Romanoff For U.S. Senate: The Time Has Come

1/5/2010 - Washington Park Profile - Paul Kashmann - Since October 1978, when the time has come to elect those individuals who would aspire to public service, we have been pleased to inform you of legions of candidates running for elective offices: local, statewide and national.

Hundreds of wanna-be seat holders have pled their case for City Council, School Board, Mayor, the State House and beyond. Those who would represent you have submitted written responses,endured detailed telephone questioning and acquiesced to in-the-flesh interviews.

We asked questions, they answered. At times they answered the question we asked, but much of the time they simply ignored our query and answered the question they wished we’d have asked.

When, in the mid-’70s, Denverites became increasingly involved in the self-governance of their community, every candidate response included the word “neighborhood” whether appropriate or not. If a local senior center was in jeopardy, every answer to every question reinforced the candidate’s commitment to our elder residents.And if the community’s mind was on its young ones, support of the schools was the mantra du jour.

Unfortunately, there frequently appeared to be less of a connection as to how those heartfelt assurances translated into votes than one would like.

And, since October 1978,we have taken a consistent stance regarding those candidates and their requests for endorsements. We don’t do ‘em. Why in the name of all that is holy and sacred would you care what I think. Grab an early meal; get your keister up off the couch and go check out the candidates for yourself.

We will bring you the names of the combatants, as much info as we can garner, and the rest is up to you. We’ll let you look the candidate dead in the eye from close range, and let you try to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Until now.

We feel an injustice has been done to the people of Colorado that should be redressed. We feel the wrong man is representing us in the U.S. Senate. Not a bad man by any means, a goodman actually. Just the wrong man.

Andrew Romanoff served four terms in the Colorado House of Representatives representing District 6from 2000-2008. He served four years as Speaker of the House from 2005 until being term-limited out of office just a year ago. During his time at the Capitol, he sponsored dozens of bills benefiting the residents of the district he was chosen to serve, as well as Coloradans across this great state. In his years as Speaker, Romanoff reached out across the aisle, bringing Republican sand Democrats together more successfully than any recent predecessors.

Make no mistake, Andrew Romanoff is an unapologetic Democrat, and if you are on the other team, he will probably not get your vote. He does, however, understand that this is a two-party system, and for it to function well, both parties must be meaningfully involved.

When, in December 2008,then Senator Ken Salazar decided to accept Barack Obama’s offer to head the U.S. Department of the Interior, it was left up to Colorado Governor Bill Ritter to select someone to fill Salazar’s Senate post. In a move that stunned most observers of Colorado politics, Ritter bypassed Romanoff (and other experienced candidates) in favor of Michael Bennet, the superintendent of Denver Public Schools, who had never run for, or held, elective office.

Theories as to the “why”of Ritter’s decision have varied from simple – Bennet’s a talented policy wonk who brings a great mind to Washington – to the more insidious– Bennet’s a friend of billionaire Phil Anschutz and it was some kind of political payback.

We have no clue why Mr. Ritter bent in the direction he did. We just think he bent the wrong way, and in the process did a disservice to DPS and the people of Colorado.

We liked Michael Bennet when he was leading the school district. We thought he had things aimed in the right direction, and we were excited for the first time in a long time that DPS might actually have a shot at becoming a truly great school system districtwide. As anyone who has put their kids through DPS knows,there are many bright lights. But there are still too many cracks for kids to slip through.

Thus, recognizing the importance of a strong Denver school system to maintaining a strong Denver, and recognizing the importance of a strong Denver to keeping Colorado fit, we were mystified at Ritter’s decision to pluck Bennet from an important job he was doing well, to drop him in one for which he had no experience.

Had Bennet been unemployed, and looking for something to do, we would still have, without reservation, supported Romanoff as the stronger candidate to represent Colorado in the U.S. Senate. For eight years we have seen him work up close and personal on issues of importance to the people of south Denver, and we have watched him take a more global stance on matters of statewide importance. He has worked in the interest of western slope ranchers with the same passion he has held in support of the Washington Street Community Center. His commitment to our children and our seniors is written into Colorado law.

In August of this year,Democrats will go to the polls to select a candidate to compete against the choice of the Republican party to fill the seat in which Bennet now sits. Our vote in that primary – and hopefully in the General Election – will go to Andrew Romanoff.

Our position on your vote is still the same. We want you to put as much of your time into evaluating the candidates as you possibly can. Read about them, watch whatever you can on TV,listen to whatever you can on radio, and go out to forums where you can hear them in person. Then make your choice.

In this one instance,though, we thought it important that you know ours. We support Andrew Romanoff for U.S. Senator from Colorado.