Gloria Romero (legislator)

Gloria Romero
Member of the California Senate from the 24th district
In office 2001–2010
Preceded by	Hilda Solis
Succeeded by	Edward Hernández
Personal details
Born	July 10, 1955 (1955-07-10) (age 56) Barstow, California
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	California State University, Long Beach (B.A.) (M.A.) University of California, Riverside (Ph.D.)
Profession	Politician, Professor
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Gloria J. Romero (born July 10, 1955) is a former California State Senator and was the Democratic majority leader of the California State Senate from 2001 until 2008. She was the first woman to ever hold that leadership position.

Early life and career

Romero grew up in Barstow, and received her associate's degree from Barstow Community College before going on to be given a B.A. and an M.A. from California State University, Long Beach and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Riverside.

She taught as a professor at state universities and served as a trustee and vice president of the board of trustees of Los Angeles Community College District.

Legislative career

She was elected to the California State Assembly in 1998 and to the Senate in 2001. Romero represented the 24th district, which includes East Los Angeles, portions of the city of Los Angeles, as well as a major part of the San Gabriel Valley, including the cities of Azusa, Baldwin Park, Covina, Duarte, El Monte, City of Industry, Irwindale, La Puente, Monterey Park, Rosemead, West Covina and Whittier.

As a public university professor in California, she is a member of the California Faculty Association.

Campaign for State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Following U.S. Representative Hilda Solis's December 2008 selection to become U.S. Secretary of Labor by President-elect Barack Obama (and expected subsequent confirmation), Romero indicated strong interest in running in the special election for California's 32nd congressional district to replace her,^[1] but later chose to run for the nonpartisan California State Superintendent of Public Instruction instead.^[2] Romero was supported by advocates of charter schools, while her two major opponents were supported by teachers unions and school administrators, respectively.^[3][4][5]

Romero finished third, receiving 17.0% of the vote in a 12-person field.^[6]

Political offices
Preceded by Richard Polanco	California State Senate Majority Leader 2001–2008	Succeeded by Dean Florez
Preceded by Hilda Solis	California State Senator 24th district 2001–2010	Succeeded by Edward Hernández
Preceded by Diane Martinez	California State Assemblymember, 49th district 1998–2001	Succeeded by Judy Chu

References

1. ^ Morain, Dan (December 18, 2008). "Obama's pick of Hilda Solis for Labor prompts some to eye her House seat". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/12/campaigns-begin.html. Retrieved 19 December 2008. 
2. ^ Larrubia, Evelyn (January 8, 2009). "Gloria Romero will not seek congressional seat". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/01/romero-will-not.html. Retrieved 4 February 2009. 
3. ^ Dan Smith and Torey Van Oot (June 2, 2010). "The Buzz: Money, endorsements rolling in to replace California schools chief". Sacramento Bee. http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/02/2791800/the-buzz-money-endorsements-rolling.html#ixzz0thBIbNsS. Retrieved 14 July 2010. 
4. ^ Patrick Range McDonald (June 3, 2010). "Gloria Romero's Race to the Top". LA Weekly. http://www.laweekly.com/2010-06-03/news/gloria-romero-s-race-to-the-top/. Retrieved 14 July 2010. 
5. ^ Patrick Range McDonald (June 8, 2010). "Special Interests Spend Heavily on California Superintendent of Public Instruction Race". LA Weekly. http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/politics/california-superintendent-inst/. Retrieved 14 July 2010. 
6. ^ Secretary of State June 8, 2010 Primary Election--Superintendent of Public Education - Statewide Results

External links

• State Senate web site
• Gloria Romero for California Superintendent of Public Instruction 2010
• Ballotpedia web site - Gloria Romero

Persondata
Name	Romero, Gloria
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 10, 1955
Place of birth	Barstow, CA
Date of death
Place of death