District 1 County Commissioner
F.R. Bob Romero
Age:
Occupation: Retired educator
Education: Mesa Community College, Associate’s in social sciences; University of Northern Colorado, Bachelor’s in social studies/teacher licensure; Adams State College, Master’s in history/government Political experience: Northern New Mexico College, director of Taos Education Center; Taos Municipal School Board, member; Town of Taos, housing planner; Outreach Center, director LANL; Taos Middle School, grant writer and human resources program coordinator; El Valle de los Ranchos Water & Sanitation District, member; UNM-Taos, adjunct instructor; Taos County Water Advisory Committee, member; Acequia de los Cordovas, commissioner/secretary; Acequia de los Cordovas, member
Political party: Democrat
Charged or convicted of a crime (more serious than a traffic ticket): No
Social media or website: facebook.com/ profile.php?id=100079206860435
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.R. Bob Romero is competing against Susan K. Trujillo for the District 1 county commissioner’s seat, which is currently held by Jim Fambro and broadly encompasses the town of Taos. The F.R. stands for Flavio Roberto, and he lives on Cuchilla Road in Ranchos de Taos.
Bob Romero currently serves on the board of El Valle de Los Ranchos Water and Sanitation District and is a former history teacher at UNM–Taos. He has written a few books about the history of Taos: “A Brief History of Taos,” “Back to Walden,” “Roots of Enchantment,” and “History of Taos.”
He says he is the “crystal clear” progressive democratic candidate in this year’s race. Romero says he’s “always supported traditional democratic platforms and values,” adding that voting for him signals a belief “that local government should act collaboratively [and] take advantage of the opportunity to build infrastructure.”
On the longstanding issue of the lack of affordable housing in Taos County, Romero believes the county needs to upgrade housing plans and look into land-use regulations, including subdivision regulations. He also pointed to working with homebuilders to create homes within an affordable range as a solution. He said that the New Mexico Finance Authority’s
low interest rates for people who qualify is another possible solution.
Romero believes he has helped to facilitate strong communication on all of the boards he has been a member of throughout his career. He said he believes that building consensus with board members is a good way to avoid any potential deadlocks.
As a historian with a focus on government, Romero’s answers to questions during a forum hosted by the Taos News on May 12 and in a separate interview with the paper were answered with specificity in regards to personnel and their duties. Sometimes he would preface his answers with “What can government do?” Then he’d proceed to outline his approach.
Romero says with his experience and background in developing infrastructure and overseeing multi-million dollar budgets, that he has the knowledge to facilitate needed change at the county level to help meet his constituents’ needs.
Some of the past projects Romero has helped spearhead include Arroyos Del Norte Elementary School, which was built through an $8-million bond issue, and the first building phases of the UNM–Klauer campus through completing a needs assessment with the help of a group of activists.
Romero says he values family structure in Taos with regards to developing local youth. His two sons have graduated and are gainfully employed but have not yet returned to Taos.
During the ongoing Calf Canyon–Hermits Peak Fire, Romero and his wife housed some evacuees from Mora County.
Regarding the legalization of cannabis, Romero mentioned that the town will benefit from the revenues from gross receipts taxes. He said the new industry also creates an opportunity for entrepreneurship but added, however, that the situation will have to be closely monitored and DWI methodologies for assessing the sobriety of drivers under the influence of cannabis will have to be updated.
In his closing statement, Romero said “tu voto es su voz.”