Romanoff brings campaign to San Luis Valley

02/09/2010 - Pueblo Chieftain - Matt Hildner - Andrew Romanoff brought his U.S. Senate campaign to the San Luis Valley, where he received a bipartisan greeting Friday and heard about the demand for jobs and balancing local concerns on federal lands.

The former speaker of the state House of Representatives, who is trying to unseat Sen. Michael Bennet for the Democratic nomination, made his first stop in the valley since declaring his candidacy in September.

"You get a pretty clear sense, I think, from this conversation that folks feel like they get the back end of the deal on economic development efforts," he said.

He told the dozen people gathered for lunch at a local restaurant that jobs would be the first plank in his platform. 

And although the state is unable to offer the economic incentives that others might, Romanoff said the outlook for jobs could improve by focusing on education and infrastructure development. Conejos County Commissioner Joe Mestas said he'd like to see a way for local counties to secure more benefits from federal energy development.

The county is home to more than 15,000 acres of federal land that are being analyzed for their solar development potential. 

And in a county where 68 percent of the land is under federal control, Mestas urged Romanoff to keep an eye on the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, which brought the county roughly $700,000 last year.

The program exists to compensate counties for the tax revenue they lose from federal land, but Mestas estimated if it had been privately owned it would have produced $9.6 million in county property tax revenue.

Following the meeting, Romanoff sympathized that his eight years in the state Legislature brought him an understanding that decisions made at the federal level can often play out differently than intended on the ground.

Romanoff also pointed to his time in the state House and said it gave him a good track record with the valley and rural areas across the state.

Part of that record included campaigning across the state for Referendum C in 2006, which brought some relief to schools like Adams State College and Otero Junior College, he said.

He also pointed to a school funding program created during his time in the Legislature that has contributed the majority of the funds to build new schools in Alamosa, Mosca, San Luis and Sargent. 

"When a kid stares you in the eye and says, ‘How come the state doesn't care as much about my education as it does about some kid in Cherry Creek or Denver?’ you need to give that kid an answer," Romanoff said.

Republican County Commissioner John Sandoval joined Mestas at the lunch, and while neither man endorsed Romanoff, Sandoval did offer praise.

"I think when he was speaker of the House he reached across the aisle and did things that were best for Colorado," he said. "If I have someone who's going to help my cause and help my county, you'd be crazy not to have an open mind and listen."