Arizona Daily Star endorses Regina Romero for Tucson City Council Ward 1

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Arizona Daily Star continues to publish its editorial endorsements today with an endorsement of incumbent Tucson City Council Member Regina Romero for Ward 1. Dem Romero is best candidate for Ward 1 seat (excerpts):

Democrat Regina Romero is completing her first term as a Tucson city councilwoman, representing the city's west side Ward 1.

In a rematch of the 2007 race, Romero's opponent is Green Party candidate Beryl Baker. Romero is the best qualified and should be elected to another term.

Romero has said economic development is her top priority, and she has taken several practical steps to help developers survive during these challenging times. For example, she voted to extend the shelf life of developer's projects approved by the city but delayed because of the lousy economy. By doing this, the city has spared developers the costly and time-consuming process of having to resubmit plans when the economy improves.

She also played a key role in allowing developers to defer impact fees until the city issues a certificate of occupancy.

She is supportive of the current water policy, which she says is designed to encourage infill development and balance environmental preservation with growth. But she also said exceptions can be made and acknowledged the city needs to be aggressive about annexation when it makes sense.

As state funding for road improvements decreased, Romero pursued federal funds to repave three major roads in her ward – Anklam Road, Congress Street and Drexel Road.

Additionally, Romero has expressed a commitment to reviving the stalled cultural and historical projects from Rio Nuevo that were supposed to be built on the west side. She told us the city needs to look at revenues beyond Rio Nuevo to bring them to fruition. She suggested federal funds, private donations or even Pima County bond revenues.

[H]er earnest conviction to revive cultural projects like Mission Gardens and the Convento is appreciated. It shows an awareness of how much these projects mean to the community and her ward. After all, voters approved them.

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One of Romero's strengths is her advocacy for neighborhoods. And although she is a strong advocate for low-income bus riders, Romero supported a modest – and necessary – 10-cent increase for low-income riders earlier this year.

If re-elected, Romero must put on the agenda – and soon – the long-discussed revision of the city's complex and confusing land-use code.