Greenwich Post
Shays, Farrell look for votes
Oct 19, 2006

In a race where every vote will likely matter, Rep. Christopher Shays and Democratic challenger Diane Farrell attempted to make sure voters knew exactly where they stood on the issues at a candidates forum hosted by the Chamber of Commerce last Thursday.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, right, was in Greenwich Friday evening to lend his support to Rep. Chris Shays, left, who is in a tight race with Democratic challenger Diane Farrell. — David Ames photo

As Election Day nears and polls show the race in the 4th District as a toss-up, Mr. Shays and Ms. Farrell fielded questions in a polite discussion over lunch at the Greenwich Country Club. The event was billed as “a discussion, not a debate,” and the candidates did not interact, save for a brief handshake. Both Mr. Shays, a 19-year incumbent, and Ms. Farrell, the former two-term first selectman of Westport, were given half an hour to speak and take questions from the audience. Neither was present when the other spoke.

Because of the format, both candidates were asked different questions but Iraq was a common thread.

Mr. Shays has been on 14 trips to Iraq since the war began because, he said, he believed in doing oversight up close. Since returning from his last trip, Mr. Shays began advocating for setting a timetable for American troop withdrawals once Iraqi forces proved they were ready to take over. He rejected the idea this had anything to do with politics and said it had more to do with a lack of progress by Iraqis since electing a new government late last year.

“I was excited about the progress but I visited after six and a half weeks of the new government and I saw no action,” Mr. Shays said. “So I went back six and a half weeks later. I concluded when the ambassador looked me in the eye and said, ‘I fear the Iraqis do not have the political will they had last year,’ that things are pretty bad and we have to do something to give them political will again. By giving them a timeline, on the front end but on the back end, we would do that.”

Mr. Shays said he wanted Iraqis to convene their reconciliation, rewrite their constitution and for Sunnis, Shia and Kurds to come together.

“If they know we’re going to leave at a certain point, they have a huge incentive to stop the fighting,” Mr. Shays said.

Ms. Farrell said she had a cousin in the Army serving in the war who should have been sent back home Aug. 1 but had his deployment extended five months to keep order in Baghdad. She said not only was she in personal contact with him, but before his deployment she received a letter from his sister asking for money for body armor for him.

Diane Farrell is all smiles as she delivers answers to voters who attended the Chamber of Commerce forum last Thursday. She and incumbent Rep. Chris Shays did not interact beyond a brief handshake. — Ken Borsuk photo

“I found it absolutely, unquestionably outrageous that I was having to help equip my cousin, who is regular Army, to feel that he had enough protective body armor to serve his country in harm’s way,” Ms. Farrell said. “I didn’t support the war. I was very critical of Chris on the war in 2004 and I remain critical of Chris because frankly he went for 13 trips and said things were great and progress was made. Then he came back from the 14th trip and had some sort of epiphany. We can all argue about why that happened, but that’s the reality.”

Ms. Farrell said that there had to be a diplomatic, not military, solution for the future of Iraq, including an immediate cease-fire, and that she had called for the replacement of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld months ago. She added Mr. Shays didn’t do that until after their first debate.

Mr. Shays agreed that there needed to be a diplomatic solution, but called the idea of an immediate cease-fire “a naďve position.”

Questions from the audience for Ms. Farrell brought up several topics such as No Child Left Behind, where she said the law had to be reformed to be able to truly close achievement gaps and fix failing public schools.

Ms. Farrell also spoke about the need for health care reform. She said she didn’t want to rush into universal health care and wanted to be able to see private insurers participate in a competitive system. However, she said, something had to be done because of rising health care costs. She wants to work with private insurers to develop a system that gives more people coverage, while still remaining privatized. Without that work, she said, a single-payer system would have to be adopted.

Mr. Shays discussed the need to stop the country’s dependence on foreign oil, both for environmental benefits and as part of the overall war on terror.

“The biggest failure of this [Bush] administration is that after 9/11 they could have united the country and taken an environmentalist like me, who is championing what I call the Energy for our Future Act, which raises mileage up for minivans, SUVs and trucks, to help save three million barrels of oil every day,” Mr. Shays said. “We could take the tax incentives for the fossil fuel industry and give it to the renewable energy industry. We could give tax credits to families insulating homes and to businesses that have more energy-efficient machines.”

Ms. Farrell challenged the idea that Mr. Shays’ record indicated he was independent of the Republican leadership and its policies. She said she always asked three questions about Mr. Shays’ past votes.

“Where he’s agreed with the President, such as on the war in Iraq and fiscal policy, has it been good?” Ms. Farrell asked. “Second, where he’s disagreed with the President and the majority in Congress, like on stem cell research, raising the minimum wage and the environment, has it made a difference? Third, can we afford another two years without checks and balances in our federal system?”

Ms. Farrell said she would bring “true independence” from the President and the Republican Party to Washington.

Mr. Shays stressed his record of working with both parties, saying he was committed to being in the political center. He said he had a 2005 rating of 46% conservative and 54% liberal in Congress.

“I’m the same person I was when I first was elected,” Mr. Shays said. “I love this job. I have tremendous energy. I have significant experience. I have proof I deliver on the things we need to deliver ... Being a partisan politician is the last thing this district wants and it’s the last thing I’ve given them.”

This is the second time Mr. Shays and Ms. Farrell have faced off in an election. In 2004, Ms. Farrell gave the 17-year incumbent his tightest re-election race ever, losing by four percentage points, and indications are this year’s race will be similarly close. A Stamford Advocate poll taken earlier this month had Mr. Shays leading by four points with 16% undecided. However, a Reuters poll released earlier this month had Ms. Farrell ahead by five points, and a Democratic Party poll from this week had her surpassing Mr. Shays by three points, 44% to 41%.

Potential wild cards in the race exist in the forms of Libertarian candidate Philip Maymin and Green Party candidate Richard Duffee. Neither was invited to participate in the forum, but they’re on the ballot in November and could certainly affect results. In fact, Mr. Maymin has objected to not being listed as an option in the Advocate’s poll.