Hon. Miguel A. Romero Lugo
Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Miguel A. Romero-Lugo is a committed father, husband, lawyer and public servant. He is a simple man and a proven, able, honest and sensible leader with a vision of progress and a great sense of social responsibility.
Born in San Juan, he took his first steps in the Villa Prades and Dos Pinos Houses communities. For many years, and to this day, he has lived in Hato Rey, with his wife Maritere and daughter Ana Victoria.
At 17, he enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree. A year later, he was admitted to the Interamerican University Law School, from which he graduated summa cum laude, with the highest academic grade point average in his class. He passed the bar exam with a 100% mark, the highest among all the candidates.
While in private practice, he concentrated on labor law. In 2008, he was appointed Secretary of Labor. In that position, Romero excelled as a great conflicts mediator, reaching important agreements for the benefit of workers. Later, in 2012, he was appointed Chief of Staff to the Governor, from which position he once again demonstrated his leadership and his abilities as an administrator, manager and coordinator of all departments and agencies of the Government of Puerto Rico.
With a firm commitment of serving the people of San Juan, in January 2017, Miguel Romero commenced his first term as an elected official, as Senator for the District of San Juan, which term he completed in December, 2020.
From the Senate, Romero-Lugo demonstrated his commitment to the people of San Juan by way of important legislation for the benefit of our Capital City, such as: the “Law for the Management of Public Nuisances and Urban Reconstruction of Santurce and Río Piedras,” which seeks to return the splendor to these communities by refurbishing their buildings; the “Law of Preferences for Local Puerto Rican Business and Contractors,” which promotes economic development and provides incentives to our small and medium sized businesses; and the “Law for Expedited Administrative Processes for our Seniors,” which caters for our senior population by making their daily lives easier.
As a firm believer in human rights, Romero-Lugo also introduced legislation in defense of the most vulnerable sectors of our society such as the “Law to Establish Prenatal, Natal and Postnatal Care for Medically-indigent Expectant Mothers in Puerto Rico,” to ensure that no woman is left without access to medical care, independently of her immigration status or social class; the “Law for Special Leave for Employees Facing Catastrophic Illnesses,” to protect our workers in moments of greatest need; and the “Law for Provisional Leave for Veterinarian Professionals,” to give continuity to massive sterilization and inoculation initiatives that may help ease the problem of stray animals in our streets, among other social interest initiatives.
During his term in the Senate, Senator Romero-Lugo demonstrated his leadership and sensibility towards our citizens by intervening in favor of San Juan communities in their moments of greatest need, such as the devastation of the Irma and María Hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic. During these emergencies, Senator Romero no only provided the assistance our people needed, but also defended them by way of important initiatives for their protection, such as the law that enabled grace periods for mortgage, credit card, personal and auto loan payments, as well as legislation to establish health protection protocols in senior living and care facilities.
At present, Miguel Romero serves the people of San Juan as Mayor of the Capital City of San Juan, office he was sworn into in January, 2021. His commitment towards our city has inspired a number of programs to clean, repair and refurbish our capital, such as Recovering San Juan and Updating your Streets, which is impacting every corner of San Juan with an historic, multi-million-dollar investment in road repair. During his first months in City Hall, Mayor Romero managed to rescue a number of forgotten public spaces and rehabilitate municipal facilities no longer accessible to the people of San Juan due to the abandonment and poor management of the prior administration.
Romero once again demonstrated his leadership within weeks of taking office as Mayor, when he managed to negotiate a $124 million debt the Municipality had accrued with the Retirement Systems Administration, due to the years of mismanagement by the prior administration, which had threatened the municipal employees’ retirement plan by failing to make the required employer contributions. Furthermore, the Romero administration has managed to foster Puerto Rico’s capital city tourism and economic development through initiatives like Open Air San Juan and the celebration of the 5OOth Anniversary of the Foundation of San Juan Bautista, among other efforts.
Panel Information
Thursday, March 17
7 pm EST - 9:30 pm EST
Legislative Awards Gala
LULAC National Service Award
Register for the Gala