Brenda Lopez Romero

Latina Profile

Name:  Brenda Lopez Romero

Political Experience:

• Georgia General Assembly Representative for District 99
• Candidate for the U. S. House of Representatives

Location: Gwinnett County, Georgia

Degrees:

•  B.A. in Political Science from Georgia State University
• J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law

Overview:

Brenda Lopez Romero was born in Cuernavaca, Mexico. She and her family immigrated to the United States to be reunited with her father when she was about five years old. In 2016, Brenda made history by becoming the first Latina elected to the Georgia General Assembly. In 2020, Brenda ran for election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Although she lost the Democratic primary, she remains driven to serve her community. Her term in the Georgia General Assembly ended in January 2021.

NOTE: This interview has been edited and condensed for the sake of length, clarity and formatting.

What motivated you to run for the Georgia State Legislature?

I ran in 2015 and got elected in 2016 to the State House District 99. Honestly, I had been doing advocacy work and volunteer work, but it had never occurred to me to run for office. I actually had never been involved in party politics or electoral issues or campaigns. But in 2014, we had an election here, and I had a friend call me and ask if I could help him with outreach engagement in minority communities. So I did that to help my friend.

After that election, I had someone call me and say that I should consider running for [State] House. It had only been about a year and a half since I had started my own law practice, so I said, “This is not a good time for me.” A few months later, the same friend who asked me to help on the campaign called me and told me the same thing. I couldn’t say no so quickly, so I told him I would think about it. In that process of thinking about it, he told me to go to meetings, mostly county party stuff, and one of his suggestions was that I speak to the current state representative for the district. I had a meeting with [the state representative], and it did not go well. He started talking about the things he thought were wrong with the district and it basically became a list of all the negative stereotypes of Latinos.

That’s when I decided to run for office. Again, it was not in my plans in terms of timeline, but sometimes if we don’t like our elected officials or they don’t represent our values, then we have to show up.

What do you think drove you to successfully win that election, especially considering that your local party officials and unions endorsed your opponent?

I think it was a combination of having a lot of people willing to put in a lot of labor, free of cost, and then on top of that, having an understanding of how to connect with the community. And not just the Latino community, because this district is very diverse across income levels, race and ethnic group, and age. The third thing that I would add is putting in a lot of hard work.

What were some of the issues you had to tackle during your campaign for the state legislature?

Not coming from a political side I understood that there was a need for basic education about elections. We can’t even get to the issues when people don’t even know that there’s an election going on. So a lot of the work we did was actually just voter engagement about letting them know that I’m running, but also this is how you vote, where you vote, and what times you vote.

When I did voter engagement, it wasn’t about me telling them why these positions were important, but me saying, ‘’Hey, tell me what you think and what are your concerns.” And really the vast majority of the concerns were not state politics related; it was the bread and butter. People needed sidewalks, streetlights, and something about public safety, whether it was under-policing or over-policing, all of which are county-related, not state level. But the fact that people needed that information is where we started.

How did COVID-19 impact your work in the state legislature?

As a State Representative, I took calls all day long to answer [questions on] how to safely vote, how to pay rent, how to apply for unemployment, and how to avoid bankruptcy. I sent daily and weekly e-newsletters and social media updates on COVID-19 resources. I actively urged the governor to ban evictions and foreclosures and stood against his untimely and unwise reopening. I advocated for economic assistance to our impacted workers and mom-and-pop businesses and funding for our state budget that minimized the impact on our public schools.

What would you say is the biggest misconception people had about your job in the state legislature?

A lot of people really think that being an elected [official] means that there is a lot of financial benefit to it. I have been asked where my car is that I get from the state, or where my district office is. But at the state legislature, we have no budget, no staff, definitely no district offices. We get paid a little bit over $17,000 in stipend. 

As a matter of fact, I tell folks that it is a financial sacrifice, both being elected in state legislature and campaigning for Congress, because even with the stipend that we do get, in comparison to what I could’ve made if I just continued practicing law, I still lose money year to year.

What is the most fulfilling part of your job?

In the state legislature, one of the things I’m most proud of really has been doing an extension of advocacy work that I did in the past, but just with a little bit more information and resources.

Another thing that I’m really proud of is working with a lot of young folks. I believe that education and access to opportunities are really how we are going to move diverse communities forward, particularly low-income communities. I tell folks that being the first elected Latina means absolutely nothing if we don’t get more diverse people running, and not just of Latino background–but of all backgrounds. We actually had the first intern that wore a hijab in the State Capitol as part of our team. It makes me proud to actually see them succeed. 

What did an average day look like for you, while you were running for Congress?

The only thing that was average about my days was that they were long. I tell folks that campaigning and being in the political world is an 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. job and a Monday through Sunday job. You have to be willing to put in a lot of time investment. 

You make a lot of time sacrifices–personally, financially, and professionally–to be able to run if you want to win and if you don’t already come with a lot of financial resources. I grew up in a low-income family, and so my network isn’t necessarily people who have thousands of dollars to give you. So if you don’t already have a strong financial network, this is a labor of love. You have to invest pretty much every waking hour into your campaign and political work. 

As a Latina in an elected position, what is some advice you have for young Latinas, especially those who want to run for office?

What I would want Latinos, particularly Latinas, to know is that it is okay to not know what to do. It is okay to make a lot of mistakes along the way; there is no such thing as being ready. And you have to get engaged, you have to run for office, even when you are afraid or don’t feel fully confident. And running for office is really an emotional rollercoaster.  Some days you feel good and you feel like things are working out and you’re doing the right thing, and some days you are like, ‘Oh my God, everything is wrong and I have no idea what is going on.’ And that is okay too–that’s part of the process. I think it happens to everyone. 

If people want to help a candidate, what are some tangible ways they can contribute to a campaign, especially if they have no political experience?

I always tell people that one of the most important things that they can do for a campaign–any campaign at whatever level, is to canvas. It is work that is the hardest and does not get any limelight, but it’s something that always needs to be done.

What is inspiring you right now?

I have a really strong relationship with my father. He raised me since I was seven, so it is always motivating for me to be able to do the things that he couldn’t. Again, both of my parents had less than an elementary school education, and so for them, it was really important for me to do something with my life. They would always say, “Go to school and be somebody,” and that is something that always motivates me in whatever it is that I do.