Rubenstein has a plan, in writing, for big issues

John Aguilar, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 24, 2006 at midnight

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Herb Rubenstein isn't worried about spreading himself too thin.

"If you hear about something popping up in 45 minutes, give me a call and I'm in the car," the Democratic candidate for Colorado's 7th Congressional District recently told a handful of campaign volunteers gathered at Tia Maria Mexican restaurant on Pecos Street.

"I'm doing this 24 hours a day now," said Rubenstein, wolfing down a burrito while furiously scrawling on a legal-size notepad. "It's a matter of getting me out in the community."

The strategy - to be everywhere, all the time - is a deliberate one for Rubenstein, who knows he needs to raise his profile in a primary that features more established candidates Peggy Lamm and Ed Perlmutter.

"I've got two strikes against me - Perlmutter's got billions and Lamm's got a name," said the 53-year-old Shreveport, La., native. "But I'm a pretty good two-strike hitter."

Rubenstein, a Colorado State University adjunct professor in entrepreneurship who has lived in Colorado less than two years, is ready to take on those who want to accuse him of being an out-of-state opportunist trying to bag an open seat.

While he has spent most of his career in Washington, D.C., as a policy analyst and lawyer, Rubenstein said his frequent visits to Colorado over the past 20 years to see his developmentally disabled brother have allowed him to establish roots here.

He said voters are less concerned about how long a candidate lived somewhere than they are about his or her positions on the issues.

And that's where he outdistances his competition, Rubenstein insisted, a wide grin spreading across his face.

Rubenstein has a "written plan" addressing each major issue in the race.

On immigration, he wants the government to determine how many foreign workers are needed and issue each of them magnetic ID cards to be swiped at the work site.

He fiercely opposes an extension of C-470 through the northwest suburbs to complete Denver's beltway, saying it would "destroy Golden."

And Rubenstein looks with deep unease at the war in Iraq, which he said should be brought to a close through a 45-day cease-fire and a postwar international peace conference.

Bottom line, the candidate said, American troops under his plan would be back home next summer.

Rubenstein's vocal opposition to the war is what caught Julie Cross' attention early in the primary. With two sons in their 20s, the Adams County social activist said the fighting in Iraq is too close for comfort.

But what got her to volunteer for Rubenstein's campaign was a candidate breakfast she attended last fall, during which she said Rubenstein alone addressed topics important to minorities.

"He was the only one that spoke to that issue," Cross said.

For Gerald Arguello, who puts in 10 hours a week of sweat equity into the campaign, Rubenstein has been more than just aware of the burgeoning Hispanic community in Adams County.

"I like that he came to us and made it inclusive," Arguello said. "The other candidates haven't contacted me or any other people that are Hispanic. They ignored our community."

Rubenstein attributes his comfort with diverse populations to his Jewish upbringing in the Deep South, where his father sold shoes and produced political ads in his spare time.

"We were the first white family to work for blacks running for office," Rubenstein said.

After getting a master's degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs in Texas and earning his law degree from Georgetown University, Rubenstein spent four years at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington working on welfare reform before going into private practice.

"I've been involved in politics and public life forever," he said.

Jim Burk, a law colleague in Washington, said the more than 20 years Rubenstein practiced law in the nation's capital would serve him well in trying to hammer out deals in a contentious Congress on behalf of constituents in the Denver suburbs.

"He's one of the best negotiators I've ever seen," Burk said. "And he definitely has a passion for public service."

Rubenstein said, based on voter turnout in past elections in the 6-year-old district, all he needs is slightly more than 8,000 votes on Aug. 8 to become the Democratic nominee.

"My job is to be who I am and let Ed and Peggy make the mistakes," he said.

Herb Rubenstein

Age: 53

Born: Shreveport, La.

Family: Married with two children

Education:

• B.A., Washington and Lee University

• M.A., LBJ School of Public Affairs

• Law degree, Georgetown University

Experience:

• National Academy of Sciences

• American Institutes for Research

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

• Lawyer in private practice

• Adjunct professor at Colorado State University

aguilarj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2550

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