Andrew Romanoff, former Speaker of the House in the Colorado Legislature, is running for Congress in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District.
1. Romanoff Is A Consummate Political Insider
Romanoff claims to be political outsider, but it’s impossible to shake off the reputation of “Aurora’s own perpetually-running-for-Congress candidate.” After Romanoff lost the 2010 Democrat primary for Senate, it was reported that he “tried to run as an outsider when he has been an insider his entire political life. It didn’t work.” Even though he didn’t run for office in 2012, he was hired as a political analyst for KUSA-TV, Denver’s local NBC affiliate. And so far in the 2014 election cycle, members of the DC Democrat establishment have already gone to Colorado to fundraise for Romanoff, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and former Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA).
2. Romanoff Is A Political Opportunist, Willing To Do Anything To Win An Election
Romanoff seems to really like running for office. So much so that he is willing to jump at any chance to run, and willing to do anything to win an election. In 2010, he financed his Democrat primary challenge to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) by selling his own house. The move was seen by political analysts as “desperate,” and it raised questions about Romanoff’s eligibility to run for the seat in the first place. Romanoff even tried to boost support for his 2010 campaign by doctoring website photos, and his 2013 campaign posted old photos from his previous run for Congress on his Facebook page. And just 3 months after Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) won re-election, Romanoff moved into Colorado’s 6th Congressional District to challenge Coffman, earning him the reputation as a “carpetbagger.”
3. Romanoff Spear-headed Gigantic Tax Hikes and “Anti-Immigrant” Laws As Speaker Of The House
During his eight years in the state House, Romanoff helped push though several controversial proposals. Romanoff is probably most known for being the architect of Referendum C, a ballot measure passed in 2005 that lifted the state’s Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights (TABOR) spending caps for five years. Ref C was deemed by PolitiFact as the only significant tax increase since TABOR passed in 1992. The state ended up collecting $3.6 billion and used the money to fund government services instead of giving taxpayers refunds. And as Speaker of the House, Romanoff played a central role in passing a legislative package that resulted in some of the most controversial anti-immigrant laws in the state’s history.
4. Romanoff Supports ObamaCare
Romanoff is a staunch supporter of ObamaCare. Romanoff also supports a public option, saying ObamaCare didn’t go far enough because it didn’t include a public option. Romanoff also supports a “universal, single-payer, non-profit health plan,” and blamed members of Congress who accepted PAC contributions from the health care sector for killing any discussion of a single-payer system during debate of the bill. And while he has decried them, Romanoff himself has accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from physicians, executives and senior employees in the health care industry.