Tucson Mayor Regina Romero celebrated her inaugural celebration and delivered her annual report, where she discussed her accomplishments, collaboration with council members, community partnerships, and plans for 2024. Her ongoing priorities as Mayor include building safe neighborhoods, fighting climate change, creating affordable housing, securing safe water, attracting good jobs, and improving quality of life.
Mayor Romero emphasized innovative approaches beyond traditional policing, such as the Place Network Investigation program, resulting in a substantial 75% reduction in gun violence. She also announced the launch of the 311 system to meet to non-urgent social needs, easing the burden on emergency services and ensuring residents have a streamlined access point to city services.
Addressing housing and homelessness, the Mayor highlighted the Housing First program’s success, assisting vulnerable populations by providing housing and other support services. The program’s coordinators have served nearly 1,000 residents and moved over 650 people into permanent housing.
Mayor Romero shared the city’s climate work, including initiatives like Tucson Resilient Together, securing grants for bus fleet transition, developing resilient building codes, and investing in urban forestry programs to combat the effects of climate change. The Mayor also discussed plans for economic growth, focusing on the Transform Tucson Initiative and collaborations that resulted in substantial capital attraction, small business support, and the establishment of Arizona’s only Green Bank.
Watch Mayor Romero’s full address here.
