Regina Romero comes in as the first Latin female to become mayor of Tucson, with 102,454 or 39% total ballots cast in this past election. Former state legislator Steve Farley came in second with 37.7%, and real estate developer Randi Dorman in third with 12.5%. In a statement Tuesday night, Farley conceded the race and congratulated Romero. “While I’m disappointed in the result, I stand behind the will of the people and support Romero to be our next mayor,” he said.

Regina Romero says her eleven years on Tucson City Council give her the experience to be the top choice for Mayor–including leading an economic development plan to help pull Tucson through the recession. Being a female in politics is hard, and even more difficult for Latin women, however Romero says she wants to see incentives to help attract and grow small businesses comparable to incentives the city uses to attract large employers. Not only is she trying to improve the community, but she even has a climate control plan as well. “We need to install massive solar installations in our city, plant a million trees by 2030, electrify our bus system and our vehicle fleet,” she said.

Romero says she worked to build protection for immigrants into Tucson city policies but says the risk of millions in penalties means she cannot support the initiative that would let voters declare Tucson a Sanctuary City for undocumented immigrants. “We need to continue working to be an immigrant welcoming community,” she stated. This strong independent women will work her hardest to maintain a clean and safe environment for Tucson.