Tucson City Councilmember Regina Romero is announcing this afternoon that she is running for mayor of Tucson.

Jonathan Rothschild, who has served two terms atop City Hall, announced that he would not seek reelection last month.

Romero has represented Westside Ward 1 since winning election in 2007.

The other big-name Democrat talking about a campaign is former state lawmaker Steve Farley, but others may well join the crowd in the coming months.

Here's the press release from Romero:

Regina Romero is a Southern Arizona native and a University of Arizona graduate with a post graduate certificate from Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She has served on the Tucson City Council representing Ward 1 for eleven years.

“I am running for Mayor of Tucson because I am prepared to fight for what is right for working families, provide a safe, clean and environmentally sustainable city with access to economic opportunity for everyone.”

As Mayor of Tucson, Romero will focus on developing an economic incentive program that will help small businesses thrive in the City, work with experts to craft a citywide climate resiliency plan and push for higher wages to improve the quality of life for city workers and those that contract with the city.

“I was first elected to the Tucson City Council just as the Great Recession was beginning to affect our city. Since then, we have seen unprecedented economic growth because of the many incentives and continued work that I and my colleagues on the Mayor and Council have done. I look forward to Tucson’s continued economic growth and will work in partnership with the business community, nonprofits, neighborhoods and other jurisdictions to make sure we honor Tucson’s rich history and retain our unique character while continuing our path towards prosperity.”

Key accomplishments for Romero on the Tucson Council include drafting the City’s Primary Jobs Incentive Program that has created hundreds of high wage, long term jobs and pushing for the creation of an Economic Initiatives office. As a mother who understands the needs of working families, she fiercely protected the City’s KIDCO program from being eliminated during the recession. Pushing forward sustainable practices, she helped develop Tucson’s Water Service Area policy that safeguards Tucson’s future water supply while protecting hundreds of acres of pristine desert in our region..

Understanding that protected open space is critical for the health of our community, Regina was instrumental in protecting Painted Hills and Tumamoc Hill as permanent open space. She also led the Tucson effort against Arizona’s racist SB1070 law and pushed for the creation of a paid Cesar E. Chavez holiday for the city.

Knowing how critical infrastructure investments are for the City, Romero supported and advocated to pass initiatives that have invested millions of dollars on our roads, public safety and our parks. She has been a force for downtown redevelopment with her advocacy for federal funding for the modern streetcar and for the development of the Westside. She has pushed for millions of dollars in public and private investment including the Cushing Street bridge, Mercado San Agustin, West End Station, Monier Apartments and facilitating the relocation of Caterpillar in partnership with the Rio Nuevo Board and the State of Arizona. She also fought to bring the streetcar to the Westside and helped protect the Tucson Origins Heritage Park, the birthplace of Tucson. As Mayor, Romero will bring her vision and ability to get things done to the whole city.

Romero feels strongly that dark money should be kept out of politics and will be participating in the City’s Clean Elections program. Her campaign will be co-chaired by businessman Cody Ritchie and environmentalist Carolyn Campbell. To learn more about Council Member Romero’s campaign, visit her website at http://www.votereginaromero.org