Mayor Romero Announces Creation of Racial Equity & Justice Advisory Council

Today, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero announced the creation of a new Mayoral Advisory Council on Racial Equity & Justice. The announcement comes two weeks after George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis and at the recommendation and in coordination with local faith and community leaders. 

The Advisory Council will be composed of stakeholders and organizers from diverse segments of the Tucson community and will be tasked with identifying and offering policy solutions to address inequities within city government and the provision of city services. Additionally, the Advisory Council will work to advance the Equity Needs Assessment, first proposed by Council Member Santa Cruz, that Mayor & Council passed last night. 

“In order to change and address systemic racism, we must re-examine the entire system,” said Mayor Romero. “Our single greatest strength as a city is our diversity; Tucsonans take pride in the fact that we are a culturally diverse and inclusive city with people from all different backgrounds. Yet social inequities that disproportionately affect historically marginalized communities persist.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the health and economic vulnerabilities of marginalized communities. The murder of George Floyd and so many of our Black brothers and sisters has highlighted the systemic racism that still pervades our country.”

“We must constantly challenge ourselves in ways that, at times, may make us feel uncomfortable. We can always do better: in the policies we set as Mayor & Council, in our police department, and as fellow Tucsonans. If we are ‘comfortable’ with where we’re at, we are doing something wrong. We must ensure that we are taking every step possible to address both the implicit and explicit biases within city government and the services we provide.”

Specifically, the Racial Equity & Justice Advisory Council will be tasked with:

• Reviewing and advising on policy recommendations that address disparities in housing, health, education, neighborhood investment, job training, and policing strategies that disproportionately affect communities of color
• Ensuring an equity and justice lens is applied to current and future policy making and budget discussions, and assisting in the deconstruction of institutional racism
• Last night, Mayor & Council voted to advance a proposal by Council Member Santa Cruz to conduct an Equity Needs Assessment for the City of Tucson – the advisory council will work to push this assessment forward
• Engaging with the Police Chief’s Advisory Council and the Community Police Advisory Review Board to advise the Mayor on issues and challenges in community-police relationships, and the strategies and programs found to be effective