From the Water Street Farmers Market to the White House, Mayor Michelle Romero has had a hand in Henderson’s three decades of progress but now she faces her next test—re-election.
Romero, a Henderson native, can trace her work in city government back to 1999 with her help in the opening of the Water Street Farmers Market and later the Super Run Car Show alongside business leaders. By 2007, she worked for the Henderson Redevelopment Agency and continued efforts to grow the city’s residential and commercial capacities.
Following a term as a Henderson Ward I councilmember, Romero was elected mayor in June 2022 and said she hopes residents look to her voting record to maintain rural neighborhoods, protect businesses, and support public safety. She acknowledged Henderson, along with other cities, is facing a tighter budget amid an initial $10 million deficit.
“We started with that, we were actually able to address it very quickly,” she said. “And our tentative budget that we approved a couple of weeks ago, there’s no deficit.”
During an 8 News Politics Now interview, Romero addressed the city manager’s decision to fire the police chief, her legal action against another councilmember’s “spurious rumors,” and what transparency means.
On Feb. 14, Henderson City Manager Stephanie Garcia-Vause made the decision to place the then-police chief, Hollie Chadwick, on leave. Garcia-Vause said she and Chadwick had differing leadership styles and declined to provide further explanation.
The departure has been at the center of numerous calls for more information regarding the decision, but both Garcia-Vause and Romero said residents are not entitled to employee information, citing city policy.
“We don’t talk about personnel issues,” Romero said. “That’s not fair to the employee.”
Romero said the departure is not indicative of any discord between the city and the police department.
“The city police department is wonderful,” she said. “They keep us one of the safest cities in America, and it’s because of the hard work of the men and women in that department. Changes at the top don’t really affect their job, and don’t affect impact their ability to do their job well, and so it really has no bearing, one way or the other, on operations at the city, or how we view how we move forward.”
Amid Garcia-Vause’s decision to fire Chadwick, dismiss a police volunteer, and cancel some city “Morning Meet ups,” Romero said she supports the city manager’s decisions.
“I support the city manager in her right to do that, and I have full faith that she didn’t do it arbitrarily, that she followed the appropriate processes,” Romero said. “She values our employees very much. She’s not afraid to make a hard decision if that’s what’s best for the city. And I have faith in her ability to do that.”
Following the announcement of the interim police chief Itzhak Henn’s retirement, Romero faces the chance of a new police chief becoming the fourth person in the position in two months.
“We knew going in that the acting chief was going to be retiring very soon,” she said. “We knew that was happening. It wasn’t a surprise. And I think it will be very close to, if there’s any gap at all, it’ll be very close to when he retires and we have a new chief in place.”
Distrust between Romero and Henderson Councilwoman Carrie Cox has reached a boiling point inside City Hall amid recent legal action.
On Jan. 7, the law firm Pisanelli Bice served a cease and desist to Cox on behalf of Romero. The purpose: to stop the spread of alleged rumors of an extra-marital affair, according to a copy of the letter 8 News Now obtained.
“I had people, both in person and written statements from a multitude of people that notified me of the things that she was saying,” Romero said. “My attorney has letter, after letter, after letter from people. Some of them I don’t even know. Some of them inside city hall. Some of them outside city hall that wrote to me and said we were approached by her.”
Romero said she has a strong relationship with her husband, whom she met almost 40 years ago in school.
“We are high school sweethearts,” she said. “We have a rock-solid relationship, and anytime anybody tries to infringe upon that or make it look bad; I will take action against it.”
Cox told 8 News Now she denies spreading rumors about Romero and claims she had no knowledge of what spurred the cease and desist.
“It was completely unnecessary, and I don’t know what the motivation was,” Romero said.
The cease and desist is one of multiple “made-for-TV” moments the city council has experienced. An abrupt call for recess and a plea for “transparency” have posed tense moments for elected officials.
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