HOT SPECULATION REMAINS ABOUT ANDREW ROMANOFF

Bundle up, everyone! Get cozy by the fireplace, sip a hot toddy, put a microwavable heating pad outside for a feral cat, cuddle with your loved one(s) — it’s cold out there!!! To help take the chill out of the night, here’s some breezy Gossip to warm your souls.

First, from deep (arctic deep) in the Andrew Romanoff camp we’re able to report that the former U.S. Senate hopeful and speaker of the Colorado House is still undecided about getting into the 2012 race in the new 6th Congressional District. But he’s home now from visiting his Dad in Ohio and is besieged by many people who are encouraging him to get in it already. Thinking seems to be that Romanoff could wallop current Dem candidate Joe Miklosi — or more likely, force him out of a primary — but the real challenge remains incumbent Republican Mike Coffman, a tough campaigner, credible fundraiser and decent orator. The guy is relentless on the campaign trail (he’s even been known to hop from table to table at a bar mitzvah in search of votes.) Then again, if the court approves the current maps, the new CD 6 is a heck of a lot friendlier to Dems than ever before. Andrew is supposedly crunching numbers... And although this didn’t come from Andrew, we know he’s being pressured by some big names to jump into the fray. They’ve promised that money will follow…

But, you know what a tough race Andrew had with eventual victor Michael Bennet for last year’s U.S. Senate seat. Does he really want to put himself in such an intense competitive arena so soon? Besides, Andrew is very happy with his position as a senior advisor at International Development Enterprises, a Colorado-based non-profit organization that works in developing countries to create income opportunities and provide low cost water access for rural households.

Also we hear that Andrew currently has a girlfriend — and we all know what a testy campaign can mean for a budding relationship. Maybe he should stay put afterall...

Sources tell us it’s 50-50 as to whether he’ll get in the race, and no announcement one way or the other has been scheduled to date. Look for a statement or some clue from Andrew around mid-December, and if he does decide to do it (emphasis on if), a campaign kick-off after the first of the year.

MOVING ON TO A NEW JOB

(Do not construe the positioning of this next item as anything other than coincidental to the above item about Andrew Romanoff.)

After more than 10 years working in politics and public policy, including stints as deputy campaign manager for Andrew Romanoff’s U.S. Senate bid, manager of James Mejia’s campaign for Denver mayor, and coordinator of Josh Hanfling’s campaign for the statehouse, Berrick Abramson is beginning a new chapter in his professional life. He has joined The New Teacher Project as a Partner in TNTP’s Performance Management Group, Human Capital Team — a non-partisan, national non-profit founded by teachers in 1997 working “to end the injustice of educational inequality by providing excellent teachers to the students who need them most and by advancing policies and practices that ensure effective teaching in every classroom.”

Although based in Brooklyn, NY, Abramson will continue to work from Denver, and will initially be focused on TNTP’s work with the Colorado Department of Education, Colorado Legacy Foundation and Colorado Department of Higher Education on teacher licensure, induction and educator prep programs.

“With this new chapter beginning, I’m excited to move from the political and policy world to working at ‘the tip of the spear’ and in the trenches where some of the most difficult but critical work is being done to end the inequalities that currently plague our public education system,” Berrick said in his farewell email.

DEMOCRATIC STATE REP. LABUDA DRAWS PRIMARY CHALLENGE

No other House District comes before it, numerically at least, and this year the somewhat-safe Democratic House District 1 will see some unanticipated Dem-on-Dem action.

Three-term incumbent Jeanne Labuda — who survived a primary versus Denver prosecutor Alfredo Hernandez back in 2006 and has had an easy go of it since — is facing a challenger.

Education communications whiz Corrie Houck, who until recently chaired the House District 1 Dems (yes, the ones with the famous chile dinner), threw her hat in the ring this week and vows to make it a real race.

For one of the main reasons Houck is challenging Labuda, look no further than your local payday lending outfit — the one with the flashing lights, where all those Mr. Donut stores used to be. Houck says she wants to fire the incumbent because she doesn’t like Labuda’s record on efforts to regulate payday lending. Houck believes the industry “is predatory as it exists today,” her spokesman says.

Houck currently chairs the Democratic Party of Denver’s education committee and helps get out the word at North High School (Go Vikings!). Dem up-and-comer Jason Krueger is running her campaign.

Here’s why Houck says she’s running:

“House District 1 has been my community and home for over a decade. I am running for state representative as a motivated advocate who is concerned for the welfare of my friends and neighbors. The time has come for a leader who is willing to step up and take on the challenges facing my community; the time has come for a leader who is willing to create opportunities. I am running because I believe I am that leader.”

PRIMAVERA RUNNING AGAIN FOR OLD SEAT AT LEGISLATURE

Former state Rep. Dianne Primavera filed papers this week to run again for the seat she lost in last year’s wave election, House District 33, up Broomfield way. When the GOP took control of the House last year by a single member, Primavera was one of a couple of north-metro House Democrats to lose by narrow margins — she was unseated by Republican Don Beezley by a slim 314 votes — and Democrats hope to retake their majority with her help.

Beezley announced a couple weeks ago he won’t be seeking a second term, so Primavera will be the closest thing to an incumbent in the race. But Republicans are already crowing about their candidate for the competitive seat, attorney and veteran David Pigott, who does family law, personal injury and criminal defense work at the Bloch & Chapleau firm.

“We’ve got a great candidate for that seat,” said GOP Chair Ryan Call after The Statesman asked whether Beezley’s withdrawal might jeopardize chances. “A great candidate.”

There are more than a few organizations that have said something similar about Primavera, including the Great State of Colorado, albeit before she was involved in elective politics.

On her mantle sits the Governor’s Peak Performance Award for Citizen Satisfaction, an annual honor bestowed on just one outstanding state employee. She’s also won the Colorado Legislator Award from both the Colorado Women’s Chamber and the Denver Women’s Commission. She was honored by the American Cancer Society Great West Division for fighting cancer in the public sphere. And the Colorado Nonprofit Association named her legislator of the year.

This will be the fifth time Primavera has run for the seat — she lost a challenge against Republican Bill Berens in 2004 but returned the next time to eke out a win after the incumbent was involved in a hole-in-one golf scandal. She won the next time and lost the time after that to Beezley.

She’s also survived an astonishing four bouts with cancer and very publicly wages the battle against the disease.

“I have survived extraordinary challenges and setbacks in my life, and I have persevered,” said Primavera in a release announcing her campaign. “But what’s important for Colorado is helping families persevere in a poor economy by making state government work for them.”

NO. 30 NOT HIGH ENOUGH?

State Senate wunderkind Michael Johnston — yes, he still earns the adjective — moved up three spots on 5280 Magazine’s list of the folks who run Denver, from 33rd to 30th in the two years since the monthly last ranked the powerful.

It’s a nice spot for someone who only took the oath of office less than three years ago — Johnston stunned observers with a first-ballot win for the vacancy appointment to take Peter Groff’s place — and it’s worth noting that Johnston is one of only two legislators to make the list, so that’s something. (The other is Rep. Rhonda Fields, an Aurora Democrat.)

But anyone who knows the lawyer-educator-author-lawmaker and adorable father of adorable twins can be pretty sure he’s got a swifter ascent in mind.

It seems Johnston had a sit-down recently with someone — who ranks a bit higher on the list (and coincidentally shares the same first name) — and they mapped out possibilities for the Vail native’s future.

Now, it’s an adage in Colorado politics that you don’t plan past the next two election cycles — and even then, you keep your options open — because you never know when someone might retire or someone might get tapped for a Cabinet spot or someone’s musings might turn up on the front page of the Denver paper.

But with that enormous grain of salt in hand, the prognosticators plucked a plum prize with Johnston’s name all over it: If everything goes according to plan, and that’s a lot of everythings, the Democrat could be on track to be the youngest secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. But don’t worry, all the eggs aren’t in a single basket. There are more than a few ways Johnston could land himself higher on the 5280 list.