Romero Picks Up More Endorsments, Support

Riverside County Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez early on put down his marker for Elizabeth Romero, one of two Democrats hoping to fill the vacant state Senate seat in District 28. Jeff Stone resigned Nov.1 to take a job in the Trump Administration in the Department of Labor.

“All candidates are hardworking, thoughtful, and committed to our communities,” Perez told Uken Report. “However, after careful consideration, I am supporting Elizabeth Romero due to her edge as an experienced policymaker on various boards.”

Some other top Democrats have been slow to show their hand. One claimed “the time isn’t right.”

If not now, when?

The special election for the 28th District State Senate seat will be held March 3, 2020, to coincide with the Democratic Presidential Primary.

Others aren’t playing games when it comes to showing their support for Romero. One of them is Coachella City Councilmember Megan Beaman-Jacinto

“She is a proven leader with a long personal, professional, and elected track record of public service, accomplishment, and leadership,” Beaman-Jacinto told Uken Report.  “Her candidacy is rooted in her lifelong knowledge of our District, her nearly two decades of professional and elected commitment to the District, and her compassion for the issues most important to us: jobs and the economy, education, climate change, and more.

“In contrast to her major opponents (Republican and Democrat), Elizabeth is a candidate who has committed her whole life here; she has walked the walk,” Beaman-Jacinto added.  “She did not just wake up one day and decide to run for senate.  She has been working for this — and for us — her whole life.”

Romero is a member of the Riverside County Board of Education Trustees representing Area 6 in California. Her current term ends in 2022.

Romero’s professional experience includes working as the assistant vice chancellor of government & community relations at the University of California, Riverside. She also served as the director of community and government relations for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest in Riverside and Imperial counties.

Indio City Councilmember Oscar Ortiz is also unequivocally supporting Romero.

“She’s the best candidate because she has a great understanding of our working-class community and what it’s going to take to bring more stability for our families in terms of housing, education, and healthcare,” Ortiz told Uken Report. “She is focused on the urgent issues that affect our every-day lives. I believe she will do her best to make sure all of our residents are treated fairly and equally as part of our state government and make sure our most urgent issues are addressed to help decrease the economic instability that we see in many of our communities.”

Lynne O’Neill, a retired lawyer and local activist, is also endorsing Romero.

“She is a thoroughly competent candidate in every sense of the word who enjoys broad-based appeal throughout the entire district,” O’Neill said. “Elizabeth is a genuinely dedicated public servant. And as a result, in her long career in public service, Liz has the institutional knowledge necessary to hit the ground running in Sacramento.”

Romero obtained a B.A. in political science from the University of California, Riverside. She obtained a master’s degree in politics, economics, and business from Claremont Graduate University

Joy Silver, a retired businesswoman, who spent most of her career in New York City, is the other Democrat seeking the seat. She ran against Stone in 2018 as a first-time candidate and lost.

A candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote in order to win. If no candidate garners that majority, the top-two vote-getters will advance to a run-off election on May 12, 2020.

Romero and Silver will face Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, for the seat. Melendez was in Indian Wells on Monday evening for what has been described as a “successful” event.