About Sandra

Sandra Romero has lived in Thurston County for the last 29 years.  She and Fred Romero have been married for 30 years, and have two children and two grandchildren – all living in Thurston County.  She graduated from The Evergreen State College with her Bachelor of Arts degree.

She’s been a soccer mom and a cub scout volunteer.

Sandra enjoys biking, camping and hiking, canoeing and gardening. She has been active in historic preservation issues and is co-founder of the Art Deco Society Northwest and sponsored the legislation that created the Capitol Furnishings Committee to preserve our historic Capitol Campus treasures.

She is most passionate about Thurston County remaining identifiable as Thurston County and not like everywhere else USA.

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Elected Public Service:

• Thurston County Commissioner 2009-2012
• Animal Services
• Alliance for a Healthy South Sound
• Economic Development Council
• Intercity Transit
• LOTT
• Nisqually River Council
• Puget Sound Partnership Salmon Recovery Council
• Thurston Regional Planning Council

• Washington State House of Representatives, 22nd District
• House Natural Resources Committee
• Assistant Majority Whip
• Ranking Minority, Commerce and Labor Committee
• Ranking Minority, Land Use and Government Reform Committee
• Transportation Committee
• Co-Chair, State Government Committee
• Chair, State Government Committee
• Chair, House Local Government Committee
• Member of the Capitol Campus Design Advisory Committee
• Member of the Legislative Building Oversight Committee
• Chair, Green Building Task Force
• Olympia City Council Member. One of seven non-partisan elected City Council Members, representing residents on citywide issues
• Chaired the Community Development sub-committee
• Served as the Council’s lead on City Regional Urban Design Assistance Team (RUDAT) project
• Served as the Council’s representative on Inter-City Transit and Animal Services Committees
• Granite Falls School Board

Community Leadership and Advocacy Experience:

• Senior Resident Program Manager, Islamabad, Pakistan for  the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, 2004 to 2005 and Cambodia 2004. Implemented and developed training work shops and training materials for political party activists. These trainings were developed to teach political party activists methods of grass roots democracy.
• Member of the League of Women Voters Thurston County
• Former Board Member, Citizens Concerned about Chambers Lake Basin
• Former Board of Futurewise, the statewide land-use watchdog dedicated to promoting healthy communities and protecting rural land and wildlife habitat

Previous Service:

• Board Member, Kokua
• Board Member, Habitat for Humanity
• Board Member, Bigelow House Preservation Association
• Board Member, Behavioral Health Services
• Board Member, Safeplace (domestic violence services)
• Board Member, South Sound Advocates for the Disabled
• Lobbyist, Marriage and Family Therapists
• Member, Inter-City Transit Board
• Member, Child Care Action Council
• Member, Animal Services Board
• Co-founder, Art Deco Society of the Northwest
• Founding Member, Heritage Park Citizens’ Advisory Board
• Chair, Thurston County Historic Commission
• Chair, City of Olympia Heritage Commission

Legislative Accomplishments (partial list):

• Sponsored the Divorcing Parents Seminar which became a statewide program.
• Sponsored the Collective Bargaining and Civil Service Reform act for State employees.
• Secured funding for the Chehalis Western Trail.
• Sponsored the Animal Cruelty Penalty act.
• Led the first efforts for Green Building by state government.
• Sponsored the Capitol Furnishings committee to preserve the valuable antique treasures of the Capitol campus buildings group.
• Secured funding to purchase the historic Bigelow House in Olympia and the Long House on The Evergreen College campus.
• Worked to secure funding for both the Yelm treatment facility and the Yelm loop road project.

Awards and Recognitions:

• Legislator of the Year from the Washington State Labor Council
• George Masten Courage Award from the Federation of State Employees
• Legislator of the Year from the Washington Conservation Voters
• Legislator of the Year from the Washington State Manufactured Housing Association 2004
• Woman of Achievement award from the Olympia Chapter of the YWCA
• Legislator of the Year award from the Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association
• Norman E. Finch Humanitarian Award from the Federation of Animal Care and Control Agencies
• Recognition Award, Bicycle Alliance of Washington for advancing bicycle transportation throughout Washington State

Education and Training:

• The Evergreen State College, Bachelor of Arts degree
• Green Building Certificates from Bates Technical College (including Green Remodeling, Construction Materials for a Healthy Environment, and Water Conservation)
• National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) Leadership Training
• Yearly Ethics Training
•  “Railvolution” National conference on linking land use and transportation.
•  Dispute Resolution Training