SUMMIT COUNTY — A volunteer for Andrew Romanoff's Senate campaign was recently pounding the pavement in Delta, when a prospective voter asked the volunteer, “Do you know Andrew?”

“No,” the volunteer responded, “But he knows us.”

Romanoff, a former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, thinks that's a pretty high compliment. And he says it speaks to his considerable legislative experience, through which he had to become very well acquainted with Colorado citizens.

Romanoff considers that to be a major distinction between himself and his opponent in the Democratic primary, incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet.

“The governor picked someone with no legislative experience and literally had to introduce him to the state,” Romanoff said of Gov. Bill Ritter's choice to appoint Bennet to the U.S. Senate seat vacated last year when Ken Salazar took over the Department of Interior.

Bennet previously served as Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's chief of staff and as superintendent of Denver Public Schools.

One of Romanoff's key campaign strategies is to continue to get to know Colorado at the grassroots level — a strategy he hopes will pay off if he wins the Democratic nomination. He says building up a loyal following that's willing to knock on doors and dial the phones is essential for success in a general election.

“Meeting constituents is the best way to win, the best way to serve and the best way to govern,” he said.

Romanoff spent time meeting Summit County voters at a house party Wednesday night in Dillon, a day after Bennet made an appearance in Frisco.

“This isn't my first trip to Summit County, and it's not going to be my last,” Romanoff said just prior to the Dillon gathering. “I'm going to make sure this part of Colorado gets represented. That means focusing on economic development and transportation. It means protection for forests and watersheds. It means understanding the concerns of constituents, rather than just scooping up money from out of state.”

Disdain for powerful moneyed interests in the political process is one of the main themes of Romanoff's campaign, whether he's discussing campaign finance, health care, energy policy, the economy or the national debt. The candidate bemoans campaign contributions from the very industries legislators are supposed to regulate.

“We have allowed a pay-to-play culture to corrupt Congress. It's obscene, in my view, and grotesque that some of the most powerful special interest groups in America are able to bankroll Congress. We see that in the health care debate with the big insurance companies. We see it in the debate over financial reform,” Romanoff said.

Romanoff said the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico should be this generation's Sputnik: Just as the Soviet satellite spurred unprecedented government investment in scientific research in the late 1950s, the spill should precipitate a dramatic shift in energy policy away from fossil fuels toward renewables.

But that's hard to do if oil and gas companies are allowed to call the shots, or at least stall action, in the halls of Congress, Romanoff said.

“When we're staggering from the worst environmental disaster in American history, why aren't we doing everything we can to accelerate our transition from fossil fuel,” he asked.

Romanoff praised President Barack Obama for laying out a national mission for a “clean-energy future.”

“The trouble is, it's not enough to put a president of courage, vision and talent in the White House if that courage isn't matched at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue,” Romanoff said.

SDN reporter Julie Sutor can be reached at (970) 668-4630 or jsutor@summitdaily.com.