Larry E. Romero, El Paso City Council District 2 candidate

LARRY E. ROMERO
CANDIDATE FOR CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT #2
56 YEARS OLD
BUSINESS OWNER, ROMERO FINANCIAL SERVICES
GRADUATE OF ST. JOSEPH SCHOOL, CATHEDRAL HIGH SCHOOL, UTEP (BBA-MARKETING)
4TH OF 12 CHILDREN BORN TO RICARDO AND HORTENCIA ROMERO

1) My number one campaign focus is to ensure the financial stability of the City for generations to come. The City is getting ready to issue three-quarters of a billion dollars in municipal bonds and is also getting ready to enter into negotiations to try and resolve the Police and Firemen’s Pension Fund. These two issues alone are going to put the City in a tight financial position and my focus will be to look for ways to not only cut expenses but also look for new revenue streams for the City.
2) I believe that what sets me apart from my opponents is my work experience and my proven leadership. I have over twenty years of experience in all facets of economic development and helping businesses to grow and succeed. That is more economic development experience than all my opponents combined. I also have a track record of proven leadership in the community. As one of the founders and the first President/CEO of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, I have become intimately aware of the problems in our community and have volunteered my time and efforts to alleviate some of these problems. In District 2 alone, I have served as the President of the Five Points Development Association for 4 of the last 5 years.
3) As I stated above, my wide range of career moves and my willingness to volunteer for countless boards in the City have given me a unique look into the workings of City government.
4) The one ordinance that I would revoke is the ordinance that provides benefits for unmarried partners. This is an issue that was voted on by the people and the voters decided not to provide the benefits. For the Mayor and Council to go against the will of the people is just plain wrong on so many levels.
5) The moment that changed my life was when my mother passed away twenty-two years ago. There was tremendous sorrow and pain at her passing but it also made me take a good, hard look at my own life. I learned not to take things for granted and to follow my heart no matter how hard or how impossible. I started making decisions in my life based on what I wanted and stopped playing it safe just to get along. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about my mother and try and live up to her standards.
6) El Paso is on the right track when it comes to trying to revitalize Downtown. It is going to take a few years but the Ballpark, the ArtSpace building, the Children’s Museum, and the possibility of a new stadium, are just a few of the magnets that are going to begin to attract people to the Downtown district. The City needs to change course in the overall behavior and decorum of the current Mayor and Council. For the past several years, it has become very obvious that there are two factions fighting against each other for “control” of the City. There needs to be some type of changes made among the Council so that they treat each other with respect and so they make decisions based on what is best for the City and not themselves.
7) My wife and I are “empty nesters” and my business is in very capable hands when I am not there.
8) I have lived in El Paso my whole life except for three years when I lived in Washington, D.C.
9) My website is www.larryromero.com, no twitter account, and Facebook is romerodistrict2.