Governor

In only two years, Gov. M. Jodi Rell has accomplished so much that she has to be elected to a full four-year term -- there's no telling what she can get done.

After leading the state out of the dark days of corruption and scandal, the Republican incumbent got right down to business. Pledging to put the state back on sure footing and to restore integrity, Rell urged the General Assembly to approve her proposals for ethics and campaign finance reforms, which have become national models. Years of discussion about the state's problems on the roads and the rails yielded little or no solutions until Rell's State of the State Address in 2005, when she proposed the $1.3 billion transportation initiative, which also was approved by the General Assembly. Among her other achievements are a job creation and economic development plan called "Jobs for the 21st Century," which she signed into law in the spring; improved access to medical care through the bonding of $28.5 million for community health centers across the state; and the enactment of stem cell research legislation. And she has done all of this and more by working with a Democratic-controlled House and Senate. We admire her ability to quickly tackle problems and find solutions.

Her Democratic opponent, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, does not measure up to Rell. Behind in the polls since obtaining the nomination, DeStefano has led a negative campaign, which at times has been downright mean. He condescendingly calls the governor "a nice lady" and goes on to disparage her accomplishments and criticize her for not having a plan for the state's future. He comes off as all talk. His own proposals on myriad issues are expensive and/or overly ambitious, and, therefore, probably are unattainable.

In an interview with the editorial board, DeStefano categorized Rell's leadership as pessimistic. We beg to differ. Rell is realistic, sensible and practical, and we urge voters to give her four more years.

U.S. Senate

Sen. Joseph Lieberman's staunch support of the increasingly unpopular War in Iraq and his growing reputation for hedging his bets has diminished his reputation. In addition, the negativity of the senatorial campaign, along with the Shays vs. Farrell brouhaha, has disgusted many voters and reinforced a general distaste for politics as usual.

Particularly telling is the TV footage from Lieberman's 1988 campaign against Lowell Weicker in which he calls for change, says he will not miss more than 300 votes and promises not to serve more than three terms. In a sense, he has become his own opponent.

The Republican Party candidate, Alan Schlesinger, although he did fairly well in the debates, has essentially been abandoned by his party. According to some polls, as many as 70 percent of Republicans are supporting Lieberman, who is running as an Independent after his stunning loss to Lamont in the Democratic primary.

For his part, Lamont is a quick study and is growing into the role fast. He has even started to show signs of brilliance. We endorse Lamont because he has become more than just a lightning rod for anti-war sentiment. He has become a fresh and intelligent voice for change, something we sorely need in Washington.

As a businessman and a political outsider, he has an independent streak and should be less susceptible to lobbying and large campaign donations. Lamont doesn't need the position or the money. He wants to serve.

4th Congressional District

Christopher Shays, for his 19 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, points to a record of accomplishments, and, more importantly, independence.

He prides himself on his ability to reach across party lines for solutions and to stand against his party's leadership, including the Bush-Cheney administration, when his conscience dictates that he do so.

He has, famously, visited Iraq 14 times, and undoubtedly knows as much about the place as anyone in Congress.

And what does he have to show for all this? A situation that is getting worse. As of Tuesday morning, 103 American military personnel had been killed there in October, making it the deadliest month of 2006 and the fourth-deadliest since U.S. intervention in Iraq began in March 2003. All for a war that has yielded very little tangible benefit to the United States.

Diane Farrell, the former first selectwoman of Westport, has been criticized for being nothing more than the "anti-Shays" regarding the war, for having no plan. She has no less of a plan than Shays, for all his time in Iraq, seems to have. She calls for "benchmarks." Shays suggests a "timeline." They look the same to us except that Farrell has held her position for far longer.

Farrell decries the region's transportation problems, and she plans an aggressive pursuit of federal money for more new train cars turning against her opponent his remark that she should run for state government due to the 80/20 split in federal money to state money the state relies on for transportation.

Farrell is, however, very concerned with the war in Iraq. She proposes congressional oversight of the situation, including expenditures and civilian contracting, and she wishes to be part of a Democratic majority that will challenge the White House about the war.

Shays, for all his claims of independence, has been complicit in the Bush-Cheney administration's failed war in Iraq for far too long, which has cost thousands of lives and enormous sums of money and for what? To make us safer? The campaign in Afghanistan might have made us safer, but not Iraq.

Shays told our editorial board that his pleas to the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal fall on deaf ears. We acknowledge that they will not listen to a word Diane Farrell has to say. But they'll be gone in two years maybe sooner for Rumsfeld. It is time to start laying the groundwork for a change in this country.

Beyond the war, Farrell offers tangible solutions to the failure of the No Child Left Behind Act, which is doing very little to improve the schools in our urban centers, especially Bridgeport. She plans to sit on the Transportation Committee. Could anything be more relevant in Fairfield County?

Chris Shays has served with integrity. He cares about his constituents.

But our country needs change. Libertarian Phil Maymin has good ideas the elimination of income taxes in favor of a tax system based entirely on consumption is intriguing but the electorate is not ready for that radical a departure.

Diane Farrell will be an agent for change. That is why we, again, endorse her.

25th State Senate District

In the 25th Senate District, which includes the northern half of Darien and all of Norwalk, we also have a difficult choice to make between the Democratic incumbent, Bob Duff, and his Republican challenger, Fred Wilms.

Duff, who is seeking his second term, previously represented the 137th House District in Norwalk. Wilms has never held statewide office, but he is the chairman of the Norwalk Board of Estimate and Taxation, a member of the city's Water Pollution Control Authority and a former member of Norwalk's Common Council and the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Of his two years as a senator, Duff says he is most proud of the fact that he has helped to secure an additional 12 percent in state aid for the district. He also is a co-chairman of the Results-Based Accountability Workgroup, which he says is "attempting to bring more results, more accountability to the state budget." Wilms also is fiscally astute and says he takes pride in the city budget he helped to craft on the BET this year, a budget that resulted in an average tax increase below the rate of inflation while maintaining important services.

Duff and Wilms are well-spoken on the issues -- both have cited transportation improvements as a priority, and both have said affordable housing deserves more attention. Both are responsive to constituents and are interested in keeping them informed, as evidenced by Duff's public forums and Wilms' roundtable discussions on a variety of concerns.

We think voters can't go wrong with either candidate, but we believe Duff should be given the opportunity to continue the work he's begun.

27th State Senate District

We see a mismatch in the 27th Senate District, where two-term incumbent Democrat Andrew McDonald is being challenged by Republican Rick Giordano. Much has been made during the campaign of Giordano's residency a longtime Norwalk resident, he rented an apartment in Stamford earlier this year to qualify for a spot on the ballot while his family remains living in Norwalk.

Even after taking any concerns about that move out of the equation, McDonald is a far superior choice for voters because of his resume. A Stamford attorney, McDonald previously served as that city's corporation counsel and co-chairs the state Senate's Judicial Committee.

McDonald has worked in tandem with Darien's other state senator, Bob Duff, on transportation issues. He has advocated adding sound barriers along Interstate 95 and pushed for improvements to Metro-North Railroad's fleet of cars.

McDonald has also supported providing uninsured residents with health-care coverage and has spoken in favor of finding ways to steer more of the tax dollars generated in the district back into Darien.

Giordano, the son of former Stamford Mayor Bruno Giordano, owns a Norwalk insurance agency but has no political experience. Health care has been a cornerstone of his campaign Giordano, a cancer survivor, believes Connecticut must do more to support doctors facing growing expenses and declining contributions from insurers. Giordano has also attacked McDonald's support of civil unions.

We don't agree with McDonald on all of the issues facing the district, but it's clear he's the best-equipped candidate to tackle them in the next two years. If Giordano is serious about wanting to get involved, we encourage him to pursue local office and get some experience under his belt. With so many important issues at hand, we would feel uncomfortable having an untested legislator representing the district.

141st House District

There's no contest here incumbent Republican state Rep. John Ryan is running unopposed. Ryan, who represents all of Darien and the Rowayton section of Norwalk, has held the seat since 1994.