Profiling Romer

Folks in Colorado have much more connection to Roy Romer than Angelenos do. Before he came down to Los Angeles to run the school district, the 77-year-old superintendent served three terms as governor there. So the Rocky Mountain News in Denver sent a reporter to check in on Romer, and he came away with a different view than we usually see. Here are some excerpts from the piece:

It's tough to believe this is where one of the most powerful men in the state lives. The apartment is spare - a couch and two tall stereo speakers dominate the only room that isn't a bedroom or kitchen. His wife, Bea, alternates two weeks each month here and two at the family residence in Colorado. On the counter, a pre-printed envelope from former Vice President Al Gore rests beside a few bills....

Romer carefully guides himself down the stairs and opens the door that puts him directly on the sand. A few seagulls glide through the gray marine layer and above the rhythmic crashing of waves. A jogger with a dog breezes by and neither glances at Romer standing there in a salmon-colored shirt, dark tie and slacks.

The superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District is on his cell phone. It's 7:30 a.m. and he's already taken about a half-dozen phone calls related to another salvo fired by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that ripped the district for continuing to fail kids while also calling for an audit.

He finishes the call, slowly climbs back up the stairs, his hands steadying himself against the walls. A golden retriever bounds in from the street, followed by an older man with a hearing aid. It's Romer's neighbor, Irv Bush. When he gets wind of the mayor's comments, Bush seethes.

"He's an idiot," Bush said.

Romer laughs, but doesn't engage - although he does refer to Villaraigosa as a "rock star mayor." It's going to be a long day - the first of about 16 hours spent putting out political fires, juggling school district finances and working through a Byzantine array of meetings.

On the way into Jerry's Deli in Westwood, Romer commiserates: "I have never been criticized as much in my life as I have been here. I mean, it's daily and weekly. Every time there's a riot on one of these campuses, I'm the guy responsible. I mean, I've got 30 gangs on one of my high school campuses and so they have a rumble at noon and it's, 'Romer, you can't keep discipline in your schools.' It's just the way it is. It's like the weather - you just live in it."

Just for the record, Shannon Murphy has come on as Romer's press deputy. Stephanie Brady remains director of communications for now, but she's leaving soon. (Edited graf)

Photo: Rocky Mountain News/Ellen Jaskol