Twice this week Tucson Mayor Regina Romero expressed opposition to the thought of Donald Trump sending federal forces, like the unidentified “paramilitary units” that have caused issues in Portland, Oregon over the last week.
The first time Mayor Romero conveyed her thoughts was in response to a question from Democrats of Greater Tucson President (and Blog for Arizona contributor) Larry Bodine on July 20, 2020.
Please see video of the event below.
Starting at about 26.50 of the video (please excuse the brief technical difficulties,) the Mayor said she had refused Governor Ducey’s offer of State National Guard troops when the protests following the police murder of George Floyd occurred.
She continued and said that the best approach is to calm the people down and “listen to the community and their concerns.”
That same day, the Mayor cosigned a letter, with 12 other Mayors (including those of Portland, Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles, and Chicago) to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, asking Congress to investigate Trump’s actions with these Homeland Security forces, stating that:
“The President’s decision to unilaterally deploy these paramilitary type forces into our cities mirrors the very tyranny our country has fought against and is wholly inconsistent with our Democracy.”
Earlier this week, I joined fellow Mayors in condemning the deployment of federal agencies in several U.S. cities. Their presence has only served to escalate tensions and is a poor use of federal resources. pic.twitter.com/r9KeSgSQ47
— Regina Romero (@TucsonRomero) July 22, 2020
Mayor Romero and the other 12 signatories to the Pelosi letter are right.
Paramilitary storm troopers are not necessary for the nation’s cities.
The great majority of the protestors are peaceful and those that are not should be taken into custody by local law enforcement, not unidentifiable secret police out of people’s worst totalitarian nightmares.
Please remember November 3, 2020, is 102 days away and the fate and soul of the state and country is at stake.
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