Val Romero.

And Finally, Here's The Reality . . .

"My Ward 6 team and I thank each of you who supported the work we’re doing on behalf of the community. With the Primary election behind us, there’s a citywide General election coming. Today, I’m going to do my opponent a big favor; I’m introducing you to him so you know what’s at stake. This week I’ll give you the broad brush strokes on who this guy really is. In coming weeks, I’ll share more specifics on his statements and social media posts.

If at anytime he’d like to refute any of these claims, he has made it abundantly clear that he’s no stranger to social media. I’ll be watching to see if he feels misrepresented.

What’s behind the smiley face you see plastered on signs around town? Val Romero is running as an “Independent.” The truth is he’s out speaking at Libertarian events admitting that he’s so far to the right that he’s “creating chaos in the Republican Party.” In Arizona, that’s quite an accomplishment.

Romero says his campaign mantra is “unity in the community.” What does that look like? He was out front on a Recall Romero (our Mayor) campaign, has called for the recall of every sitting City Council member, is openly critical of the TUSD school board for their mask policy, has denigrated Pima County for supporting the arts, and has marginalized our African American community with derogatory comments he made about the importance of our CROWN Act respecting natural hair styles. That’s Val Romero’s idea of ‘unity.’

Note to Val: building a working rapport with colleagues does not start with that sort of rhetoric. But I see how it fits with your far right, Libertarian approach to ‘governance.’

This week I’ll introduce you to two particularly illuminating bits of his “platform.” When I co-hosted a free vaccination clinic at Reid Park Zoo, Romero posted on social media that it was something to “fight against.” Here’s the post:

His call to arms was to ‘fight against’ a voluntary, free vaccination clinic. His hashtag #individualsovereignty is the call to arms of a No Vaxer. That truly is deserving of a ‘sad face.’

And with the surge in COVID infections, the TUSD school board implemented a mandatory mask policy. I believe that policy is aligned with science, the CDC guidance on mitigating COVID community spread, and I applaud them for demonstrating leadership in the face of the governor’s failure in that area. Here’s Val Romero’s response:

#individualsovereignty? Being a No Vaxer and anti-mask is not showing leadership during a pandemic.

On his Facebook, Val Romero has quotes from Andrew Breitbart – an icon of the Rush Limbaugh right. His breathtaking failure to understand the values of this community is on full display throughout his social media exposure of what’s really behind the smiley face you see on the signs.

More? Romero’s campaign base camp appears to be behind tables out at gun shows. His social media is plastered with those images. When I brought a Resolution to the City stating we will enforce federal gun laws in Tucson and reject the nullification law adopted by the uber-conservative Arizona State Legislature that is in violation of the U.S. Constitution Supremacy Clause, Romero posted this:

Romero then went on one of the last-remaining low rent shock jock shows in the city and stated “I’m not about community policing because I’m not gonna say ‘hey, you shouldn’t be doing that. We need actual trained law enforcement officers with firearms and everything.”

Note to Val: Community policing is a critical component of developing productive relationships with our entire community. It serves as a key communication tool, force expander and builds trust between our police officers and the residents they are sworn to protect.

Romero would rather send our cops into neighborhoods ready to shoot than to put in the hard work of establishing rapport.

And it’s also important to note that the ‘host’ of that show uses a pronunciation of Mayor Romero’s first name that is a sexual derivative most women would find offensive. Val, it’s not cute that you chuckled your way through the interview each time he used the term.

Mr. Romero, Tucson is not a gun-totin' town that doesn’t support the arts, is racially insensitive, is No Vax, anti mask, and that can tolerate someone running for office who will not invest the minimal amount of effort to speak intelligently about our core issues. That, sir, is someone impersonating a candidate.

Meanwhile, I’ll continue promoting our water security, fighting on behalf of the community for a clean groundwater supply, working with telecom to assure the quality of the aesthetics of our residential neighborhoods, study the budget and support funding decisions to repair our roads, support our police in their work at establishing rapport with residents, and work collaboratively with my colleagues in public office throughout the region.

Supporting recall elections of every member of the Mayor and Council, and posting semi-lucid criticisms of the TUSD school board and Pima County leadership is not advocating for ‘unity in the community.’

The General Election is citywide. No matter which ward you live in, you can vote. You now know what’s behind the smiley face on all those signs. He’s not Tucson."

Steve Kozachik, Aug. 10, 2021, Source