Election 2010: Andrew Romanoff takes aim at U.S. Senate seat: former Colorado speaker of the House rattles Democratic party leadership by challenging incumbent Sen. Michael Bennett.

• Author: Cote, Mike
• Position: [2010] ELECTION - Interview

Former Colorado Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff didn't get the nod when Gov. Bill Ritter filled the Senate seat vacated by Ken Salazar, whom President Barack Obama appointed as his interior secretary. Now Romanoff has mounted a campaign to win his party's nomination in the Democratic primary against incumbent Michael Bennett.

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We recently talked with Romanoff about the campaign in his law office in downtown Denver. The following transcript was edited for space and clarity. Watch the complete interview and read the complete transcript at cobizmag.com. In the months ahead, we will feature interviews with the remaining Senate candidates as well as the gubernatorial candidates.

ColoradoBiz: You're competing for the chance to run for a Senate seat in what USA Today recently named one of the four most hotly contested races in the country. And first you have to knock off the incumbent. What's driving you to mount this race?

Andrew Romanoff: No one has been elected to this seat yet. The governor filled a vacancy when Ken Salazar left the Senate to join the Cabinet. But it's been six years since Ken himself was elected to this seat. I think I have the best record of legislative leadership, the best ability to bring Republicans and Democrats together to solve some of our toughest problems, the deepest knowledge of Colorado and the only candidate willing to stand up to the special interests.

ColoradoBiz: During the first televised debate with Michael Bennett, you talked about how Washington is dysfunctional. What can you do to change that culture?

Romanoff: I led 64 fairly cantankerous characters in the state House for four years. Some of the rules we put in place and enforced in this state I think Congress would do well to follow. We don't talk bills to death in the Legislature. We don't employ a filibuster to delay progress on important issues. Our business gets conducted in the open.

ColoradoBiz: President Obama's latest version of the health-care plan leaves out the public option. You're in favor of one. Tell me why that's important to you.

Romanoff: The model we've used in America for the last 70 years is flawed. We tie insurance to employment. The system made sense at some point in the distant past, when people kept the same jobs for life. We change jobs, and sometimes we lose them. I don't think we should have to lose our coverage, too. If you're going to require 30 million more Americans to buy insurance in the...