Tucson City Councilor Regina Romero Nominated for EMILYs List’s Rising Star Award

For Immediate Release
March 1, 2018  

Tucson City Councilor Regina Romero Nominated for EMILYs List’s Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, announced that Tucson City Councilor Regina Romero is a nominee for the fifth annual Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.

“Regina is a champion for her community,” said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List. “As a child of immigrants and a first-generation college student, she has spent much of her career advocating for progressive change, including access to reproductive health care and use of clean energy. EMILYs List is excited to nominate her for the Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award.”

Regina is a trailblazer in the Southwest. She was the first of her family to vote and the first to graduate from college. Regina’s twenty years of progressive politics and advocacy for women, working families, and the environment have earned her 10 years on the Tucson City Council. She has fought for reproductive justice, working families, and a sustainable future. Regina has also been a leader in the fight against racist legislation like Arizona’s SB 1070, which requires police to determine the immigration status of a detained person with only reasonable suspicion that they are not properly documented. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Executive Education program.

Named in honor of the dedicated and courageous Gabrielle Giffords, the Rising Star Award celebrates an extraordinary woman serving in state or local office. The award honors a woman who demonstrates the sort of commitment to community, dedication to women and families, and determination and civility that have been the highlights of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ career, in and out of office. Previous Rising Star Award recipients include Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams in 2014, Boston City Councilwoman Ayanna Pressley in 2015, Colorado House Speaker Crisanta Duran in 2016 and Philadelphia City Councilwoman Helen Gym in 2017.

The Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award winner will be chosen with community input.

Regina Romero is nominated alongside:

Kim Foxx, Cook County (Chicago, IL) State’s Attorney
Kristine Reeves, Washington State representative
Cora Faith Walker, Missouri state representative
Faith Winter, Colorado state representative
Michelle Wu, Boston (Massachusetts) city councilor

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $500 million to support pro-choice Democratic women candidates – making them one of the most successful political organizations ever. Our grassroots community of over five million members helps Democratic women wage competitive campaigns – and win. We recruit and train candidates, support strong campaigns, research the issues that impact women and families, and turn out women voters. Since our founding in 1985, we have trained nearly 10,000 women to run and helped elect 116 women to the House, 23 to the Senate, 12 governors, and over 800 to state and local office. Forty percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color – including every single Latina, African American, and Asian American Democratic congresswoman currently serving.