Himes Reaches Out to War-Weary Republicans

Greenwich Citizen, Friday, December 14, 2007

Jim Himes, the new Democratic contender for Republican Chris Shays' seat in the Fourth Congressional District, was the center of attention along with his wife, Mary, at a recent meet and greet. The pair was hosted by Edith and Roy Simpson and co-hosts Jan and Ann DuBois at the Simpsons' Greenwich home.

The 45 to 50 guests included a nucleus of hard-core Democrats but mainly curious Republicans disgruntled with Shays' stance on the Iraq War, and with the current administration in Washington.

"We were shooting for the crossover crowd," said Jan DuBois, who calls himself an independent with Democratic sympathies. His wife, Ann, is a registered Democrat.

Jan DuBois is president of the Greenwich Housing Authority, having succeeded Himes when he went onto the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET).

Himes, tall, dark and handsome, is a Rhodes Scholar who studied Latin America at Oxford and speaks fluent Spanish. His wife is a tall, Canadian-born blonde who works part time as a marketing editor for a home design magazine so as to watch over their two young daughters aged 5 and 7.

"We need to have a change," said introducer Jan DuBois, "and we have someone here with intelligence and experience, and he is willing to run at a time of tremendous need for our country.

"We need to replace a man whose principles are being held hostage by the White House on the core issues in foreign policy, in unilateral aggression, with a man who can put in its place a bipartisan foreign policy of multilateral containment," said DuBois.

Congressman Shays, he said, "should be retired to some not elective office in government to continue his good work."

Himes took the stage and, with a welcoming smile, addressed the long-time Shays supporters in the room. "Your divine retribution has begun," he stated.

"Why am I running for Congress?" he asked. "I have a deep and abiding love for my country. And, where are they driving this country that I love so much?"

Himes spoke of coming from a divorced family, of a childhood in Colombia and Peru - "countries that did not begin to offer opportunities as we have or the rights and liberty that this country provides."

He was raised by "a working single mom" in the small town of Pennington, N.J., and attended "a decent public school." When he brought home an A minus, his mother would ask, "What went wrong?"

Post-Harvard and his Rhodes scholarship, he has lived "an American dream." After spending 12 years on Wall Street with Goldman Sachs "generating wealth," he chose to work in the nonprofit world in affordable housing. In both Harlem and the Bronx, he knew "what these people can't afford."

"We are enmeshed in a disastrous war," Himes said. "In the world we are almost a pariah. In the words of Reagan, we are no longer 'a light in the world.' We have a colossal debt. We've had damage done to our rights, to our Constitution, to our rule of law. We have not addressed healthcare. We have 47 million without access to insurance. The President says they can be taken to the emergency room.

"We need to wean ourselves from oil from some of the most appalling regimes. If we don't curtail our energy use, we will destroy our planet.

"Bridgeport fails to graduate more than half its high school students," he continued. "That is an ethical outrage when our businesses can't find people trained well enough."

He ended his litany with why he was "so driven."

Reflecting on America's founding, he said, "We did improbable, challenging and ambitious things. And we can do great, ambitious and improbable things again - and be incredibly proud as Americans."

The questions began: "How would you get us out of this sub-prime mortgages mess?"

"I see this day to day as I work in affordable housing," he said, "We need more regulation of those who purvey debt - with those crazy mortgage products and those who don't explain their terms."...

What committees would he aim for in Congress if elected? "I'd follow those that deal with issues of energy, education and health care." He'd shoot for the Way and Means Committee that sets the agenda.

"Good point," murmured a woman sitting nearby.

And he wanted to be on the Transportation Committee, "which Chris Shays has never done," he said. "We have a dire transportation system. We need a solution for our town that is not a state or local solution but a regional solution."

Alan Weeden, a Shays supporter, asked Himes about his views on immigration.

"We do need to secure our border," said Himes, but the cry for "let's evict 12 million illegal immigrants," he said "is not a serious proposition. We need to give them a path to earned citizenship."

Himes added, "For 230 years, we've been a graying population. If we don't have an immigration of younger people our country won't work."...

"We can no longer afford to be partisan," said co-host and long-time Shays supporter Edith Simpson. "We have to find people who can lead this country back to its greatness. We have to put our country first."

As guests drifted towards the door, Pryor said he was pleased to have met and heard Himes and thought him "a strong candidate." Another said she thought Himes "ought to be running for president."