Voices - In Oxford, Candidate Listens to Residents

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Voices - In Oxford, Candidate Listens to Residents

Not unexpectedly, the high cost of gasoline and fuel oil, health care and the general state of the economy were the issues residents expressed the most concern about when Democrat Jim Himes, Congressional candidate for the Fourth District, visited Oxford last week.

The visit was part of a "Listening and Learning Tour" the 42-year-old former banker and affordable housing executive is in the process of conducting throughout the district now served by Republican Congressman Christopher Shays.

About 15 residents, most of them Democrats, attended.

In keeping with the theme of his tour, Mr. Himes said he was determined to listen as well as talk.

"I have a set of values and ideas, but I need your suggestions," said the Cos Cob resident.

By way of introduction, Mr. Himes told residents that he grew up in Peru and Columbia where citizens were not offered the kind of rights and liberties Americans take for granted.

Coming to the U.S. at the age of 10 after his parents divorced was "an epiphany," he said.

Taking advantage of every opportunity the small New Jersey town he lived in had to offer, he went to Harvard and obtained a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University ("the other one," he quipped).

But, with the economic difficulties the country faces now, the kind of dream he experienced is at risk for the next generation, he said.

Mr. Himes criticized the current Republican administration for neglecting to put together an energy policy that would allow the country to be innovative.

"Where was the leadership? The answer is, it wasn't there."

Mr. Himes said it worried him that 47 million Americans are without health insurance and that costs for health care were spiraling out of control.

Education also is a concern, especially in less affluent communities like Bridgeport where four in ten students don't graduate from high school.

Residents Harold Cosgrove and Donald Crumley asked Mr. Himes to consider supporting revisions to Medicare policies so seniors can have regular paid preventive physicals, a position Mr. Himes appeared to agree was necessary.

"We're set up to deal with the car wreck and not to prevent it. That's got to be something we do," he said.

First Selectman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers wanted to know how the town could succeed in getting federal money for roads, underground utilities and other infrastructure.

"Being a small community, it's unfair to ask residents and developers to fund them," she said.

She said standards for towns like Oxford appear to be different from other towns in the district such as Stamford and Norwalk.

Mr. Himes said he was aware of the town's needs with respect to education, transportation and infrastructure . He said having Democratic representation in Congress would make a difference

To reinforce that notion, he pointed to Congressman Joe Courtney, D-2, who he said brought $50 million to his district and Congressman Chris Murphy, D-5, who brought in $40 million in his first 18 months in office.

Selectman Dave McKane noted that the two things foremost in people's minds were the price of gas and oil and foreclosures and mortgage issues.

On the gas and oil prices issue, Mr. Himes said Congress needed to take a hard look at the financial players in the energy market, who are exempted from many regulations.

"It's not an underlying cause of the high prices, but it adds to it,' he said.

On the difficulties people are experiencing financially, he said the government should offer help like tax credits to those who try to conserve by insulating their homes or buying hybrid vehicles.

Mr. Himes was critical of the leadership of President Bush the last eight years, saying the problems the country has experienced economically and morally have led to a loss of reputation and stature abroad.

"We've lost the American high ground. Everywhere you look, we're not standing tall," he said.

He said the thought, while disheartening, energizes him.

"We're in a terrible spot. We have to do better and my position is, we'll do it better," he pledged.

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