CO SEN: Romanoff Scores Union Coup Over Bennet

February 12, 2010 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) |

By Felicia Sonmez

Ex-CO House Speaker Andrew Romanoff (D) received 2 key labor union endorsements this week, less than a day after his primary rival, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), made a play to rally them to his side.

The CO Teamsters and UFCW announced that they are throwing their weight behind Romanoff in the Dem primary, citing their "long-standing relationship" with him. The 2 are among the largest unions in the state.

"Andrew Romanoff was always straight with us," CO Teamsters pres. Steve Vairma said in a statement, taking a veiled jab at Bennet over his less-than-clear stand on card check. "We didn't see eye to eye on every issue, but his door was always open, and we could trust him to tell us the truth."

CO Gov. Bill Ritter (D) appointed Bennet in '09 to fill the vacancy created by then-Sen. Ken Salazar's (D) nomination as Interior Sec., passing over Romanoff in a move that took many in CO political circles by surprise. Romanoff is now waging a spirited, if uphill, primary challenge against Bennet for the seat.

While the endorsements give Romanoff's bid a lift, they also reveal Bennet's fraught ties with a key constituency.

Bennet, whose relationship with CO unions has been strained due to his refusal to state a position on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), attempted to burnish his labor cred 2/9 by voting in favor of NLRB nominee Craig Becker, who had come under fire from business groups for being too cosy with labor. Becker's nomination was blocked 52-33, but Bennet's vote was an indication that his camp is taking union support seriously in light of Romanoff's challenge.

Romanoff has offered a less-than-full-throated endorsement of EFCA, saying that he supports the legislation except for the provision to do away with the secret ballot. But that was apparently enough to entice at least 2 of the state's unions to make an endorsement at this early stage of the game.

When it comes to the money race, Bennet trounces Romanoff, outraising his rival $1.1M+ to $337K in the 4thQ '09 to amass an impressive $3.5M war chest that dwarfs Romanoff's $480K CoH.

That lead will only be extended next week, when Pres. Obama is slated to headline 3 events for Bennet in the state.

But Romanoff is not rolling over quietly. Despite being outraised, his camp is touting the fact that he received money from more donors than Bennet in the 4thQ -- a silver lining, albeit a thin one.

And in response to Obama's planned visit, he penned a letter to CO Dem Party Chair Pat Waak late last week asking the state party to insist on a separate Obama event for Romanoff supporters. That request was rebuffed.