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Brenda Lopez Romero
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 99th district
In office
January 9, 2017 – January 11, 2021
Preceded byHugh Floyd
Succeeded byMarvin Lim
Personal details
BornJanuary 4[1]
Cuernavaca, Mexico
Political partyDemocratic
EducationGeorgia State University (BA)
Syracuse University (JD)
WebsiteCampaign website

Brenda Lopez Romero is an American politician and is the first Latina to be elected to the Georgia General Assembly.[2] She was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 99th District, serving from 2017 to 2021. In the House, Romero served on the Education, Retirement, and State Planning and Community Affairs committees.[3] Lopez Romero sponsored 72 bills and is a member of the Democratic Party.[4] [5]

After weeks of lobbying by the Latino Victory Fund, Georgia House Minority Leader Bob Trammell and other public figures in the state, Romero launched her campaign for Georgia's 7th congressional district on May 1, 2019.[6][2] After a second place finish to Carolyn Bourdeaux, Romero went on to lead the Gwinnett County Democratic Party as its Chair.[7] Additionally, she serves as Senior Assistant District Attorney for the Gwinnett Judicial Circuit handling special projects.[8]

Early life, education, and career

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Lopez Romero was born in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca and came to the United States at the age of five.[9][10] In 2008, after years of waiting on a backlog, Lopez Romero became a U.S. Citizen.[11] She graduated from Cross Keys High School in DeKalb County. After becoming the first in her family to graduate high school, Lopez Romero earned a bachelor's degree in political science and sociology from Georgia State University in 2005. She then went on to receive her Juris Doctor, with a concentration in National Security and Counterterrorism, from Syracuse University College of Law.[12] Before graduating law school in 2011, Lopez Romero served as a law clerk for the Farmworker's Division of the Georgia Legal Services Program; she then clerked for the ACLU of Georgia's National Security and Immigrant Rights Project.[13]

In 2011, after being admitted to the State Bar of Georgia, Lopez Romero managed the immigration department for the Velasquez Law Firm, LLC.[14] In 2012, through her role as a staff attorney for Catholic Charities' Immigration Legal Services, Lopez Romero represented numerous low-income immigrants and families in times of crisis. In 2013, she opened her own law firm in Norcross, Georgia primarily dealing with immigration matters.[13]

Georgia House of Representatives

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2016 and 2018 campaigns

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In 2016, Lopez Romero ran to represent Georgia's 99th State House District in the General Assembly. After beating Jay Trevari in the Democratic primary, Lopez Romero won 100% of the vote in the general election and became the first Latina elected to the state's legislature. In 2018, Lopez Romero ran for re-election to the State House; she handily beat her primary opponent, Shawn Allen, winning 77% of the vote. She again ran unopposed in the general election and was subsequently re-elected with 100% of the vote.[3]

Legislative tenure

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After being sworn in 2017, Lopez Romero served on the Education, Retirement, and State Planning and community Affairs committees. She sponsored, or co-authored, 72 bills in office.[15]

HB 481

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Lopez Romero was opposed to and voted against Georgia House Bill 481, a bill proposing a six-week abortion ban. She, along with several other lawmakers, brought coathangers onto the House floor to show her opposition to the controversial bill.[16]

HB 896

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In 2020, Lopez Romero, along with several other legislators, introduced HB 896; the bill seeks to allow high school graduates in Georgia to receive in-state tuition regardless of their immigration status. If passed, Georgia would have been the 20th state to enact such a law.[17]

2020 congressional campaign

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On May 1, 2019, Lopez Romero announced that she would not seek re-election to the State House and would instead run for Georgia's 7th congressional district. Upon announcing she said, "We have a unique opportunity to elect someone who reflects the values and the rich diversity of our district...I know that I am the right person for the job.”[2] Soon after announcing, she was endorsed by Georgia House Minority Leader Bob Trammell, Chair of the Gwinnett House Delegation Rep. Pedro Marin, Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education Board Chair Jason Esteves, Georgia House Democratic Chair James Beverly, and several other major figures in the state.[12]

After the June 9, 2020 election, numerous media outlets had initially declared that the primary would be going to a runoff between Lopez Romero and Carolyn Bourdeaux; however, after tens of thousands of absentee ballots were counted, Bourdeaux was declared to have won the primary outright.[18][19]

In her concession statement, Brenda Lopez Romero stated, "I am about to walk into legislative session and just walked out of our streets as I protested and stated that #BlackLivesMatter, this impresses upon me how vital our work is and that there is still a great deal to do for our state and country. As I finish up my last term in the state legislature (for now), I will continue to fight for the hate crimes bill and justice-for-all legislation, push back against cuts to our education budget, and reform our state’s election laws so every citizen can exercise their sacred right to vote with ease and security. Furthermore, I will concentrate on supporting efforts to flip the 16 state house seats we need in order to prevent disastrous gerrymandering in 2021....No one is voiceless. Rather, there are those whose voices are always heard and those whose voices continue to be ignored. It is my goal to magnify the voices and perspectives of those who are ignored."[20]

Honors and awards

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The Georgia Association of Educators' gave Lopez Romero the 2017 Friend of Education Award.[21] In 2019, she was recognized as one of the 50 Most Influential Latinos in Georgia.[21] She was also one of 21 women to have been selected as one of the Atlanta Business Chronicle's 2019 Women Who Mean Business honorees.[22] Leadership Atlanta chose Lopez Romero to be part of their Class of 2020.[23]

Electoral history

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Georgia's 99th State House District, Democratic primary, 2016[3]
Party Candidate Vote% Votes
Dem. Brenda Lopez Romero 57.87% 566
Dem. Jay Trevari 42.13% 412
Total Votes 978
Georgia's 99th State House District, General Election, 2016[3]
Party Candidate Vote% Votes
Dem. Brenda Lopez Romero 100% 8,060
(unopposed)
Total Votes 8,060
Georgia's 99th State House District, Democratic primary, 2018[3]
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Dem. Brenda Lopez Romero 77.1% 1,082
Dem. Shawn Allen 22.9% 321
Total Votes 1,403
Georgia's 99th State House District, General Election, 2018[3]
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
Dem. Brenda Lopez Romero 100% 7,362
(unopposed)
Total Votes 7,362

References

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  1. ^ "Georgia General Assembly".
  2. ^ a b c curt.yeomans@gwinnettdailypost.com, Curt Yeomans (May 2019). "State Rep. Brenda Lopez Romero jumps into Seventh Congressional District race". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Brenda Lopez Romero". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Brenda Lopez". Open States. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  5. ^ "Brenda Lopez". Open States. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  6. ^ Swanson, Ian (April 18, 2019). "Latino group urges state lawmaker to make primary challenge to Democrat for Georgia House seat". TheHill. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  7. ^ "About GCDP". Gwinnett Democrats. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  8. ^ "Meet the Team | Gwinnett County". www.gwinnettcounty.com. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  9. ^ "Legisladora Brenda López Romero en campaña para Congreso Federal". Mundo Hispanico (in Spanish). September 27, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  10. ^ "Alumni Celebrate Hispanic and Latino Pride". cusecommunity.syr.edu. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  11. ^ David Wickert, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Lopez poised to make history as first Latina in the General Assembly". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Bio". Vote Brenda Lopez. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  13. ^ a b "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  14. ^ "Member Directory Search". www.gabar.org. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  15. ^ "Brenda Lopez". Open States. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  16. ^ Brumback, Kate; Press, The Associated. "The Palm Beach Post". www.palmbeachpost.com. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  17. ^ "HB 896 aims to let grads pay in-state tuition regardless of immigration status". WXIA. 8 February 2020. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  18. ^ "Democrats Bourdeaux, Lopez Romero headed to runoff in 7th Congressional District primary". www.forsythnews.com. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  19. ^ "Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux wins primary for open seat in Georgia suburbs". Roll Call. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  20. ^ "Brenda Lopez Romero". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  21. ^ a b taylor.denman @gwinnettdailypost.com, Taylor Denman (30 August 2019). "Several locals named to list of of[sic] 50 Most Influential Latinos in Georgia". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  22. ^ "Virginia Hepner among 21 leaders selected for Women Who Mean Business Awards". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  23. ^ curt.yeomans@gwinnettdailypost.com, Curt Yeomans (5 May 2019). "POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Trio of bills backed by state Sen. P.K. Martin signed into law". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
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