 Ultimately, Bruce received two-thirds of the votes from the 66 members of the vacancy committee, beating out former school board candidate and engineer Reginald Perry and businessman Steve Hasbrouck.Bruce postponed being sworn in until January 14, 2008—several days after the start of the legislative session—in order to be eligible to serve a full four terms beyond the partial term under Colorado's term limits rules.The move was criticized by former Republican Senator Ron May and Democratic House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, who, in response to Bruce's actions, called for legislation requiring that newly appointed legislators be sworn in within a specific period of time.