Michael Bennet is the United State senator Colorado wants and needs. Better still, Bennet is the senator the people of Colorado deserve.
In the Senate, Bennet has led by example and consistently demonstrated that his idea of a senator’s role is not to posture and preen, but actually to get things done. That thinking has been in evidence throughout his remarkable career.
After a series of jobs as a government lawyer, Bennet made the leap to the private sector – and Colorado – working financial deals for investor Phil Anschutz. He then went to work for then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, a move that cost him millions in unvested stock, and served as chief of staff until he was chosen to be superintendent of Denver schools. Four years later, then-Gov. Bill Ritter picked Bennet to succeed U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar when President Obama named Salazar secretary of the interior. In 2010 Bennet was elected senator.
His path has been marked by excellence at every turn. He made a fortune with and for Anschutz. He cut Denver’s budget by 10 percent without laying off anyone. As superintendent, he turned around failing schools and boosted the number of students rated proficient in math and reading by 6 percent.
His work in the Senate has been outstanding. Surrounded by gridlock and obstructionism, Bennet has worked both sides of the aisle in his constituents’ and his country’s interest.
Even a partial list of the Republican senators he has worked with is impressive: Cory Gardner (and Rep. Scott Tipton) on Chimney Rock; Lamar Alexander on education; Gardner (and Rep. Mike Coffman) on the Denver VA hospital; John McCain on the Troops to Teachers Program; Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham on immigration; and Lisa Murkowski on energy.
Bennet’s challenger, however, takes exactly the opposite approach. Darryl Glenn is an affable and no doubt earnest man, who nonetheless dismisses the very idea of reaching across the aisle.
Bennet’s approach better fits Colorado. Re-elect Sen. Michael Bennet.
