Nnewly appointed Rep. Douglas Bruce and House Speaker Andrew Romanoff appear headed for a Capitol showdown.
After top lawmakers and even the governor have razzed Bruce for not showing up for the first week of the legislative session, now he and Romanoff are arguing about when Bruce can take his seat.
Romanoff told him he would swear him in at 8 a.m. Monday, two hours before the House convenes. Bruce wants to take his oath of office in front of a crowded chamber at 10 a.m. and give a 90-second speech.
And neither one is budging.
Capitol staff say that if Bruce shows up at 10 a.m., they will treat him like any member of the public — and prohibit him from walking onto the House floor. Members of the public typically have to sit in the third-floor gallery overlooking the chamber.
Bruce, an anti-tax crusader and author of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, said he won’t settle for some “stealth procedure” when no one is looking.
“Instead of having a 15-minute session why can’t they have a 16-minute session … and stop this silly media theater?” the Colorado Springs Republican asked. “If it goes on, it will be a national story that the author of TABOR was not allowed to be sworn in in public.”
Romanoff, D-Denver, says he is not changing protocol to let Bruce give an opening-day speech. Normally, new lawmakers take the oath in front of a small group of family and friends, eat cake and leave.
Romanoff’s office released an e-mail from Bruce today in which Bruce said it was unreasonable to expect him to get up at 5 a.m. and battle “rush-hour traffic and unknown weather” to get to Denver by 8 a.m. Plus, Bruce said he had invited several people to his swearing-in.
Romanoff was already irritated with Bruce for not showing up Wednesday, the legislature’s opening day.
Bruce delayed his start until Monday so he will serve less than half of a two-year term, which won’t count under term limits. The move means Bruce can run for an additional eight years in the House instead of six.
His delay was the butt of several jokes at the Capitol this week, including one in Gov. Bill Ritter’s State of the State address where he joked that Bruce was, “Tivoing the speech and will be with us next week.”
Jennifer Brown: 303-954-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com
