Romer likes Limelight a bit too much
Susan Greene - The Denver Post
Greene: Overexposed Sen. Romer likes the limelight
By Susan Greene
Denver Post Columnist
POSTED: 05/13/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
I did not sit, day after day, at the Capitol, and so I can't speak with authority on which lawmakers were the most persuasive, hardworking or powerful this session.
But as a news watcher, I can say who was most overexposed.
Chris Romer is a first-term state senator who's quick to tell you he's the son of the former governor, even if you don't need to be told.
If there's a reporter's notebook, a microphone or TV camera in the room, the Denver Democrat is likely to find them. If there was an issue making news on any given day, he was quick with a bill in response. His legislation in some cases seemed ripped quite literally from the headlines. All too often during the 120-day session, it was all Romer, all the time.
It's customary at the statehouse for lawmakers to introduce a maximum of five measures, although there are plenty of exceptions. By my count, Romer sponsored five times that many â?? nine Senate bills and three resolutions, plus 12 bills and one resolution in the House.
"What can I say? I've got lots of energy," he says. "I'm good at moving the dialogue."
Romer began the session huffing about the need for medical- marijuana legislation. If it was unclear where he stood on the issue, that's because actual policies seemed to matter less than the fevered publicity of his involvement. After months closely tracking his proposed legislation, even Colorado's most active pro-cannabis advocate isn't clear whose side he was
on.
"We could never figure out if he was out there to help patients or help law enforcement. His stance was ever-shifting, depending on who was his audience," says Brian Vicente of Sensible Colorado.
Romer called me in January to cover his scheme to ask fellow lawmakers to try pot for a day. Weeks later â?? and after much mockery â?? he suggested in front of a crowd of lawyers that it was my crazy idea.
Then came his bill to restore streetcars to Colfax Avenue, a plan the mayoral hopeful says is a longtime dream. It just happens, he says, that he introduced it shortly after John Hickenlooper signaled a potential vacancy in the mayor's office by announcing his run for governor. All politics, after all, is local.
"Oh no," he says, "that was just a coincidence."
Who could forget Romer's bill to pay students to read â?? proposed the day after Time magazine published a cover story on the idea?
"OK. You got me on that one," he tells me. "But I was thinking about it long before the session."
Ever the self-promoter, Romer describes his collaborative success in curbing payday loans as nothing short of miraculous. "It was a miracle win," he says of a bill to regulate payday loans.
Call me cynical. But, given widespread outrage about predatory lending these days, a miracle it was not.
Romer, like most of his colleagues, had his wins and losses. I credit him for being a good sport acknowledging, if only in hindsight, that his lawmaking style is a little like Larry King's approach to marriage: Just try it and see what sticks.
We have eight months until the 2011 session and a year until the mayoral election. Meantime, he wants you to know that he can't help if the news media keep calling.
"I do like a good fight, and so does the press," he says. "Nobody covers a license-plate bill."
Susan Greene writes Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Reach her at 303-954-1989 or [email protected]
Romer likes Limelight a bit too much
Decent story on Romer. I am glad to see that some people are starting to see what kind of low life he really is.
Here is a good story she should work on.
Romer bill: The only thing that bill does is hurt the small mom and pop grower, it hurts and limits the patients and hurt the small mom and pop dispencaries.
Who it does help is the big money back dispencaries. " You know kind of like what Wal-mart did to the little man".
Now is the interesting part. How many of those big money back dispencaries gave large sums of money to Romer elections? I would suspect if you looked into it you would find several of the people that own and/or back dispencaries donate large sums to Romer.
Because it is easy to see that this bill goes out of its way to help large money backed dispencaries. Once you know who backs the dispencaries with start up money or closet owners you will see the same names as people that gave large amounts of money to Romer.
Romer likes Limelight a bit too much
Quote:
Originally Posted by copobo
"We could never figure out if he was out there to help patients or help law enforcement. His stance was ever-shifting, depending on who was his audience," says Brian Vicente of Sensible Colorado.
I can tell you Brian. He was there to help neither. He was there to help himself!
What a self-serving twit. He's one of these guys who's in there just because his dad was... he NEVER would've made it on his own.
Romer likes Limelight a bit too much
Quote:
Originally Posted by cowgirl1
Here is a good story she should work on.
Romer bill: The only thing that bill does is hurt the small mom and pop grower, it hurts and limits the patients and hurt the small mom and pop dispencaries.
Who it does help is the big money back dispencaries. " You know kind of like what Wal-mart did to the little man".
I just don't think the non-cannabis-smokers care about the mom-and-pop dispensaries! I think most non-smokers are kinda happy about it... they wanted a lot of these places to disappear because they were everywhere.
Romer likes Limelight a bit too much
Quote:
Originally Posted by lampost
I just don't think the non-cannabis-smokers care about the mom-and-pop dispensaries! I think most non-smokers are kinda happy about it... they wanted a lot of these places to disappear because they were everywhere.
Reefer madness is still rampant in much of America, especially folks my age (66) and more, and any politician who isn't seriously on the side of civil rights will be quick to demonize the biz and use "Turn-your-kids-on" scare tactics.
Romer likes Limelight a bit too much
I can't believe they aren't worried about thousands of soon to be unemployed felons in the state? This won't look good for the Colorado job numbers. Dispensary employees will quickly be showing up on the unemployment roles.
The Big Growers are about to make some serious black market cash.
I wonder if Ritter will really sign this? Will he be the Gubna who signs the pot bill? Or will he take the cowards way, and let it go unsigned?
It passed third signing on what, the 13th? So if he does that, it won't be law till June 13, and that leaves less than 30 days for the first rules to go into effect.
Will that increase the ease of an injunction?
Romer likes Limelight a bit too much
Quote:
Originally Posted by copobo
The Big Growers are about to make some serious black market cash.
There is going to be a lot more meds heading out of this state as a result of this. Love the avatar btw. Can you post a bigger version so I can spread it around?
Romer likes Limelight a bit too much
bigger. pass it around. he needs it.
