Best New Voice at the State Capitol

Colorado Democrats have been looking for energetic new leaders, and they've found a promising one in Romanoff. As leader of the perpetual minority party in the Statehouse, Romanoff's managed to stir things up under the Capitol dome. He's made far-reaching proposals to solve the state's budget crisis and gotten Democrats into the limelight -- not an easy thing to do when Republicans control both the legislature and the governor's office. Romanoff, who represents east Denver, also writes an intelligent, amusing e-mail letter every week for constituents and supporters that's becoming a must-read (subscribe at romanoff@coloradohouse.org). With Colorado in a fiscal mess, we'll need people like Romanoff to show the way out -- and maybe even lead us into the future.