Andrew Romanoff is the Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, the first Democrat to hold that post since 1975. He represents House District 6, covering east Denver and Glendale.

Rep. Romanoff was elected to the House in 2000 and reelected in 2002, 2004 and 2006. Before his election to the speakership, he served as the House Minority Leader.

The Denver Post described Rep. Romanoff as one of Colorado's most successful legislators. Over the past six years, no one in Colorado has worked harder to bridge the political divide. In 2005, Rep. Romanoff teamed with then-Gov. Bill Owens to craft Referendum C, the Colorado Economic Recovery Plan, and helped build the broadest coalition in state history to pass it.

His commitment to bipartisanship is no accident. Rep. Romanoff is the product of a Democratic mother and a Republican father.

He credits his parents with his interest in public service. "When my sister and I were growing up, our mother was a social worker and our father was a prosecutor. It teaches you something about where you want to make a difference."

In his first three years in the State House, Rep. Romanoff served on the Health and Welfare Committee ("in honor of my mom") and the Criminal Justice Committee ("in deference to my dad"). The experience led him to emphasize prevention and early intervention.

Rep. Romanoff has fought to expand access to drug and alcohol treatment, mental health services, preschool and kindergarten. His efforts have earned considerable support from both sides of the aisle. In his first two terms, Rep. Romanoff steered 25 bills through the Republican-led House.

In 2004, Rep. Romanoff and his Democratic colleagues scored an historic victory, winning control of the House of Representatives for the first time since Watergate. The Democrats expanded their majority in 2006 and now hold 39 of the chamber's 65 seats.

Rep. Romanoff was elected Speaker in 2005-2006 and again in 2007. He oversees the operations of the House, chairing formal floor debates, assigning bills, and determining the composition of legislative committees.

In 2006, Rep. Romanoff was honored as one of the most outstanding legislative leaders in America. The William M. Bulger Award is presented annually by the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and the National Conference of State Legislatures to the "legislative leader who has worked to preserve and build public trust in the institution of the state legislature and whose career embodies the highest principles of leadership - integrity, compassion, vision and courage." Rep. Romanoff is the award's youngest recipient.

When the legislature is not in session, Rep. Romanoff teaches political science at the Community College of Aurora. He has also taught at Red Rocks Community College, Metropolitan State College at Denver, and the University of Colorado's Graduate School of Public Affairs. He first began teaching in Central America and speaks fluent Spanish.

Rep. Romanoff earned a bachelor's degree at Yale and a master's degree in public policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He is completing a law degree at the University of Denver.