Regina Romero Bio
Regina Romero (born September 20, 1974) is an American politician serving as the 42nd Mayor of Tucson, Arizona. A member of the Democratic Party, she has held office since 2019 and was reelected in 2023. She is the first woman and the first Latina to serve as mayor of Tucson.
Beyond her role in city government, Romero has taken on leadership positions in national mayoral coalitions focused on public safety, hunger, and climate. Her work centers on infrastructure investment, equitable public services, and environmental sustainability for the communities of southern Arizona.
Early Life and Background
Regina Romero was born on September 20, 1974, in Somerton, Arizona, a small farmworking community near the U.S.-Mexico border. She is the youngest of six siblings and the descendant of parents who emigrated to Arizona from Mexico. Raised by her farmworker parents, Romero grew up in a household shaped by the rhythms of agricultural labor and the cultural traditions of Mexican American life in the Southwest.
Romero became the first person in her family to graduate from college and the first in her family to vote. These milestones reflected a deep commitment to civic engagement that would later define her public career. Her upbringing in Somerton, in a border region with strong immigrant roots, helped shape her later focus on equity and representation in local government.
Path to US Politics
Romero earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Arizona and later completed a postgraduate certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School, strengthening her preparation for public service. In 2021, the University of Arizona’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences named her Alumna of the Year, recognizing her years of public service in Tucson and her efforts to address social justice issues.
Her entry into local government began with a position as a program coordinator in Pima County, Arizona, where she worked from 1996 to 2005. She then served as a council aide for the Tucson City Council from 2005 to 2007, building the policy experience that led to her election to the council itself.
Regina Romero Career
Early Career (1996–2007)
Regina Romero began her public service career in 1996 as a program coordinator in Pima County, Arizona, a role she held for nearly a decade. During this period, she developed expertise in working with local agencies and community organizations on programs serving residents of southern Arizona.
In 2005, Romero moved to the Tucson City Council as a council aide, a position she held until 2007. This transition into city government gave her direct exposure to municipal policymaking and laid the foundation for her later election to the council.
Tucson City Council Era (2007–2019)
In 2007, Regina Romero was elected to the Tucson City Council, where she served for twelve consecutive years. Her tenure on the council allowed her to shape local policy on issues ranging from public safety to neighborhood investment, and it established her as a prominent voice in Tucson politics.
By the time she ran for mayor in 2019, Romero had built a long record of constituent service and legislative work. Her council experience gave voters a clear picture of her priorities and her ability to manage the city’s complex budget and policy challenges.
Mayor of Tucson Era (2019–Present)
Regina Romero ran in the 2019 Tucson mayoral election and won the Democratic primary in August 2019, defeating state senator Steve Farley and developer Randi Dorman. In the general election, she defeated Ed Ackerley, a longtime Democrat who ran as an independent. Her victory made her the first woman and the first Latina to serve as mayor of Tucson, and the first Latino mayor of the city since Estevan Ochoa held the office in 1875 and 1876.
In June 2023, the Tucson City Council approved Romero’s budget proposal for the following fiscal year. The plan included funding to upgrade roads, acquire new public safety equipment, and maintain the city’s fare-free transit system. It also included one million dollars to fight climate change, with additional state and federal funds supplementing the local effort. Romero supported an extension of Proposition 411, a half-cent sales tax dedicated to residential street repairs that voters had originally approved in 2022.
Reelection Campaign and 2023 Victory
During her 2023 reelection campaign, Regina Romero outlined a platform focused on road improvements using the city’s general fund and the Highway User Revenue Fund, the continued transition to lower-emission buses with federal support, the goal of planting one million trees by 2030, increasing water levels in Lake Mead through reservoir usage, and allowing non-law-enforcement civilians to respond to non-emergency calls. She faced Republican challenger Janet Wittenbraker and won reelection by a wide margin, 61 percent to 31 percent.
Romero also asked voters to support Proposition 412, a measure that would have committed Tucson to a new deal with its local power supplier and raised residents’ electricity bills by less than one dollar per month to fund cleaner energy. Voters rejected the proposition. Proposition 413, however, passed in the November 7, 2023, election, raising the mayor’s salary from forty-two thousand dollars to ninety-six thousand dollars annually, the first such increase since 1999.
Notable Events and Milestones
Romero’s 2019 election as the first female and first Latina mayor of Tucson stands as her most defining career milestone. Her 2023 reelection by a thirty-point margin reinforced her mandate, and the passage of Proposition 413 brought mayoral compensation closer to Tucson’s median household income. Her ongoing work with national coalitions has positioned Tucson as a participant in broader policy conversations on climate, gun violence prevention, and childhood hunger.
Regina Romero Career Wins
Regina Romero’s career is marked by a series of decisive election victories and policy accomplishments at the local level. From her long tenure on the Tucson City Council to her historic mayoral wins, she has consistently earned the support of Tucson voters.
Tucson Mayoral Election Highlights
Romero first won the office of mayor in 2019, capturing the Democratic primary before defeating independent candidate Ed Ackerley in the general election. She secured a second term in 2023, defeating Republican Janet Wittenbraker 61 percent to 31 percent, a result that demonstrated broad cross-city support for her leadership.
Other Wins and Achievements
In 2021, the University of Arizona’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences named Romero Alumna of the Year, recognizing her record of public service and her work on social justice issues in Tucson. She also serves as Chair of the Latino Alliance of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Co-chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, an inaugural member of the Mayors Alliance to End Childhood Hunger, and a member of the Climate Mayors Network.
Regina Romero Family
Family Background and Heritage
Regina Romero is the daughter of Mexican immigrant farmworkers and the youngest of six siblings. She was raised in Somerton, Arizona, in a household shaped by the values of hard work, family, and community that are common in borderland farming communities. Her parents’ experience as farmworkers informed her later commitment to equity and opportunity for working families in Tucson.
Personal Life
Regina Romero is married to Ruben Reyes, and together they have two children. Reyes served as the district director for the late U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva. The family resides in Tucson, Arizona, where Romero continues to serve as mayor.