Romanoff brings Main Street Tour to Durango

02/08/2010 - The Durango Herald - Katie Burford - Andrew Romanoff, who is fighting for the Democratic Party's nomination for U.S. Senate, brought his “Main Street tour" to Southwest Colorado over the weekend with a message of curtailing special interests' influence in Washington.

Romanoff is challenging U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who was appointed to the seat after Ken Salazar resigned to become Interior secretary.

Romanoff, former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, was on the short list for the appointment but was passed over in favor of Bennet, former superintendent of Denver Public Schools and virtually unknown in the world of politics.

Romanoff, in an interview Sunday at The Durango Herald, said he's not afraid to stand up to special interests or even his own party, “which is what I'm doing with this campaign, by definition."

He cited his proven legislative record and refusal to take money from political action committees as factors that distinguish him from Bennet.

“My campaign is funded by people, not out-of-state interests," said Romanoff, who lags behind Bennet in fundraising.

Romanoff, who was forced out of the Colorado General Assembly by term limits, criticized Democrats' handling of health-care reform, accusing them of settling for a watered-down compromise instead of “a more ambitious plan" with the potential to reverse skyrocketing costs.

This includes considering a single-payer system or vouchers that would allow people to shop around for the best deal.

He argued for severing the link between health insurance and employment, which he said “impedes the free flow of labor."

“I'm trying to make a capitalistic argument for this model," he said.

Romanoff sees an ongoing role for natural gas in the country's energy future, but he is a strong advocate for renewable sources.

He said the rest of the country should follow Colorado's example by demanding a greater percentage of renewables in providers' portfolios.

He said there is no downside to creating more green jobs.

He favors bringing hydraulic fracturing, a process used in natural-gas production, under regulation by the federal government and forcing companies to disclose the potentially harmful chemicals they use during the process.

“I don't think that will drive drillers out of business," he said.

He spoke in favor of “leaner, smarter" spending on defense and greater spending on treatment for mental illness and substance abuse as a means to lower incarceration rates.

“We have a pennywise, pound-foolish approach," he said. “I think we ought to be smarter at prevention and intervention."

He said profligate spending in Washington is saddling future generations with debt.

“That's not defensible. I would argue it's not moral," he said.

He pointed to his record of bringing Western Slope players to the table during his time in the Legislature as evidence he would represent Colorado's other half in Congress.

He characterized as unwise a policy of “sucking the Western Slope dry to slake the unsustainable population of the Front Range."

He said he would advocate for educational spending and incentives for primary-care doctors in rural areas.