Roy R. Romer (born October 31, 1928 in
Garden City, KansasGarden City is a city in Finney County, Kansas, United States. The population was 28,451 as of the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Finney County, and provides the campus of Garden City Community College. It is home to Lee Richardson Zoo, the largest zoological facility in western Kansas...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) was the 39th
Governor of ColoradoThe Governor of Colorado is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Colorado General Assembly, to convene the...
and served as the
superintendentIn education, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization.-United States:...
of the
Los Angeles Unified School DistrictLos Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. During the 2007-2008 school year, LAUSD served 694,288 students, and had 45,473...
from 2001 to 2006.
Romer grew up in the southeastern Colorado town of
HollyThe historic Town of Holly is a Statutory Town in Prowers County, Colorado, United States, near the Kansas border. Located four miles from the Kansas border at an elevation of , Holly is the lowest town in Colorado...
. Romer received a bachelor's degree in
agricultural economicsAgricultural economics originally applied the principles of economics to the production of crops and livestock — a discipline known as agronomics. Agronomics was a branch of economics that specifically dealt with land usage. It focused on maximizing the yield of crops while maintaining a good soil...
from
Colorado State UniversityColorado State University is a public institution of higher learning located in Fort Collins, Colorado in the United States. Colorado State University is the state's land grant university and the flagship campus university of the Colorado State University System. The enrollment is approximately...
in 1950, where he served for one year as President of the Associated Students of Colorado State University. He later received a law degree from the
University of Colorado School of LawThe University of Colorado Law School is one of the professional graduate schools within the University of Colorado System. It is a public law school, with more than 500 students attending and working toward a Juris Doctor. The Wolf Law Building Located in Boulder, Colorado, and is sited on the...
in 1952.
Roy R. Romer (born October 31, 1928 in
Garden City, KansasGarden City is a city in Finney County, Kansas, United States. The population was 28,451 as of the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Finney County, and provides the campus of Garden City Community College. It is home to Lee Richardson Zoo, the largest zoological facility in western Kansas...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) was the 39th
Governor of ColoradoThe Governor of Colorado is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Colorado General Assembly, to convene the...
and served as the
superintendentIn education, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization.-United States:...
of the
Los Angeles Unified School DistrictLos Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. During the 2007-2008 school year, LAUSD served 694,288 students, and had 45,473...
from 2001 to 2006.
Family & Education
Romer grew up in the southeastern Colorado town of
HollyThe historic Town of Holly is a Statutory Town in Prowers County, Colorado, United States, near the Kansas border. Located four miles from the Kansas border at an elevation of , Holly is the lowest town in Colorado...
. Romer received a bachelor's degree in
agricultural economicsAgricultural economics originally applied the principles of economics to the production of crops and livestock — a discipline known as agronomics. Agronomics was a branch of economics that specifically dealt with land usage. It focused on maximizing the yield of crops while maintaining a good soil...
from
Colorado State UniversityColorado State University is a public institution of higher learning located in Fort Collins, Colorado in the United States. Colorado State University is the state's land grant university and the flagship campus university of the Colorado State University System. The enrollment is approximately...
in 1950, where he served for one year as President of the Associated Students of Colorado State University. He later received a law degree from the
University of Colorado School of LawThe University of Colorado Law School is one of the professional graduate schools within the University of Colorado System. It is a public law school, with more than 500 students attending and working toward a Juris Doctor. The Wolf Law Building Located in Boulder, Colorado, and is sited on the...
in 1952. He also studied
ethicsEthics is a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality, such as what the fundamental semantic, ontological, and epistemic nature of ethics or morality is , how moral values should be determined , how a moral outcome can be achieved in specific situations , how moral...
at
Yale UniversityYale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Yale has produced many notable alumni, including five...
, and was a legal officer in the U.S. Air Force. He and his wife, Bea, have seven children and 19 grandchildren and one greatgrandchild. His son
Paul RomerPaul Michael Romer is an American economist, entrepreneur, and activist. He is also a Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Center for International Development and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. He is considered an expert on economic growth.Romer earned a B.S. in physics...
is an economist, and his son
Chris RomerChris Romer is a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado State Senate as a Democrat in 2006, Romer represents Senate District 32, which encompasses southern Denver.-Biography:...
, was elected to a Colorado State Senate seat from Denver in November 2006.
Early professional activities
In the 1950s and 1960s, Romer was an attorney in Denver. He was also active in the management of his family's agricultural operations throughout Colorado. Romer has continued and is also the owner, with one of his sons, of a chain of
John DeereJohn Deere was an American blacksmith and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company— the largest agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world...
equipment stores in Colorado,
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
and
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
. He helped develop Colorado's
Centennial AirportCentennial Airport lies within unincorporated Arapahoe and Douglas Counties, near Denver, Colorado. The airport opened on May 12, 1967 as Arapahoe County Airport, and was renamed to its current name July 13, 1984. It is not named after the nearby city of Centennial, having predated it by 17...
, ran a flying school and owned and operated a ski area.
Colorado state government
Romer served in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1958–1962 and in the Colorado Senate from 1962-1966. Romer was Colorado
State TreasurerIn the state governments of the United States, 49 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. Texas abolished the position of Texas State Treasurer in 1996....
from 1977-1987, and a member of the governor's cabinet. Romer was first elected as governor in 1986, and re-elected in 1990 and 1994; he was the last Colorado governor to serve three terms.
National political positions
Romer chaired the
Democratic Governors AssociationThe Democratic Governors Association is a Washington, D.C.-based organization founded in 1983, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Democratic Party. The DGA's Republican counterpart is the Republican Governors Association. The DGA is not directly affiliated with...
in 1991. In 1992, he was co-chairman of the Democratic National Platform Committee. Romer served as national vice chair of the
Democratic Leadership CouncilThe Democratic Leadership Council is a non-profit 501 corporation that, upon its formation, argued the United States Democratic Party should shift away from the leftward turn it took in the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s...
, and was a national co-chairman of the Clinton-Gore '96 campaign. In January 1997, Romer was elected to serve as general chairman of the
Democratic National CommitteeThe Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
.
From 1992-1993, Romer served as chair of the
National Governors AssociationThe National Governors Association , founded in 1908 as the National Governors' Conference, is a primarily taxpayer-funded lobbying organization of the governors of the fifty U.S. states and five U.S. territories The National Governors Association (NGA), founded in 1908 as the National Governors'...
. In 1994-1995 he chaired the
Education Commission of the StatesThe Education Commission of the States was founded as a result of the creation of the Compact for Education, an interstate compact approved by Congress in 1965 and currently entered by 49 U.S...
, and in 1995, was part of a bipartisan effort by the nation's governors to reform
Medicaid Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states. Among the groups of people served by Medicaid are certain...
.
Romer v. Evans
In law, his name is associated with the anti-discrimination suit
Romer v. EvansRomer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 , is a United States Supreme Court case dealing with civil rights and state laws. The Court gave its ruling on May 20, 1996 against an amendment to the Colorado state constitution that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state from taking any...
that was brought to the
Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate...
during his tenure as Governor of Colorado. Though he was opposed to the amendment to the Constitution of Colorado in question, he was forced to defend it in his position as Governor.
Romer v. Grant
In October 2004, Roy Romer and the Los Angeles Unified School District filed suit in the United States District Court, Central District of California against David Grant, a former student of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The suit cited false endorsement of the Lanham Act, violation of the Can-Spam Act, California Statutory Cyber Piracy, violation of the right of publicity under California statutory and common law, and California statutory unfair competition.
The lawsuit alleged David Grant attempted to lure the district's 700,000 students to a pornographic website. Roy Romer and the Los Angeles Unified School District subsequently settled with David Grant for an undisclosed sum. In return, David Grant returned the domain name royromer.com to the district.
Recent professional activities
On July 1, 2001, he became
SuperintendentIn education, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization.-United States:...
of the
Los Angeles Unified School DistrictLos Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. During the 2007-2008 school year, LAUSD served 694,288 students, and had 45,473...
, where he served for six years. On October 12, 2006, the Los Angeles Board of Education unanimously named
David L. Brewer IIIDavid L. Brewer is a retired Vice Admiral of the United States Navy. The 35-year veteran of the Navy commanded Military Sealift Command from August 2001 until his retirement in March 2006, and served as Vice Chief of Naval Education and Training from 1999-2001....
as his successor.
A May 8, 2006
Los Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California since 1881. It is distributed throughout the Western United States. It is the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States and the fourth-most widely distributed newspaper in the United States...
article suggested naming a school after Romer. LAUSD announced that Roy Romer Middle School would open in 2008 in the eastern
San Fernando ValleyThe San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in Southern California, United States. More than half of the city of Los Angeles' land area lies within the San Fernando Valley...
.
On April 25, 2007, Roy Romer began his service as the chairman and lead spokesman for
Strong American SchoolsStrong American Schools, a project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, is a nonprofit organization supported by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that seeks to promote sound education policies for all Americans...
, a nonprofit project responsible for running
Ed in 08Strong American Schools, a project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, is a nonprofit organization supported by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that seeks to promote sound education policies for all Americans...
, an information and initiative campaign funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the
Eli and Edythe Broad foundationEli Broad a native of Detroit, Michigan is a American billionaire who presently resides in Los Angeles, California. His last name is pronounced as rhyming with road.Broad is well known for his philanthropy and extensive art collection...
, aimed at encouraging 2008 presidential contenders to include education in their campaign policies.
External links