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September 18, 2009 08:10 PM UTC

Don't Be Discouraged

  • 18 Comments
  • by: Mike Collins

Obama has endorsed Michael Bennet, that’s ok, we all know why.  Money talks and the powers that be have violated the rule of neutrality before the primaries.  I know in my heart that real Democrats want real change they can touch, taste and feel, Andrew Romanoff is the change we are looking for.  Most of Bennet’s campaign money is out from out of state, we can more than match that.  You can believe me when I say this, there will be more Romanoff signs than Bennet signs at every Bennet fundraising event.  You can fight or fade into the fringe, this is a fight we can and must win.  Read the Romanoff bio below and then compare it to Bennet’s, the choice for real Democrats is clear.  If you fight half as hard as I am going to, you will have given your all, my passion has no limits, don’t put limits on your’s.  MC

 

About Andrew

“A man of honor and conviction,” says the Pueblo Chieftain. Andrew Romanoff “represents the best in government leaders,” says the Gunnison Times. And the Fort Collins Coloradoan says, “His energy and dedication to resolving some of Colorado’s major issues” are “unmatched.”

A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED LEADER

Elected to four terms in the state legislature, Andrew Romanoff became the speaker of the House in 2005. His leadership won national recognition. In 2008, Governing magazine named Romanoff as Public Official of the Year. In 2006, he was honored as one of the most outstanding lawmakers in America. The Council of State Governments, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the State Legislative Leaders Foundation present the William Bulger Award to the “legislative leader whose career embodies the highest principles of leadership – integrity, compassion, vision and courage.” Romanoff is the award’s youngest recipient.

Romanoff was first elected to the State House in 2000 and reelected in 2002, 2004 and 2006. He swiftly assumed command of the Democratic team, winning election as his party’s leader in his second term. In 2004, Romanoff led the charge to capture a Democratic majority in the House – the first such victory in three decades. Romanoff’s colleagues twice elected him to the speakership, a post he held until he was term-limited out of the House in 2009.

A PASSION FOR PUBLIC SERVICE

Romanoff’s commitment to his community is no accident. His mother Gayle, a social worker, and his father Marvin, a judge, instilled in Andrew and in his twin sister Hilary a passion for public service. Andrew’s grandparents worked for Project Hope, bringing medical supplies and treatment to Africa and Latin America. The concept of “tikkun olam” – to heal the world – was central to his family’s creed.

Romanoff took an early interest in civil rights. In high school, he learned about the Southern Poverty Law Center’s efforts to combat Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups. The Center’s Klanwatch Project and a state civil rights agency’s investigative unit became two of his first employers.

After earning a bachelor’s degree with honors from Yale in 1989, Romanoff set off for Costa Rica and Nicaragua, where he taught English, honed his Spanish, and lived with local families. The experience confirmed both his love of teaching and his dedication to fighting poverty. After returning to the United States, Romanoff enrolled in Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government; he earned a master’s degree in public policy in 1993. He completed a juris doctorate at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law in 2008.

Romanoff spent four years in the private sector – as a senior associate at the Colorado consulting firm of Greenberg Baron Simon & Miller – before accepting a job with Governor Roy Romer. He worked in the Office of Policy and Initiatives, analyzing state and national proposals for education reform.

Since leaving the legislature, Romanoff has taught graduate students at the University of Colorado at Denver’s School of Public Affairs. He has also taught political science at the Community College of Aurora, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and Red Rocks Community College.

Romanoff has long played an active role in nonprofit organizations. He has served on the boards of the Center for Women’s Employment and Education, the Colorado Children’s Campaign, and the Colorado Health Foundation. He was the president of the Washington Park East Neighborhood Association and the Washington Street Community Center. And he has mentored at-risk students through Denver Kids.

A RECORD OF RESULTS

Strengthening the Economy

In 2005, Colorado’s new Democratic majority inherited one of the worst fiscal crises since the Great Depression. Romanoff led a bipartisan majority of the legislature to put the Colorado Economic Recovery Act (Referendum C) on the ballot and helped build the broadest coalition in state history to pass it.

The results:

Tens of thousands of Coloradans received health coverage.

Thousands of families were able to send their children to preschool and kindergarten.

College students earned financial aid and work-study funding.

Senior citizens regained a break in their property taxes.

Three-dozen critical road and bridge repairs got a green light.

Under Romanoff’s leadership, the legislature produced the most significant economic development package in decades, including major investments in renewable energy, bioscience and biotechnology, tourism, film and the arts; tax incentives for small and rural businesses; and a near-record boost for the state’s infrastructure.

In 2008, the Economic Development Council of Colorado – one of the state’s leading job advocates – honored Romanoff with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Romanoff’s efforts to strengthen the economy have earned praise from a wide range of business organizations, including the Southeast Business Partnership, the Colorado Contractors Association, the Colorado Junior Chamber, the Independent Bankers of Colorado, the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.

Curbing the Cost of Health Care

Thousands of Coloradans have been forced to do battle with their insurance companies just to get the coverage they’ve already paid for. In 2007, Romanoff fought the insurance industry and won. The result: a new law that requires insurers to pay what they owe when they owe it – and cracks down on those who unreasonably delay or deny claims.

Romanoff also sponsored bills making it easier for Colorado’s seniors to get care at home and in community-based settings. He passed a law to save millions of dollars in state Medicaid costs by holding private insurers more accountable. He backed measures to reduce the price of prescription drugs by pooling Colorado’s purchasing power with other states’. And he spearheaded efforts to expand mental health and drug and alcohol treatment.

Romanoff’s leadership on health and human services has been recognized by the Colorado Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the Colorado Dental Association, the Colorado Community Health Network, the Colorado Society of Osteopathic Medicine, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, the Colorado Association of Alcohol and Drug Service Providers, Peer Assistance Services, Crossroads Turning Points, and Advocates for Recovery, among other organizations. In 2006, the Colorado Medical Society named Romanoff as Defender of the Patient – the physicians’ highest honor.

Improving Public Education

Many of Colorado’s decades-old school buildings pose a health or safety risk to students and staff. In 2008, Romanoff sponsored the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) Act. The result: the single largest investment in school construction in state history, a billion-dollar plan to repair or rebuild crumbling classrooms in Colorado’s poorest school districts.

Romanoff has led the fight for high-quality early childhood education, so that more students can start first grade ready to learn. He worked to provide a more stable learning environment for homeless children, so that they can remain in the same school over the course of a year even as their families are shuttled from shelter to shelter. And he has been a champion of higher education, ensuring that the doors of Colorado’s community colleges and universities remain open to students from low- and middle-income backgrounds.

Romanoff’s work on behalf of children has earned top honors from virtually every major education organization in Colorado, including the Colorado Education Association, the Colorado Association of School Boards, the Colorado Association of School Executives, the Colorado Association for the Education of Young Children, and the American Association of University Professors.

Safeguarding the Environment

In his first address to the House as its Democratic leader, Romanoff urged his colleagues to make Colorado a world leader in “the production and use of clean, efficient and renewable energy.” In 2004, he backed a landmark measure to increase the state’s renewable portfolio standard and then helped double that goal three years later. He voted to accelerate the construction of transmission lines, advance large-scale solar projects, and bring wind power to schools. And he helped pass a net-metering law that gives households, farmers, ranchers and business owners credit for the energy they produce.

Romanoff fought the Bush Administration’s attempts to weaken environmental standards. He passed a law to preserve open space and agricultural land. And he sponsored bills to increase water conservation, improve energy efficiency, promote recycling, and protect the rights of homeowners.

In 2009, Progressive 15 – “the Voice of Northeastern Colorado” – inducted Romanoff into its Legislator of the Plains Hall of Fame, making him the first-ever metropolitan lawmaker to win the organization’s top award. The Rocky Mountain Farmers Union twice honored Romanoff’s legislative leadership.

Protecting Vulnerable Populations

Romanoff has been one of the leading defenders of Colorado’s most vulnerable citizens. He authored laws to protect the victims of domestic violence, to break the cycle of child abuse and neglect, and to expand the supply of affordable housing. He also sponsored measures to reduce the risk of criminal recidivism by expediting the delivery of mental-health services, putting a greater priority on rehabilitation, and ensuring that violent offenders serve a majority of their sentences before becoming eligible for release or parole.

Romanoff’s work on behalf of at-risk populations has earned recognition from the Colorado Affordable Housing Partnership, the Colorado Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs, the Colorado Association of Nonprofit Organizations, the Colorado Women’s Bar Association, the Junior League of Denver, and Community Shares of Colorado.

Promoting Democracy and Human Rights

Romanoff’s commitment to democracy and human rights extends around the world. In 2007, he worked with a group of students at the University of Colorado to craft the Sudan Divestment Act. The law, which he steered through the legislature by a margin of 97-1, cut state ties to the regime responsible for the genocide in Darfur.

Later that year, Romanoff brought 46,000 petitions to Beijing on behalf of the Save Darfur Coalition. He met with Chinese officials and urged them to use their clout with the Sudanese government to stop the genocide. Romanoff’s efforts have been honored by the Jewish Community Relations Council and by the Mizel Museum, which named him as its 2009 Tikkun Olam Ambassador.

Romanoff has traveled extensively in the United States and abroad to improve democratic governance. The National Conference of State Legislatures and the State Legislative Leaders Foundation have enlisted his help in training lawmakers from more than a dozen other states. The Aspen Institute’s Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership enabled him to meet with government officials and democracy advocates in the Middle East and Asia. And in 2009, the National Democratic Institute sent him to Abuja to work with members of the Nigerian National Assembly.

Closer to home, Romanoff pushed the Colorado legislature into the 21st century by putting live video coverage of the House of Representatives on television and the Internet – an effort that earned him the Sue O’Brien Award for Public Service from the Colorado Freedom of Information Council. Romanoff’s leadership has also won recognition from the Colorado Federation of Public Employees and the Colorado Institute for Leadership Training.

Comments

18 thoughts on “Don’t Be Discouraged

  1. I couldn’t discern that from your oh-so-subtle post.

    Oh, and don’t forget that 2009 DLC fellowship. The Anointed One neglected to put that in the ole bio.

    And just so we’re clear, the neutrality rule is for party officials, not elected officials. By your logic, Cary Kennedy violated that rule the other day.

    1. What rsb said, plus the “rule of neutrality” isn’t the same for incumbents. The “powers that be” want to maintain this as a Democratic seat, and incumbents tend to get re-elected. It’s as simple as that.

  2. I fully endorse Mike Collins and Wade Norris as the online face of Romanoff for Senate.

    Slogan contest:

    More signs=More Votes!

    You’re either with us…or you’re a fake Democrat!

    Obama isn’t a real Democrat!

    Endorsements are bad…except when Andrew Romanoff has them! Then endorsements are very, very good.  

      1. You can believe me when I say this, there will be more Romanoff signs than Bennet signs at every Bennet fundraising event.  You can fight or fade into the fringe, this is a fight we can and must win.

        One would think the campaign’s actual concern would be their own fundraising events. Organizing for the other guy’s events is whistling past the graveyard.  

        1. that it’s all about a popularity contest, or other subjective things, and wholly unsubstantial when it comes to policy and ideology?

          Ad hominem attacks and conspiracy theories are not going to win this election. Differentiating ourselves from the Republicans is.  

  3. He was slow to announce. It’s amazing how in February I encouraged him to do this and was summarily dissed on this site with zero Romanoff backers besides Wade supporting  me.

    Then I continue to be active and see Sen. Bennet over half a dozen times, once in DC, and decide that I’ll back him.

    The Speaker then decides to run. Why he waited until now I have no idea. he didn’t keep me in the loop at all. I guess he decided that I wasn’t important enough.

    So I keep my word to Sen.Bennet. I’m beliveing that he is the better candidate at this point, too.

    Then the advocates that seem to think screaming leads to convincing people to support them come out. I don’t think Speaker Romanoff would condone that behavior.

    1. I don’t think he would at least half of the crap folks like Wade have been spewing here. Romanoff has always struck me as a stand up guy. Then again, some of his announcement speech sounded suspiciously like the talking points I’ve been reading here from Collins and Wade so maybe he does condone this crap.  

  4. Obama has endorsed Michael Bennet, that’s ok, we all know why.  Money talks and the powers that be have violated the rule of neutrality before the primaries

    Obama is not to be trusted to speak the truth, Mike Collins says.  Obama is obviously and thoroughly disingenuous (i.e. a liar) when he said he thought Bennet was the best candidate.  Plus, Obama was motivated purely by the love of, or service to, MONEY, pure and simple.  According to Collins, that is.

    Primaries are awesome!

      1. This is only Romanoff’s first week in the race.  He hasn’t been given sufficient time to identify and analyze any substantive differences between his views and Bennet’s.  Unless…wait a darn minute here…..are you suggesting that Romanoff should have done this analyis before he entered the race?!  It’s almost as if you’re suggesting that he should have had a good reason to get in the race before he did it?  What intemperate temerity you display!  Why are you so mean?

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