1962 and in the
Colorado Senate The Colorado Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts, with each district having a population of about 123, ...
from 1962 to 1966. In 1966, Romer unsuccessfully challenged Republican U.S. Senator
Gordon Allott Gordon Llewellyn Allott (January 2, 1907January 17, 1989) was a Republican American politician. Allott was born in Pueblo, Colorado to Bertha (née Llewellyn) and Leonard J. Allott; his maternal grandparents were Welsh and his paternal grandpar ...
. Romer was Colorado
State Treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...
from 1977 to 1987 (winning re-election to full four-year terms in 1978 and 1982), and a member of the governor's cabinet. Romer was first elected as governor in 1986, and re-elected in 1990 and 1994; he was the second Colorado governor to serve three terms. In 1997, Romer, along with Utah Governor
Michael O. Leavitt Michael Okerlund Leavitt (born February 11, 1951) is an American politician who served as the 14th Governor of Utah from 1993 to 2003 in the Republican Party, as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 2003 to 2005 and ...
and Wyoming Governor
Jim Geringer James Edward Geringer (born April 24, 1944) is an American politician who was the 30th Governor of Wyoming, serving from 1995 to 2003. Early life and education Geringer was born and raised on a farm in Wheatland, Wyoming. His father, Gottlieb Ge ...
, led a bipartisan team of 19 state governors in the founding of
Western Governors University Western Governors University (WGU) is a private online university based in Millcreek, Utah. The university uses an online competency-based learning model. Degrees awarded by WGU are accredited by the NWCCU, ACBSP, CAEP, CAHIIM, and CCNE. T ...
.


National political positions

Romer chaired the
Democratic Governors Association The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1983, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Democratic Party. The mission of the organization is to provide party ...
in 1991. In 1992, he was co-chairman of the Democratic National Platform Committee. Romer served as national vice chair of the
Democratic Leadership Council The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) was founded in 1985 and closed in 2011. Founded and directed by Al From, prominent members include Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton (who was elected president in 1992 and 1996), Delaware Senator Joe Biden ( ...
, and was a national co-chairman of the Clinton-Gore '96 campaign. In January 1997, Romer was elected to serve as general chairman of the
Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
. From 1992 to 1993, Romer served as chair of the
National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...
. In 1994–1995 he chaired the
Education Commission of the States The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a United States interstate agency that tracks educational policy, translates research, provides advice and "creates opportunities for state policymakers to learn from one another".fsu.digital.flvc.or ...
, and in 1995, was part of a bipartisan effort by the nation's governors to reform
Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...
.


''Romer v. Evans''

In law, his name is associated with the anti-discrimination suit ''
Romer v. Evans ''Romer v. Evans'', 517 U.S. 620 (1996), is a landmark United States Supreme Court case dealing with sexual orientation and state laws.. It was the first Supreme Court case to address gay rights since ''Bowers v. Hardwick'' (1986),. when the C ...
'' that was brought to the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
during his tenure as Governor of Colorado. Though he was opposed to the amendment to the Constitution of Colorado in question, he defended the law in state and federal court in his position as Governor during litigation. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled against the state's defense of Amendment 2, that it had “a rational relationship to legitimate state interests". The Court then invalidated Amendment 2 under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Federal Constitution. The state ultimately failed to give a "
rational basis In U.S. constitutional law, rational basis review is the normal standard of review that courts apply when considering constitutional questions, including due process or equal protection questions under the Fifth Amendment or Fourteenth Amendment ...
" to the purpose of the law. The case did not go as far to ruling that gays and lesbians are protected as intermediate or strict scrutiny under the Fourteenth Amendment and left that question to lower federal and state courts to decide.


''Romer v. Grant''

In October 2004, Roy Romer and the
Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a public school district in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the 2nd largest public school district in ...
filed suit in the United States District Court, Central District of California against David Grant, a former student of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The suit cited false endorsement of the Lanham Act, violation of the Can-Spam Act, California Statutory Cyber Piracy, violation of the right of publicity under California statutory and common law, and California statutory
unfair competition Unfair may refer to: * Double Taz and Double LeBron James in multiverses ''fair''; unfairness or injustice * ''Unfair'' (drama), Japanese television series * '' Unfair: The Movie'' * Unfair (song), a song by South Korean boy group EXO